Winthrop Chinese Martial Arts Association

Home

What we do

Constitution

Schedule

Upcoming Events

History

Instructors

Members

Sash Requirements

Photos

Styles

Links

Contact Us

FAQs

Questions/
Comments

Instructors

This page is dedicated to the people that give their time, effort, and skill. These instructors do this for the sake of helping students learn martial arts. We tip our hats to you. We also send a big thank you to our master, Keoni Everington, for taking the time to coach us through tournaments, performances, and other cultural events! We are proud to be called your students! Below are biographies to give a little info on who our instructors are.


Keoni Everington Keoni Ha'aheo Everington was first exposed to martial arts at age 11 when he started studying Japanese Kenpo. At age 16, he started study at Ahn's Tae Kwon Do, which he continued for four years. During college, after a brief experimentation with western boxing, he decided to go back to martial arts and join the Tai Chi/Kung Fu Club at Miami University. There he studied many styles of Kung Fu including Tian Shan Pai, Shaolin Crane, Hung Gar, Wing Chun, and Lee's Modified Yang Style Tai Chi. In 1992, Keoni participated in his first martial arts full-contact tournament, The Battle of Cincinnati. After a very close match, he lost to the eventual champion of his weight class. Later that year he became president of the Tai Chi/Kung Fu Club. At this point he recruited Sifu Eric Knight of the Black Tiger Fighting Society as head instructor. In the following two years Keoni participated in numerous martial arts performances, culminating in Asia Fest 1994. Later that year, as an English instructor for Renmin University in Beijing, he was fortunate to have first hand experience with Chinese martial arts in China. During his first year in Beijing he was given his Chinese name Hua Wu Jie by a Tai Chi instructor. He was able to study several compulsory Yang Tai Chi forms such as the 24 empty hand, and 3 Straight Sword. For a short time he trained with the Renmin University Wushu team, but chronic injuries convinced him that more traditional Kong Fu was better for his long-term health. Therefore, he started studying Chen and Wu style Tai Chi with Zhang Weiyi The second year in Beijing, Keoni joined the English Department at Tsing Hua University. Early during his Tsing Hua tenure, he participated with the Tsing Hua Wushu Team in the Renmin University Beijing Wushu Tournament in Chen style and 32 sword. Although his skills were no match for some of thebest China had to offer, he found the experience a good motivation for future pursuits. He continued his studies with Zhang Wei Yi and added Wu Style Tai Chi to his repertoire. A few months later, he was first introduced to Bagua master Sui Yunjiang and soon started training in Dingshi Bazhang. In early 1995, he was inducted as Sui Yunjiang's tudi and paid homage to Li Ziming, Liang Zhenpu, and Dong Haichuan at Dong's tomb in the outskirts of Beijing. By the summer of 1996, he had completed Lao Bazhang.Since those two years in Beijing, Keoni has spent shorter stints in places such as Taipei in 1997 to further study Wing Chun. While in Taipei, he also studied Five Element Xingyiquan with the Wu Tan Association. In Shanghai, 1998, Keoni continued his Baguazhang training. Also, in 1998, while in Hawaii, he learned some traditional Tongan spear fighting.
Sifu Keoni in Shanghai	From 1999 - 2001 Keoni trained in Baguazhang, Xingyiquan, Taijiquan, and Shaolinquan with the San Francisco Wushu Team under the tutelage of Sifu Bryant Fong. During his stay in the San Francisco Bay Area, he participated in a number of performances in Chinatown, Golden Gate Park, and The Night of the Rising Stars. He also took a couple trips to Shanghai in 1999 and 2000 in which he studied Bagua with Master Liu Xiaoling in the People's Park. In addition to his martial arts training, he also acted and provided choreography for a number of independent Kung Fu films including "The Gift", "Spare Some Change?", and "Bastard from Beijing." During the recession of 2001 and in the wake of the events of September 11th, Keoni decided to start helping to spread the knowledge of Chinese Martial Arts to others, and so began his training with Sifu Fong to become a certified instructor. In January 2002, Keoni accepted a position at Winthrop University as a Technology Specialist having driven solo from San Jose, California to Rock Hill, South Carolina! In the spring of that year he participated in the 10th Annual UC Berkeley Chinese Martial Arts Tournament, and received a bronze medal in Xingyiquan. He then participated in the Charlotte Queen's Cup Martial Arts tournament in which he received a gold in Bagua Spear, silver in Bagua Broadsword, bronze in Bagua empty hand, and bronze in Bagua Deer Horn Knives. That summer he began teaching Tai Chi at the Charlotte Avenue YMCA where he would continue to teach very dedicated students for the next four years.
In the fall, he began teaching Taichi as a credit course in the Physical Education Department at Winthrop University.In the fall of 2003, he founded the Winthrop Chinese Martial Arts Association. Over the next four years he lead the group in many performances, organized cultural credit events, created the club website, and coached the students in many successful outings in Kung Fu Tournaments and talent shows. Over the years, he provided instruction in Shaolin (both traditional and contemporary), Baguazhang, Xingyiquan, Taijiquan, Wing Chun, Snake, Praying Mantis, Hung Gar, and weapons. In the spring of 2004, Keoni and his father Richard Everington produced the independent Kung Fu film "The Dragon Must Sleep" www.thedragonmustsleep.com. Keoni both served as the main villain in the film, Dragon Eyes, and was the choreographer for all the action scenes. Part of the film was shot in Beijing including an appearance by Master Sui Yunjiang. During his stay in Beijing, Keoni finally had a chance to train again with Master Sui after a six year hiatus, and he also acted in Christopher Parsons' film "The Teacher." Filming of "The Dragon Must Sleep" completed in the fall of 2005 and it soon premiered at Winthrop University. It was later shown at the Final Cut Festival in Wilmington, North Carolina in the fall of 2006. 2006 proved to be momentous year for Keoni. Keoni and Richard again collaborated in the making of "Kung Fu Woman" in April of 2006. In May of 2006, he lead five Winthrop students on a three credit study abroad trip to Beijing, China to study Baguazhang and Meihuazhuang with Master Sui. Highlights of the trip included tours of the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Wangfujing, Beijing Zoo, Temple of Heaven, Sanlitun, Houhai District, and Beijing Opera. In June of 2006, Keoni accepted a position at the University of Nevada, LasVegas as the E-learning Coordinator, and as a result had to make the difficult decision of leaving the Winthrop Chinese Martial Arts Association behind and moving to Nevada. On October 7th, he married Szu-Ying Chou at the Tropicana Island Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada. At the reception, he and his new wife performed a Salsa routine for the first dance. Later that month they were able to take a brief trip to Hawaii. Having adjusted to the new job and life in Las Vegas, Keoni started to explore the area for other martial arts schools in Chinatown, and was fortunate enough to find the Lohan Shaolin school lead by Sifu Steven Baugh. He is currently training with Sifu Baugh in Xingyi and has joined other Lohan school members in performing Dragon Dance at several Casinos as other venues in Las Vegas. At UNLV, he has successfully founded another student organization called the Internal Martial Arts Association with a primary focus on teaching Baguazhang. The organization was officially recognized in March of 2007 and has received funding, training space, and has a new president, Peter Mengert and financial officer, Tina Quesada. The group will be giving it's first performance at the UNLV Unity Fest Variety Show on April 10th, 2007. He is also planning to return to Beijing, China May, 2007 to continue training with Master Sui in Baguazhang and Meihuazhuang.


