Josh Wesley
Country 🇦🇹
Josh Wesley Amani Bakenga was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the heart of Africa. In 2016, when Josh was just twelve years old, his village was attacked by lawless, rebel groups who murdered, kidnapped, and raped Josh's neighbors. Josh fled on foot with his mother, father and brother.
Only Josh and his mother survived the approximately thousand mile trek across the border into Uganda, and all the way to Kampala. Once inside the Nakivale Settlement, the oldest, largest refugee camp in Africa, she could no longer walk.
At first they subsisted on just one meal a day, but eventually were able to get more nourishment, and a basic education for Josh. He learned English and began teaching at a local primary school. Seeking to improve the conditions at Nakivale, Josh went to Kenya and studied Agro-ecology and Permaculture.
When he returned to Nakivale, he taught others sustainable agriculture and helped them create model vegetable gardens. He then studied Entrepreneurship and Conflict Resolution, and started his own community based organization, called HRO, or Hope for Refugees. Josh realized firsthand that emotional scarring from trauma is the biggest problem once refugees are safely ensconced at Nakivale.
In 2024, Josh found Sifu Marilyn and the Peace Games online. He understood their intent and took his lessons very seriously, training everyday, taking his corrections to heart and improving his forms. He felt empowered and energized in mind, body and spirit, and ready to teach others, with Marilyn's approval. The word spread and kids brought more kids.
"The Peace Games, combined with Kung Fu training, have proven `to be a powerful healing tool for mental and emotional recovery, far beyond our expectations. Our community has experienced profound, positive change. Individuals who once struggled with pain, trauma and hopelessness are now able to smile again, rediscover joy and reconnect with their inner selves. The practices have not only brought immediate healing to many, it has given us hope for a sustainable recovery." Josh Wesley.
Ian Godfrey
Country 🇬🇧
A practitioner of martial arts for over fifty years, Ian receiving his First Dan Black Belt in Shotokan Karate from Sensei Hirokazu Kanazawa in 1983. Kanazawa, who believed that everyone who studied Karate should also learn and practice T’ai Chi Ch’uan. Ian taught Yang style T’ai Chi in Hertfordshire through the 90’s and in North Devon since 2000 where he later met Andrew Coles, Founder/Teacher at Earth and Ocean Martial Arts who introduced him to Cheng Bagua Zhang. Ian now supports one of EOMA’s Kick-boxing and Mixed Martial Arts clubs for Juniors and Seniors as a Black Belt Examiner. Ian has taught weekly T’ai Chi and Chi Kung classes for health and wellbeing to seniors (some into their 90’s) in North Devon, as a volunteer through a local Aging Well project. He has run classes within a local hospital for physiotherapy staff. In 2018 Ian learned the Peace Games in Paris and assisted Marilyn in teaching them to 150 primary aged school children. “The Peace Games are the perfect way to combine our care for each other with teaching the power of cooperation, not competition, as the way to creating a more peaceful world for all our children.”
