A Brief History

Grand Master Min Q Pai was born in Korea in the 1930s and moved to the United States as a young man in the 1950s. He studied mathematics in college and worked on a dairy farm.

He began teaching martial arts in New York City in the early 1960s. Master Pai received his Black Belt at 14 years of age. He called his school Yun Mu Kwan Karate, which he often translated as “constantly honing yourself.” Yun Mu Kwan is a particular style of Tai Kwan Do. The word Karate was the only word anyone in America used at the time to denote martial arts. He began teaching in the Stamford, CT area twice weekly. He combined the NY and CT schools during the intense training and formal grading periods called Seminars which were held three times a year.

The 1970s were a transformative decade for Master Pai, as he met both Eido Roshi and Chang Man Ching. Studying with absolute intensity both Zen Meditation and Tai Chi Chuan, Master Pai changed the Karate school. Students now were expected to sit, do Zazen, and all Black Belts were immediately taught Tai Chi. Additionally, there were now students who studied Tai Chi only without ever learning Karate. The moves being taught in Karate class, always evolving as Master Pai learned or perceived a better way, now changed dramatically as Kung Fu forms and exercises replaced many of the Karate and Tai Kwan Do ways of moving.

In December of 1987 Master Pai introduced an entirely new form he had created, Nabi Su, and eventually changed the name of the style and of the school to Nabi Su. Nabi means Butterfly in Korean.

In 1979 Master Pai purchased property in Pound Ridge, NY which was to become Wellspring Zendo. This land afforded an opportunity for the students to build their spirit/bodies in a new way through work/practice, moving through the beautiful country setting practicing posture and no-thought while lifting, carrying, chopping, planting, breathing. Even before the Monastery was built, sitting practice took place in the open air, formal traditions enacted in a pioneer setting.

Gradually Master Pai spent more time at Wellspring and less in New York City. In 1992 he offered the New York School to the Black Belts. Only two accepted, James Stewart and Carolyn Campora. Stewart would find that his home, family and work nearer Wellspring demanded his full attention. Carolyn Campora became the head of Nabi Su, continuing the tradition of Master Pai’s teaching of the martial arts in New York City.

Master Pai has left an indelible mark on the world, profoundly affecting the lives of many directly, as well as indirectly through all those whose lives his students touch. We are grateful, Sir, every day, for your teaching.

Gassho

To view more pictures of Grand Master Min Q Pai, click here.