The Chinese Shao-Lin Center was founded in 1979. Classes began in the Spring of 1980. The founders and directors of the original Denver Center are 8th Degree Elder Masters David and Sharon Soard. The Elder Masters have studied the art of Shao-Lin Kung Fu under Grandmaster Sin Kwang Thé for over 35 years. They have taught the Shao-Lin Art as a full-time profession for over 25 years. David and Sharon Soard were the first westerners to be hosted in China by the Hunan Martial Arts Association. In 1987, they traveled throughout China to plan the first Shao-Lin organization student trip to the Orient. Every four years the Shao-Lin students visit China together with the Grandmaster and Elder Masters. The Elder Masters continue to train under the Grandmaster, and also continue to visit and study historic sites of martial arts interest throughout the world.  In 1989, the CSC Student Training Manual was created and published by Elder Masters David and Sharon Soard and contains history and legends, essential concepts of martial arts, curriculum, and more.

The Chinese Shao-Lin Center of Albuquerque is under the guidance of 8th Degree Black Belt Elder Masters David and Sharon Soard of Denver Colorado and the guidance of current Grandmaster Sin Kwang Thé. Visits from the Elder Masters and the Grandmaster occur annually to the Chinese Shao-Lin Center in Albuquerque. The Certified Head Instructors at the Albuquerque school is 4th Degree Black Belt, Abram Tamez and 3rd Degree Black Belt, Leslie Phillips. For classes and fees, see our CLASSES page. For more information on Mr. Tamez, Ms. Phillips, Elder Masters Sharon and David Soard, or Grandmaster Sin Kwang Thé, see the INSTRUCTION page.

In 1989, the Chinese Shao-Lin Centers were honored by an invitation to have a tablet erected at the Northern Shao-Lin Temple. The ceremony was held at the Honan Temple in Honan Province, China in 1992. The Centers were also honored in 2000 with the first stone tablet to be erected at the newly rebuilt Fukien Shao-Lin Temple (pictured at left). It stands as the only stone tablet in the Fukien Temple in Putian as of July 2004.

Organized CSC trips to the Orient include visits to noteworthy historical and martial sites.  In 2004, a small group of Chinese Shao-Lin Center representatives visited the Tomb of the famous Pa Kua Master, Tung Hai Chuan. With unprecedented special permission from the Chinese government and under the watchful eye of three levels of government officials, Elder Masters David and Sharon Soard, Shao-Lin Grandmaster Sin Kwang The', Associate Masters John Turner and Bill Bathurst, Head Instructor Abram Tamez, and five others participated in the visit to Master Tung Hai Chuan's burial site. Closed even to the Chinese press and citizens, only descendents of persons buried in the private cemetery are allowed entry! The Chinese Shao-Lin Center group became the first non-descendants to ever officially visit Master Tung Hai Chuan's Tomb. Although no one was initially allowed to take a camera or video equipment into the cemetery, the group was finally permitted one photograph at the Tomb. The Chinese Shao-Lin Center group was honored to place a beautiful arrangement of flowers at the foot of Tung Hai Chuan's tablet.

In the Summer of 2004, over 100 students and family members traveled to China for a specialized 16 day tour that included Hong Kong, Beijing, Zhangjiajie (tropical rainforest), Inner Mongolia, Chengde, and Fukien Shao-Lin Temple.

CLICK FOR PHOTOGRAPHS OF CHINA TRIP 2004!

In the Summer of 2007, over 90 students and family members traveled to China for another 16 day tour that included Hong Kong, Shanghai, Huang (Yellow) Mountain, Mount Tai, Shandong Province, and Shanghai.

The next tour is scheduled for the Summer of 2011 and will include the original Shao-Lin Temple in Honan Province, the breathtaking Gui Lin, the Li River, and the Great Wall of China!