Rosie Godfrey
Country 🇬🇧
Special Needs teacher; writer/author, poet and songwriter; Reiki Master Teacher, Laughter Yoga Teacher, Certified Hypnotherapist with Diploma in NLP; student of T’ai Chi Ch’uan and Chi Kung; speaker/workshop facilitator, life-long peace campaigner. Rosie lives on a smallholding in North Devon, UK with her partner Ian and a family of two and four-legged friends. Her mission in life, is to co-create a world fit for children. “I was honored to receive my Peace Games training direct from Grand Master Marilyn Cooper, in Paris, 2018 – sharing them with around 150 children! Peace in the world is the responsibility of everyone. It begins with ourselves right here, right now! As Arundhati Roy reminds us… ‘Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing…’ https://pitterpatterpublishing.co.uk/author/rosie/
Nona Ikeda
Country 🇺🇸
Born to Japanese-immigrant parents, and the granddaughter of a Buddhist monk, Nona grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area as a meditator, dancer, and yoga practitioner. From a young age, she was acutely aware and sensitive to cultural and individual divides and gaps in understanding and continues to develop her understanding of our human similarities and differences – our seemingly conflicting desires to be both uniquely special individuals, as well as be included, safe, and connected through our similarities, as a source of much of our human drama. She sees our inner knowing, centeredness, and mind-body-spirit connection as a path to peace. Nona met her partner Javi while studying Taijiquan and Qigong at YMAA Retreat Center, where they assisted Dr Yang. Nona loves the practice for self-healing, nurturing, creating self-discipline, and promoting personal growth. Nona sees Taijiquan as a modality for addressing conflict that, in contrast to punishment, dominance and violence, gives peaceful resolution a chance. Taijiquan is a way of addressing conflict, both within the individual’s mind and body, and externally between two individuals or groups of people, and is a worthwhile tool for humanity as we grapple with violence in our communities, locally and globally. Nona is currently teaching Kindergartners at Briceland Learning Center where she is able to mold young minds, bodies and spirits with all of these tools. She has taught the Peace Games in rural California to the sons and daughters of farm-workers, to school-kids in the Mission district in San Francisco and to middle school and kindergarteners at Briceland. https://youtu.be/eSqXxVIb8Xg?si=tYVH6fHmqeBiKC_x
Guillermo Ortiz
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Guillermo Ortiz has over forty years experience in the moving arts, to which he brings his healing work the importance of body awareness & creative expression. Guillermo is also a founding member of Xochipilli, a Latino men’s ritual group, which has taught classes, performed dances & conducted ceremonies throughout the Bay Area since its inception in 1992. Guillermo is an initiated curandero who completed his apprenticeship under the tutelage of Elena Avila, RN, MSW curandera and international practitioner of integrative medicine. He began his work as a psychiatric corpsman in the Navy then continued in the field as a mental health worker for ten years at UCLA Neuro-Psychiatric Institute and Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. During that time he cultivated a strong interest in martial arts and eventually was certified as a t’ai chi ch’uan instructor. Guillermo was essential to Pushing for Peace’s first trip to Mexico. https://wmguillermo.com/movement.html
Webb Phillips, PhD.
Country 🇺🇸
Webb learned Kung Fu at his mom's Little River Kung Fu School since the age of 4. By the time he left for Stanford, he'd learned advanced Shaolin forms, Xing Yi and Tai Chi Push Hands. During his undergrad years, he studied Wushu, Preying Mantis under Brendan Lai and competed on the Stanford Judo team. Webb specializes in computational approaches to psychological research and has a background in software engineering, psycholinguistics and cognitive developmental psychology. He graduated with honors with a B.A. in Symbolic Systems, worked as a research assistant in MIT's department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, earned 2 masters degrees and a Ph.D in Cognitive Developmental Psychology from Yale University, and served as a visiting research fellow at Princeton's department of Neuroscience and a post-doctoral fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, where he studied the effects of different languages on people's perception and memory. Webb currently lives with his wife and two sons in Erlecom, Netherlands. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Webb-Phillips-2
Danni Verona
Country 🇺🇸
Danni is a 4th degree black Belt in Shoryin Ru Karate. She is the director of the children's program at the Family Martial Arts program in Beaverton, Oregon. Danni incorporates her Guang Ping Yang Tai Chi knowledge from her instructors Henry Look and Marilyn Cooper into her Women's and Childen's Self-Defense program. Danni has over 30 years experience as a Pediatric Occupational Therapist who specializes in sensory and body regulation and she enjoys integrating the Peace Games into all aspects of work with children and adults. https://www.tigardmartialarts.com/
Mitch Hall
Country 🇺🇸
Dr. Mitch Hall has been a wellness counselor for traumatized youth and for adult patients with complex medical and psychological needs; a Peace Corps volunteer teacher in Togo, West Africa; a peace and environmental movement organizer in Europe with the Fellowship of Reconciliation; a professor, adviser to international students, academic program director, and academic dean in higher education; a French-English interpreter for African refugees; a writer, translator, and storyteller; and more. Mitch studied religion at Columbia University to discover what the spiritual traditions could contribute toward reducing violence and building peace on earth. His graduate studies were in sociology at the University of Chicago (M.A.) and psychology at Saybrook University. In 2013, the Indian Board of Alternative Medicines awarded Mitch a Ph.D. (h.c.) in Alternative Medicines in recognition of his lifetime achievements in this field, including his scholarly work, publications, yoga teaching, practice of holistic healing modalities, clinical counseling work, and teaching in higher education.