Delmar Minor Where shall I start? I have always loved martial arts. As a child watching TV shows like Power Rangers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I would go outside and mimic the moves I saw on TV( I still do sometimes). I wanted to learn martial arts so bad that I begged my parents to take lessons but they never let me. I figured no matter what that one day I would get to study some form of martial arts.
	It would not be until I was 19 until I was able to train in martial arts. In Spring of 2002, I started Isshinryu karate here at Winthrop University in which I am a brown belt. At first everything was so hard! I could not even get the first kata I learned right and it was the easiest one! But I kept with it, practicing to get more proficient with my technique. Yet, even though I found this form of martial arts, I wanted more. In the Fall of 2003 at Convocation, I saw a guy named Kenneth Manos doing some acrobatics for a demonstration. He told me about Chinese Martial Arts. From there on I was hooked! I decided that I would do both styles of martial arts at the same time! This was hard at first but now I am able to differentiate between the two. I went to the first class and met Keoni Everington. Ever since then my life has never been the same. I got involved in campus activities, became a student leader, and developed confidence.
Since meeting Keoni Everington and being involved in CMA, I have studied Chinese Martial Arts for 4 and ¾ years. I have been to China to train with Master Sui Yunjiang, a renowned kung fu master. I have participated in various tournaments and won gold, silver, and bronze in sparring and forms events. I now instruct the Club in place of Keoni as a senior martial arts brother or Shixiong in Chinese. Martial art is a way of life to me. It affects every part of my life. I have learned to maximize my strengths and minimize my weaknesses and give my all in whatever I do. Plus learning how to knock people out is fun too! Just kidding!”

Teresa Hoang Keoni Everington, my instructor and Kung Fu master, introduced me to "real" Kung Fu in Spring of 2002. Prior to that, I only knew Kung Fu through old Chinese movies. I always liked to watch Kung Fu movies, especially old movies. I watched many good movies, some of which were series consisting of 30 or 40 hours long each.
	Back in my high school days, I used to stay awake some nights until 1 or 2 o'clock in the morning. Many times I fell in love with the movie stars! It was not so much because of their attractiveness but it was because they fought so well. I admired them so much and wished only if I could do the same. I never even dared to dream that I would practice Kung Fu one day. In the beginning when I joined the club, everything was very difficult for me. I had a hard time with the stretching alone. Learning the first form was even worse. First of all, it took me forever to master a moves, and on top of that, I could not remember the order of the steps in the form. It took a long time, but I finally mastered a short Tai Chi form. After that, I was offered a choice to choose among Tai Chi, Baguazhang, or Shaolin styles. I really wanted to learn the Shaolin , however, the moves in Shaolin are too "acrobatic" for me, and Tai Chi was better. But I wanted to do a little "more" than Tai Chi, so I decided to take Baguazhang. It took me the whole summer to master the "mud-sliding" footstep, one of the Baguazhang basics which all Baguazhang practitioners must master, and the first form called Ding Shi Bazhang (the basic 8 palms). The more I practiced Bagua, the more I liked this style. Since then I have learned 3 other Bagua forms, each has something unique which I really enjoy.
Today, I like to teach new students the basics and the forms in Bagua which I have learned. I believe by teaching others, I will maintain my Kung Fu skills and I will also have chances to look into the moves and steps in detail. Practicing Bagua keeps me in shape, mind and body.

