Meet Master Iain Armstrong

Master Iain Armstrong, two time world kung fu champion, is the founder & current Kung Fu Master of the world's first 'Kung Fu Retreat', deep in the forested mountains of Thailand's most remote province. He is the inheritor of one of the world’s most respected Chinese Kung Fu lineages which can be traced right back to the founding Masters of Shaolin Kung Fu 1,500 years ago! Master Iain is the first non-Chinese Master in the ‘Nam Yang’ lineage.

"Master lain is amazing, and his calm and wise advice is always insightful for both your Kung Fu technique and general life. After two weeks, I felt like I had a good foundation for Kung Fu and learned enough to feel accomplished, but it really is a lifelong art." - Dagartga, Student

About Master iain

Master Iain Armstrong Headshot

"I first started teaching Kung Fu in 1987. At that time I was focused on producing fighters. We were a tough group but tough guys die, tough guys go to prison and my students were starting to go these routes. And it is just a waste. I care about my students and I give all my time and energy to developing them. I want to see them rise up. I had been lucky enough to avoid the pitfalls myself and to reach a stage in my Kung Fu where I thought more like a general than a footsoldier and, what is more, I knew exactly which elements of the training had got me there and why. So I started to train my students like the generals of the future. And it worked.

In the park in Epsom where this story began I trained a whole group of teenagers. They won five world championship fights, countless national medals ad the British Lion Dance Championship. They performed for the Queen and the Prime Minister. They travelled to Singapore, Thailand, Italy and Dubai.

Master Iain with the Queen of England

I later set up the world’s first ‘Kung Fu Retreat’. Based in the forested mountains of Thailand’s most remote province it attracts exceptional people from all over the world. And sometimes I travel out to train someone really special. I train business people, company executives and politicians. I train military and security personnel. I train all sorts of interesting people.

I build their confidence, I build their energy, I build their personal power. As far as is possible in the time that I have with them I try to give them the energy and the spirit of those old Kung Fu Masters." - Master Iain

Master Iain training and breaking 4 bricks

Master Iain is a teacher who:

  • Learned with the old Chinese Masters in Singapore and Malaysia.
  • Has learned and understood through daily practice over more than 40 years.
  • Who has transformed himself and Mastered himself.
  • Who can teach in English and who specialises in making the difficult seem easy
  • Who treats his students like family.

"Master Iain Armstrong is the heartbeat of this place, a wonderful teacher who really knows his art of Kung Fu. He will make you welcome and take the time to understand you and work on what could benefit you most. I was constantly amazed by the contrast between his usual aura of relaxed calm and his skill and ferocity when demonstrating striking moves!” -Adam, Student

Facts about Master Iain

  • 40+ years experience in Shaolin Kung Fu
  • 2 x World Championship Titles in Kung Fu
  • Former street fighter and nightclub doorman
  • Trained 4 world champions, stunt men and women, military special forces, security forces, police, celebrities, high ranking politicians, and corporate executives
  • Has students on all major continents and has taught and demonstrated around the world
  • Recognized by the Queen of England on her Golden Jubliee
  • Presented with the High Sheriff of Surrey’s award for Crime Prevention for his work on eliminating juvenile crime in parks
  • Columnist for Combat Magazine – the UK’s leading martial arts magazine at the time, featured in martial arts publications in Germany, Singapore and the Philippines.
  • Author of ‘Get Your Health Back FAST With Chinese Chi Kung’.
  • Coach for the British International Full Contact Kung Fu Team
  • Judge at the World Wushu (Kung Fu) Championships in Hong Kong 1999
  • Executive member of the British Council For Chinese Martial Arts, Britain’s National Governing Body for Kung Fu.
  • Member of the ‘Combat Hall of Fame’
  • Founder of Nam Yang Kung Fu Retreat, considered one of the top residential Kung Fu schools in the world.
  • Trained by Grand Master Tan Soh Tin.
Master Iain teaching Students during morning tea break.

Read more about Master Iain and his experiences in his blog by clicking here.