Mitch currently practices and teaches yoga, the Peace Games, Qigong and meditation. Mitch has been a speaker at “National Leaders in Nonviolence and the Child,” and in peace psychology symposia at annual meetings of the American Psychological Association, the 12th International Conference on Violence, Abuse, and Trauma, the San Francisco State University Season of Nonviolence Series. Mitch served with the Fellowship of Reconciliation and the Peace Corps in Europe and Africa. Mitch was academic director of a service learning program at a university, combining local community service projects with courses to prepare students for collaborative service projects in culturally diverse contexts. https://www.breathepeacefully.com/
Spring Heart
Country 🇺🇸
The head instructor for Spring Heart wishes to remain unnamed. He has been formally involved in the martial arts for over 30 years, beginning with wrestling. He has a 6th degree black belt in Kenpo and lived in Korea for a year studying Hopkido. He has studied Chinese martial arts in China and the U.S. His life is dedicated to the mission of Spring Heart, which is to teach self-defense and the Peace Games to children and youth at risk of exploitation; sexual abuse, enslavement and human trafficking. Spring Heart's after-school program for at-risk youth is based in Kathmandu, Nepal. www.springheart.org
Javier Rodriguez
Country 🇺🇸
Javi was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, in a no-nonsense, hard-working household. He pursued his passion for the martial arts from a young age which culminated in a 9 year discipleship under Dr. Yang Jing-Ming at the remote, 240 acre YMAA Retreat Center in Northern California. Javi met his partner Nona there, and they helped Dr. Yang run the daily operations, from teaching to trail-blazing to gardening.
Javi and Nona have brought the Peace Games to children in classrooms from San Francisco to California's farm belt. They have used them more than any other PGs Ambassador in the US. Javi encourages us all to put down our dukes, look past our differences, and resolve the conflicts within. http://www.youtube.com/watch?y=8QnqCIagSSI His radio show, "Talking Qi" explores today's issues with wisdom from the past. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iymOowaQzCg
Javi is working with Humboldt Co. on marketing the region as a wellness destination, and developing a venue called Innerbloom Wellness. www.innerbloomwellnessllc.com
John Bern Ford
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John studied law at the University of Cape Town before moving to Namibia, where he practiced from 1988 to 1995, focusing on representing survivors of human rights abuses. After Namibian independence in 1990, he shifted to labor and employment law. John moved to California in 1996 and trained as a mediator, and has since successfully mediated hundreds of workplace disputes, while giving them tools to deal with their conflicts themselves. John teaches at UC Berkeley School of Law, Hastings Law School and Golden Gate University. His book "Peace at Work" was published in 2014. John's study of NVP (Nonviolent Communication), the work of Marshall Rosenberg, led him to develop "The Empathy Set." www.empathyset.com. Marilyn and John have collaborated and integrated their respective programs to create the Peace Partnership Project. https://www.pushingforpeace.org/p4pmore/peace-partnership-project/ for adults.
Shannon Tetteh
Country 🇺🇸
Shannon Tetteh is certified by the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in Tui Na, Swedish massage, Deep Tissue, Thai Massage, Shiatsu, Trigger Point Therapy, Reflexology, and Cranial Sacral. David Wei has deemed Tetteh an Ordained Taoist Priest through Wudang West after 3 years of devoted training. He has also received training from Marilyn Cooper in 5 element Hsing I boxing along with the Peace Games. Tetteh currently resides in Chicago where he practices acupuncture. Tetteh is engaged in creating a local community based in wellness via the healing arts of Wudang QiGong. https://www.glowbirthandbody.com/chicago
Jonath Padilla
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Jonath has a BS degree from MIT in Brain and Cognitive Science. Jonath has taught martial arts since 1993 and done bodywork professionally since 1995. He's the founder of "BodyFlow" http://www.movingbodywork.org based in martial arts. Jonath taught bodywork at Spa Luna Massage School from 2004 to 2020, until its pandemic closure. Jonath co-created the Maui Qi Fest in 2014 on the Ke'anae Peninsula. He leads a weekly Push Hands group at the Wisdom Center in Haiku, Hawaii.
