EP38 The Peace Games and 50 Years of Kung Fu With Sifu Marilyn Cooper

Show Notes:

In this podcast, we’re speaking with Grandmaster Marilyn Cooper, who created The Peace Games and has been training in and teaching Kung Fu for over 50 years. 

She studied under Grand Master Kuo Lien Ying and Grand Master Peter Kwok. Kuo taught Cooper traditional Kung Fu and how to train consistently. Peter Kwok taught her a series of traditional forms and systems that progressed from beginning to intermediate and on to advanced moves. While Kuo stressed the health and performance aspects, Peter stressed making the forms function equally for fighting, for health and for performance.

She currently teaches Standing Meditation Yi Ch’uan & Syin Tien Wuji Qigong, as well as practices Wudang Qigong from David Wei. Additionally, she has studied spontaneous style push hands under Zhao Guohong.

Starting out in the mid-1960s as an art student, Marilyn emerged years later, a Kung Fu artist.She has been the subject of numerous feature newspaper articles and television interviews.  Her articles on kung fu have been published in Inside Kung Fu, Taijiquan Journal, Kung Fu/T’ai Chi magazines and e-zine and other news media. 

She has performed at universities, masters’ demonstrations, and fundraisers. She opened her first Kung Fu school in 1980 in New York City, and has been teaching Kung Fu ever since. She founded a national non-profit institute called Pushing for Peace, whose mission is to promote a T’ai Chi program designed to help prevent youth violence and promote mental and physical health. The Peace Games are now taught all over the world.

4:33 Marilyn’s life story of becoming an artist and how tragically being gang raped at age 16 led her to pursue martial arts.

10:00 What The Peace Games are and why she started them.

15:00 The philosophical reasons behind The Peace Games and an example of how they work.

20:00 Her training journey and what each of her instructors taught her.

25:00 The connection between art and kung fu.

30:00 What she is currently doing and passionate about.

35:00 How Chinese herbs have played a role in her life.

39:00 Her experience with Dit Da Jow.

42:00 Marilyn talks about the book she wrote.

44:00 Fascinating story of Peter Kwok.

49:00 Her personal health practices and advice for longevity.

Connect with Marilyn Cooper:

YouTube |  Facebook | Pushing for Peace Website

Connect with Plum Dragon Herbs:

YouTube |  Facebook | Instagram | Twitter  | LinkedIn 

Try Plum Dragon Dit Da Jow:

• Dit Da Jow Collection

Thank You For Listening!

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Video Credit (Marilyn Cooper's Demo Reel): Tylor Bohlman with [e-mail]

Podcast Music Credit: Motherlode Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/