Erle Montaigue
(
Founder of the WTBA, Master Degree, China
1949-2011)
Erle Montaigue has been regarded internationally as
one of the leading instructors of the internal arts of Taijiquan,
Baguazhang, and qigong. Erle began his martial arts instruction at
the age of 11, training in karate and judo at the local police Boys'
Clubs in his native Australia. His forte in these early years,
however, was wrestling, which later led to a stint as a professional
wrestler!
He has been practicing the internal arts since 1968 and can trace
his lineage directly back to Yang Lu-ch'an, the founder of the Yang
style.
His teachers include Master Wong Eog (1968),
Master Chu King Hung (1973) London, Grand-master Chang Yiu-Chun one
of only two disciples of Yang Shou-hou. Erle became the first
student of Master Chu in London in 1973. Chu was one of three
disciples of Yang Sau-chung, (1909-1985) the eldest son of the
great master Yang Cheng-Fu. And
Ho Ho-choy, Bagua Master.
Erle was formally
introduced to Yang Sau-chung in 1981 when he visited him at his home
in Hong-Kong to have his form corrected.
In 1985, Erle and eight of his students became the first Westerners
to be asked to perform at the all China National Wushu Tournament
in Yinchuan China. There, Erle was tested by four of the world's
greatest Chinese masters and was awarded the degree of "MASTER",
the only Westerner to be given this honor. Erle now regards Chang
Yiu-Chun as his main teacher from whom he learnt the "Old Yang
Style" & The Dim-Mak. Erle's books, videos and articles have helped
to change the way that people look at the internal martial arts. His
videos are viewed all around the world and his books are sold in
China. He is the Chairman of the WORLD TAIJI BOXING ASSOCIATION,
Chairman of the WORLD THERAPEUTIC MOVEMENT ASSOCIATION, Vice
Chairman of the FEDERATION OF AUSTRALASIAN WUSHU AND KUNG-FU
ORGANIZATIONS, Editor of COMBAT AND HEALING MAGAZINE and has his own
column in "Australasian Fighting Arts Magazine." He is also the
Australasian Correspondent for Fighting Arts International, the
prestigious British International Martial Arts Magazine and writes
his own column for this magazine.
In 1995 May, Erle Montaigue became the first westerner to go to
China to learn from the Original Wudang Shan group, namely one Liang
Shiah-kan, the keeper of the original Dim-Mak Qi Disruptive Forms.
He has taught
in Sydney, London, and Hong Kong (in fact, he is one of a select few
Westerners who have taught Taiji back to the Chinese in Hong Kong)
An
eclectic and colorful character who has never allowed himself to be
pigeonholed into any one art, pursuit, or career, Erle is also an
avid musician. He has always "marched to the beat of a different
drummer," and his somewhat rebellious nature can be traced back at
least as far as 1966, when he was expelled from school for painting
the building yellow, among other "small" things.
In 1967 he took a telephone maintenance course, where he happened to
meet his first teacher of Taijiquan, Mr. Wong Eog. By the late
sixties, Erle was married with two children. He was performing in
stage plays and in a band, and he already had a No. 1 hit record,
"Can't Wait for September," to his name. When he was "expelled" from
the telephone job for dyeing his hair green and singing on the job,
he took up music as a profession and became a rock-'n'-roll star,
producing several hit records and albums by the early seventies.
Erle was the founder of the World Taiji Boxing Association (WTBA), which has schools in more than 30
countries. All of these schools have learnt Taiji in some way from
Erle Montaigue.
He has now handed it down to his son Eli to take over his place as
Head of the WTBA
Erle continued to teach his children the internal arts at home on a
daily basis, till his passing in January 2011.