David Wei
Country 🇺🇸
David became the 2nd student authorized to teach the Peace Games. David (Wei Zi Rong, "Wayfarer of Vast Capacity") is a 16th generation lineage holder of Wudang Zhang San Feng Tai, a global instructor of Wudang wellness arts, and a healer who employs traditional acupressure massage and related modalities. David spent five years training at Wudang Monastery under Master Yuan Xiu Gang, where he became an ordained Daoist priest. David owns and operates www.wudangwest.org in the hills of Oakland, California, where he teaches and heals the many wounded warriors in the San Francisco Bay Area. He also serves a great cup of tea! https://atigerstale.com/tiger-talk-with-david-wei/
Zochi Young
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Zochi Young has black belts in both Aikido and Kenpo, and practices, studies and teaches Yang style Taijiquan. Zochi has studied, practiced and taught the martial arts for over thirty-five years throughout Asia and the United States. He uses his arts as a transformative practice for social change. Zochi has an ongoing focus on the welfare and well-being of young people who have been cast aside by our current social paradigm. As a Pushing for Peace Ambassador, he has brought the Peace Games to two countries in Africa and taught them in after-school programs to youth in Oakland, California via Destiny Arts.
Alonzo (his given name) Young became a professional dancer with the Clifford Fears Dance Company, and a martial artist in Kenpo and White Crane Styles. Zochi began Yang Taiji with T.Y. Pang in Honolulu, HI in 1978. Zochi has Black Belts and instructor certifications in Aikido, Tai Chi, Kenpo and White Lotus Kung Fu. He is a certified IMPACT Bay Area (personal self defense) instructor, leadership/management development trainer, as well as, a Non-Violent Communication (NVC) and Conscious Embodiment Leadership coach. Zochi lives in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he teaches his art as well as the Peace Games, specializing in self-defense for women. Zochi is working on the creation of a wellness center complex called Tenesu in both Ghana and Ethiopia. https://tenesu.com/our-team-1
Sosha Young
Country 🇺🇸
Sosha grew up playing the Peace Games. She learned them in the elementary school where Grandmaster Cooper (her mother) taught for three years. She also grew up going to Little River Kung Fu School, within the School of Visual and Performing Arts.
At Little River, Sosha learned the Kung Fu source material that gave rise to the Peace Games, as well as learning modern dance, music, drawing and painting. Sosha graduated from SF State with a degree in history.
In 2013, Sosha went to Maui, HI. and taught the Peace Games and painting to children in a week-long summer camp. In 2014, Sosha created the first Harvest Benefit to raise money for the Pushing for Peace project. She created the menu online, recruited and directed the kitchen staff. In 2016, Sosha created the digital illustrations and the text for the Peace Games training manual. Sosha created a Kung Fu-based strengthen & stretch vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPj1jqJYryM&t=7s
Sosha works in the San Francisco Bay Area as a professional copy-writer, creating concepts, writing, editing, and designing print and digital assets for clients, and as an event planner for Pushing for Peace. In 2022, Sosha created Pushing for Peace's most effective marketing tool: https://youtu.be/I46DTKd02C4?si=s-8TN0llV5F5gYwD
She writes and plays her own songs in her band known as YY Gray. https://youtu.be/w8pKypV2jcg?si=0qJI4-MTK-KPlx1X
Alex Bechtold
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Sheldon Callahan
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Sheldon’s study of the Shaolin martial arts began over 30 years ago, after doing gymnastics in High School. Sheldon was trained directly by Shaolin Monks and masters in both northern and southern styles of Kung Fu, Qi Gong, Tai Chi. Sheldon was Named Executive Director of the Shaolin Lohan Institute for his forward-looking vision, understanding of the art and culture, and many years of hard work and dedication. Sheldon now runs the Deep Root Spiritual Center https://www.thedeeproot.org/ a non-profit dedicated to promoting the internal arts of meditation, Qigong, and kung fu, and the umbrella organization for The Shaolin Lohan Institute and Shaolin Life. Sheldon has been a Peace Practitioner since 2013 and is Sifu Marilyn’s Kung Fu student.
