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Franco Testini, known professionally as the Venerable Shi Yan Fan, is a 34th-generation ordained Shaolin Warrior Monk and cultural ambassador of the Song Shan Shaolin Temple in China. He is a disciple of Shi Yongxin, 30th Abbot of the Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng City,
Shaolin Temple Los Angeles, Sherman Oaks, CA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fan, Shi Yan Living people Chinese Shaolinquan practitioners Chinese male martial artists Chinese Buddhist monks Year of birth missing (living people)
Franco Testini, known professionally as the Venerable Shi Yan Fan, is a 34th-generation ordained Shaolin Warrior Monk and cultural ambassador of the Song Shan Shaolin Temple in China. He is a disciple of Shi Yongxin, 30th Abbot of the Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng City, Henan Province
Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Luo ...
, and is the head abbot of the Los Angeles Shaolin Temple in Sherman Oaks, California
Sherman Oaks (founded in 1927) is a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles, California within the San Fernando Valley region. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density ...
, United States.
Biography
Born inBrindisi
Brindisi ( ; ) is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Historically, the city has played an essential role in trade and culture due to its strategic position ...
, Italy, Testini began studying martial arts aged seven. Coming from a poor family of 10, he challenged other children in the neighborhood to martial arts contests to win money to support his family. Aged nine, he was then introduced to a master named Kim Wong Feng, who accepted Testini as his student.
By the age of 19, Testini had won several national fighting and forms competitions in Italy, and also won first place against 700 competitors for strongest arms at the Golden Dragon competition in Amsterdam. At the age of 21, he entered the Chi Ri temple in South Korea to take vows of becoming a monk.
In 1994, Testini moved to the United States to promote Shaolin and Buddhism. Upon his arrival in the United States, he was homeless and unable to speak English, and exchanged martial arts instruction for food, while gradually gathering students.
In 2004, Testini was inducted into the Shaolin Temple at Song Shan Mountain in Henan Province
Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Luo ...
, China. He became a disciple of the Abbot Shi Yongxin, adopted the name Shi Yan Fan ("Powerful Sky"), and was given permission to open a Shaolin Temple in Los Angeles, which opened in 2008 in a former furniture store in Sherman Oaks.
In 2007, an ordination ceremony was held at the Shaolin Temple. Shi Yan Fan was the first of a total of 43 Shaolin monks to receive the '' jieba'' markings in that ceremony, becoming the first Westerner to be ordained as a Shaolin monk.
In 2012, Shi Yan Fan founded a nonprofit organization, the Yanfan Foundation, providing health and wellness training.
References
External links
Shaolin Temple Los Angeles, Sherman Oaks, CA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fan, Shi Yan Living people Chinese Shaolinquan practitioners Chinese male martial artists Chinese Buddhist monks Year of birth missing (living people)