Hong-Chao Zhang was born on December 20, 1954, in Lankao County, Henan Province, the People's Republic of China. He began learning Wushu (Chinese Martial Arts) from Grandmaster Niansheng Wu in his hometown when he was a young boy. From 1971 to 1974, he learned Traditional Chinese Medicine, Acupuncture and Massage at Gaozhuang Hospital in Yangchen County.

In 1978, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Wushu from the Wuhan Institute of Physical Education in Wuhan, Hubei Province, and also served as one of the five founders of the Qigong Research Association there. Also in 1978, he received a Graduation Certificate from the Advanced Training Program of College Level Teachers of Wushu at the Beijing University of Physical Education. While there, he studied with Grandmaster Wen-Guang Zhang, one of the martial artists who introduced the world to Wushu at the 11th Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936.

In 1987, Mr. Zhang received a Graduate Certificate in Sports Injury Treatment, Chinese Medicine, Massage and Acupuncture from the Attached Hospital, Wuhan Institute of Physical Education. In 1988, he received a Masters of Arts Degree in Wushu from the Shanghai Institute of Physical Education; a diploma from the Swiss Kung Fu Wushu Taijiquan Federation as a Wushu Instructor; and a Graduation Certificate from the National Taijiquan Training Program of the National Wushu Association and Research Institute of Wushu at Beijing.

Hong-Chao Zhang also has extensive teaching experience. He was an Assistant Professor of Wushu from 1978-89 at the Wuhan Institute of Physical Education, while teaching Self-Defense and Acupuncture Points to the Hubei Province Police Department. From 1989-90 he taught Wushu as a Visiting Professor at Ball State University in Indiana. From 1990 to the present, he has been teaching Wushu at Truman College in Chicago. In 1993, he taught Self-Defense to the Lake County Illinois Chiefs of Police Organization. In 1997, he began teaching Wushu at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Since 1978, Mr. Zhang has published many articles on Wushu, Qigong and Chinese Medicine in the People's Republic of China, as well as the book, Handbook of Boxing (Northeast Engineering University Publishing, PRC, 1989). He presently resides in Chicago, Illinois.

OFFICES

• Advisor to the USA Wushu Kung Fu Federation
• Judge and Coordinator for over 20 National and Regional Wushu Competitions in People's Republic of China

AWARDS

• Excellent National Judge of Wushu Award
• Excellent National Teacher of Education Award
• Multiple Gold Medalist in US National Wushu and Taiji Competitions