Doris Nachtlberger
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Doris Nachtlberger was a juvenile criminal court judge in Vienna, Austria. She has been working on youth violence prevention for decades. She is a black belt in Laijustu, and has practiced and taught various styles of Qigong, Kung Fu and Tai Chi for over 30 years. Her passion for martial arts and first-hand experience of its healing effects initiated her research on the therapeutic effects of martial arts. Doris founded her personal method of “martial arts mentoring” to help victims of violence regain their strength and restore their dignity in a trauma-sensitive way. She works with war refugees and victims of torture from Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The focus of her work was already violence prevention with children and young people. After her (virtual) encounter with Marilyn Cooper and the Peace Games project in 2018, Doris was so inspired and impressed that she translated the Peace Games Manual into German, and invited Marilyn to Austria to lay the foundation for the spread of the Peace Games in German speaking countries.
After a week of in-person Peace Games and Tai Chi training with Sifu Marilyn, Doris facilitated a meticulously well-organized weekend workshop with other teachers, social workers, Tai Chi masters, sports trainers and therapists. Doris was personally authorized by Sifu Marilyn to teach the Peace Games to others. In addition to the use of the Peace Games within her individual work with victims of violence for therapeutic purposes, Doris has organized and facilitated Peace Games trainings for other key players on her own. https://kampfkunstmentoring.at/en/ueber-mich/
Sophie Nichanian, LAc.
France 🇺🇸
Sophie began studying Guang Ping Yang Tai Chi in 1990 in Paris under Eric Lelaquais. This led her to Fu-Tung Cheng, Eric's Sifu, and YC Chiang, Fu-Tung's Sifu, at the Wen Wu School in the East Bay of Northern California. There she also studied Wild Goose Qigong under Grandmaster Hui Liu.
Sophie met Marilyn at the Berkeley Buddhist Monastery in 2007 when she came to a GPYTC conference to translate for Eric, who spoke only French. Eric was a Push Hands tournament champion who proved the power of the Guang Ping Yang Tai Chi form. Sophie translated subtle Tai Chi Ch'uan concepts from French to English, while simultaneously performing them physically.
Sophie began leading her own classes in Paris in 2000. In 2013, Sophie went to Shanghai, China, to complete her study of acupuncture. Sophie has attended summer Push Hands Camps in the French countryside. She has facilitated numerous Peace Games seminars in Paris, at libraries, elementary schools and community centers, and near Geneva in Thonon le Bain.
Sophie treats patients at a clinic in Alfortville, a suburb of Paris. She teaches ongoing Tai Chi students at her local recreation center. Sophie is the current president of the Guang Ping Yang Tai Chi organization for France.
Marilyn Cooper
Marilyn has been training and teaching the art of traditional Chinese Kung Fu for over 50 years. She opened her first professional Kung Fu school in NYC in 1980. She is a tournament Grand-champion in Northern Shaolin and an international Gold medalist in Tai Chi Ch’uan. She has published numerous articles on the subject of Kung Fu in print media and e-zines, and lectured at colleges and universities. In 1999, triggered by the massacre at Columbine High School, Marilyn began teaching Tai Chi to children and youth to encourage empathy and help prevent bullying and violence. This program evolved into nine Peace Games, which are also based on Northern Shaolin, Qigong and Bagua. Since their inception, they have spread nationally and internationally.
