Lai Tung Pai Kwoons History

The journey to Kong Hoi Kung Fu Association - Troy was a long and rewarding journey. In October of 2002, Sifu Anthony Stephenson got married and moved to his wife's town of Kings Mountain just west of Charlotte, NC. This historical town is a beautiful and peaceful setting in which to learn Lai Tung Pai. Therefore, Sifu Anthony expanded the teachings of Lai Tung Pai there by forming Kong Hoi Kung Fu Association - Kings Mountain. In order to build a student following, Sifu Anthony taught in the park for many years prior to building the new kwoon. This is much like the Mint Hill school got started. Which brings us to the story of how we started out in Mint Hill.

Thunder Wave Martial Arts - Mint Hill, formally Mint Hill Kung Fu School, was founded in 1993 when Sifu Anthony Stephenson, then Si Hing Anthony, met with Master Li and decided that it was time to teach publicly again after the close of Sifu Li's last kwoon. (Sifu Li had to move to Hickory to work temporarily) Master Li instructed Si Hing Anthony to seek the help of his Si Di, Chris Facente. Running the school would require more than just one individual since all had family and work obligations. The three met on the issue and decided to open the school in Mint Hill and make this the root of Lai Tung Pai in the US. Prior to moving to Mint Hill, the three had been training privately in a small house in Charlotte with a few other students. Mint Hill is a quiet town boarding on the east side of the city of Charlotte. They first opened the school in a large house in the center of town, but this became impractical due to some space constraints. In 1994, a local Karate school was kind enough to lend them space for 11 months while we searched for a new location.

They found a suitable location at 7706 Matthews-Mint Hill Road, just down the street from the house they had once rented. This location provided the school with the capability to grow the student base large enough to be recognized as a serious kung fu training facility in the city's martial arts business circles, while keeping with the traditions of the Chinese martial arts. This is where the roots of Kong Hoi Kung Fu Association - Mint Hill and Lai Tung Pai (Poon Kuen) were beginning to firmly embed themselves in the Charlotte area.

In July of 1997 and in 2004, the School moved to newer, more contemporary location with better Fung Shui. Fung Shui is the Chinese art of placement. If business is to be successful, there are certain rules of Fung Shui to be followed. Sifu Li was an expert in Fung Shui so he helped pick a location by traditional means. The past few years, the Mint Hill location has been in several Mint Hill locations. It was Sifu Li's, and is now Sifu Stephenson's and Sifu Facente's mission and obligation to continue the Lineage of Lai Tung Pai (Puhn Kyuhn) as so many have done before them. They are very fortunate to have such responsibility.

So, next was the expansion to Kings Mountain, NC. In 2002, Sifu Stephenson married Simo Shawna Stephenson which lived in Kings Mountain. Being an hours drive to Mint Hill, he decided to open the branch there in the historic downtown area. Around 2010, Sifu Stephenson began incorporating nutrition into his teachings and after some growth in the Carolinas, decided to expand to the Dayton, OH Metro. This move occured in 2013. Sifu Stephenson and Simo Stephenson moved to the Dayton, OH area, Troy, OH to be exact, where they expanded their nutrition business and Lai Tung Pai. At first, Sifu Stephenson borrowed space from their nutrition club, for a couple of years, and then in Decempber of 2015, he opened up the 1800 square feet state of the art facility in Troy. Sifu Stephenson is currently teaching private classes and group classes at the new kwoon in Troy, Ohio.

Please feel free to contact Sifu Anthony at (937) 607-0104 or email him at sifuanthony@konghoikungfu.com.