Stephan Amvame I was first introduced to martial arts on tv, watching Bruce Lee in "The Big Boss". The way he was beating everybody up made me want to be just like him. I was 6 or 7 years old. Unfortunately, in Gabon (my country in Africa) at the time, kung-fu schools weren't very common, so my mum signed me up at the taekwendo school my older brother attended. I stayed there for only 2 weeks after a match that didn't go my way. That was the last time I would enter a martial arts school in Gabon. Eight years later, while studying at a boarding school in a small village in France, my passion for martial arts came back strong. I must admit that I never really lost interest in the art, as I watched every Bruce Lee movie. I also followed Jackie Chan, Steven Seagal, and Jean-Claude Van Damme on screen. I guess at 15, I felt a new motivation to learn martial arts, and that was to defend myself and build up my self-confidence. Fifteen was the age when older students were bullying me, and I often felt defenseless. It seemed back then that only people who claimed knowing some martial arts were either respected or feared. That was my motivation. I then entered another Taekwondo school, the only martial arts school in the whole village. Of course, I wanted to learn Kung-Fu but hey, at this point, that was better than nothing. Unfortunately, a leg injury from basketball interrupted my training, and by the time I was completely healed, it was time for me to graduate and move to another city. My stay there lasted only a month.
	That leads us to Rock Hill and I am 21, where I ran into Pak's Taekwondo school just by driving by on Cherry Road. I studied with Master Pak for 2 years, ended with a high blue belt. But my Taekwondo experience had to stop for financial reasons. I admit that I built a liking in this art, gaining speed, strength, and agility. But little did I know that my martial art adventure will bring me to Winthrop. Right under my eyes, was a Kung-Fu club I had no clue existed until I was the point of "where do I go after Pak's?". So, the year is 2002, and I just heard about a "fight" club going on in Peabody Gymnasium. Matter of fact, they would meet like twice a week and spar with sparring gear. Anybody could fight anybody until they're tired of fighting. I actually met Delmar and John there.
So here I am, observing these guys fighting, and feeling confident about my Taekwondo's abilities. But when it's time for me to fight, I had to face Delmar. That fight was the turning point for me, as I realized the uneffectiveness of my techniques in a real fight situation. My Taekwondo kicks just couldn't keep up with Delmar's boxing. I was defeated and found myself confused. That's how I found out about the Chinese Martial Arts Club and Keoni. If Delmar was a CMA student, then he might learn something that I need to know too to get better. I then became a kung-fu student at that point and never stopped. I also learned some Kung-Fu from another school right across from my house. I was fortunate to learn more wushu (or modern Kung-Fu) from Christian, this school's Sifu, and more traditional Kung-Fu from Keoni. I trained with Christian for almost 8 months in 2005. Now, I learn martial arts on my own and train almost everyday for about 2 to 3 hours a day. Sometimes, I still teach at CMA, sharing my experiences and knowledge with my fellow students of the art.

Adam Nelson I was about 19 or 20. I already had some martial arts experience under my belt (no pun intended). But since I started college it was hard for me to find the time, let alone the money to get back into martial arts practice again.
	I was sitting in my apartment one day, doing nothing but watching TV as usual. A biography of Brue Lee came on that I had watched before, but hadn't paid much attention to...until now. This is gonna sound weird and cliché, but it spoke to me. It told me that I needed to find a way to get myself back into the passion that I had almost lost. And after watching the program, I headed the project to start York Tech's very first martial arts club. After a few weeks I realized I wanted more. I genuinely prayed that I would find something to satisfy my appetite for martial arts. That same week, I found this club at Winthrop. I saw that they were practicing arts I had never seen before. And I've been there ever since. It's been 2 1/2 years since I joined the club, and I'm now one of the senior students/instructors of the club, showing others the joy I now know. I've gained a family of new friends that I could never do without, I've lost 20 pounds, I'm finally doing what I want to do. I couldn't be happier.

Jim Scott
	Let's see...I studied Tae Kwon Do in high school for two years. Then studied four years of Mi Tsung Lo Han (Lost Track) Kung Fu, as well as Tai Chi. I earned a Black Sash in Mi Tsung Lo Han. I took up Ba Gua with Keoni Everington at the Winthrop Chinese Martial Arts club three years ago. The martial arts offer the rare opportunity to improve one's health, learn a method of self-defense, and help others all at once. The occasional movie night is lots of fun, too.