Daomonk
Michu – Tang Weizhen
The early years
Michu Schwindl, born in 1982 under the sign of the Water Dog, showed an interest in Chinese martial arts as a child. Inspired by films by Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Sammo Hung as well as the anime series Dragonball, he began to engage with energy work and meditation at an early age. As a young boy, he sneaked into a judo school and took part for a while until it was noticed that he was not an official student.
In his settlement, there were three areas in which groups of children formed who regularly fought each other. They laid out pine cone beds everywhere and collected branches to be prepared for any fight. Michu was part of the middle group. As the smallest in his school class, he often had to assert himself there too, as people like to go after the little ones. However, some quickly realized that this was not the wisest decision. This crazy time taught him important lessons about friendship, trust and vigilance.
At around 12 years of age, Michu had a profound experience. For a banal reason - he was not allowed to do something that his older brother was allowed to do - he retreated to a cliff alone and asked himself: "What is the point of all this?" This thought led him to a kind of meditative questioning: "Does everything only exist because I exist?" Eventually everything dissolved and he fell into absolute contemplation. From this event he took a meditation technique and a clearer view of life. This spurred him to go even deeper. His path led him further to Buddhism and finally to the Dao De Jing (Tao Te King) and thus also to Daoism.
At the age of 15, Michu was able to help out in a garden center to finance his journey into the world of traditional North and South Shaolin Wushu, which he finally began in 1998. After compulsory school, he began an apprenticeship as a baker and confectioner and lived alone in a small attic for the first time. However, after a year and a half he had to abandon his apprenticeship due to an allergic reaction. He then worked as an all-rounder in the Migros supermarket, earned good money and began to save money.
When the original Shaolin Wushu school moved and he began training as a plumber, Michu continued his martial arts training with Thai kickboxing, which he could attend for free as an apprentice. But something was still missing.
A meeting with his old colleague Lukas, who practiced Wing Chun, led him to the SKEMA school. He also learned energetic vision and energy work with Lukas. At SKEMA, Michu began Wing Chun and Qi Gong in 2001, expanded his training after a year to include Yang Taijiquan and a year later to include Eskrima (Kali). In his free time he also deepened his knowledge with Drunken Boxing, Southern Shaolin and Baguazhang. Michu was even able to act as a trainer at SKEMA and help with teaching.
After completing his plumbing training, he worked as a temporary worker, mostly as a plumber, but also in other areas such as ventilation and facade construction. He also learned an important life lesson: He worked under one of the worst foremen, who treated him like scum. But martial arts helped him stay calm. Even when the foreman scolded him for not putting the tools away, only to ask him straight away why he was so stupid and had put them away, Michu remained calm. He realized that this person had obviously had a difficult life, and Michu practiced patience and compassion. This experience taught him that there is often a reason behind malice and that compassion can perhaps help.
During this time, Michu also completed basic military training as a Panzerfaust fusilier, but soon switched to being a troop cook because he rejected the glorification of violence and primitiveness of the war fanatics. His experiences in the military - someone died, another lost a leg, many collapsed - showed him what it means to stand up for yourself and others. Even though this meant being threatened with imprisonment, no one could stop him from standing up, speaking out, speaking for those who didn't dare or couldn't, and calling the injustices by their name.
The beginning of the journey
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In 2005, Michu traveled to China for the first time to learn Shaolin Gong Fu from Master Due. He planned to stay for three years, but the time was not yet right. A wrong school, the environment and an expiring visa forced him to return. Nevertheless, he learned that even if you can hardly walk after hard training, it is possible to walk again after a kilometer and later even jog. He was laughed at because he only stayed for a month and not the planned three years. But he did not let that deter him, because he knew that his time would come. He said: "Always follow your own path and stand by what you do, no matter what people think, because you have to be sure of what you want to do." After his return, Michu learned that a work colleague had died in a serious motorcycle accident. A former trade school colleague suffered a cardiac arrest and two other acquaintances also died. These many tragic deaths in one year made him realize that death is omnipresent.
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Back in Switzerland, Michu continued to work as a plumber, where he met Raffi. They philosophized about martial arts and life. That week, Michu discovered the Chinese Sports School in Bern and went to a trial training session. By chance, Raffi was there too - a lucky coincidence, because he became a good friend and companion. Master Jing, who ran the school, was a great teacher who impressed with his skills and his zest for life. The school brought people from different walks of life together, and under Master Jing's leadership, many valuable friendships were formed that accompanied Michu on his path.
In 2006, Michu founded the Shuiquan Xuexiao (Water School) and began teaching officially. From then on, he went on annual training trips, as he worked as a freelancer in construction and was able to take several months of unpaid time off. One of these trips took him to Greece in 2006 to Christos Stamatiadis, where he trained San Huan Pao Chui and Shaolin Wushu.
In 2007, Michu moved into a trailer in Thörishaus to save money. During the summer move, while using his father's car, he had a serious accident on the highway. This event showed him how quickly everything can change in a single millisecond.
At the end of the year, he traveled to Hong Kong to train with Mark Houghton, the master student of Lau Kar Leung, one of the most famous makers of Eastern films of his time. Unfortunately, Michu missed Lau Kar Leung by a week - it was his only chance to meet him in person. "Rest in peace," Michu added later. Training with Mark Houghton felt like in the film "The 36 Chambers of Shaolin". Michu learned Hung Gar (Hungquan) and completed intensive toughening training. Mark Houghton was an extremely strict teacher who liked to hit people with a wooden stick until it broke. But everything was within reason, as Michu emphasized, because he was able to train every day and suffered no serious injuries.
In 2008, Michu experienced another turning point when he had a serious scooter accident that resulted in a triple open fracture of his forearm - almost in the same place as before with his father's car, but this time on the main road. After a rest break, he decided to walk the Way of St. James and covered 888 kilometers in 21 days. In the same year, he spontaneously traveled to Wudang with two friends for five weeks. There he learned Wudang Gong Fu, mainly from Master Chen Shixing, with a focus on Baguazhang and Pushing Hands. During his stay, he met a student of Master Tang Li Long for the first time.
In 2009, Michu had had enough of the annual military service in embassy security and switched to community service. He worked in youth hostels in Lucerne and Baden. On almost the last day of his community service, he slipped, causing his forearm to refracture, which required two more operations.
2010 was an intensive year of travel for Michu. He first traveled to Thailand, across the Mekong to Laos and finally to India, where he practiced yoga in an ashram and learned Ayurvedic massage. In India, he experienced the contradictions of culture: while something was considered sacred, the next moment he saw how people treated it disrespectfully. For example, old women were pushed away to make a gift to the gods. Michu found the country's openness and diversity fascinating, but the caste system and the often brutal treatment made him think. But that was only the north of India - he was told that the south was more sociable.
In 2012, for his 30th birthday, Michu decided to give himself something conscious every year. For that year, he decided not to drink any more alcohol - with only three exceptions that have remained to this day.
During this time, he visited An Jian Qiu on a training trip and in the following year deepened his knowledge of Xingyiquan and Bajiquan.
Due to persistent pain caused by his job as a plumber, Michu decided to retrain as a salesperson with a focus on consulting and management. At the same time, he completed training as a fitness instructor from 2014 to 2015. At the same time, he began working as a Taijiquan teacher at the Migros Club School.
The path to becoming a master
The time had come to make the second attempt to go to China for three years and truly follow the path. In 2015, Michu's adventure began in Wudangshan with Master Tang Li Long. At the same time, he embarked on the monk's path, which marked the ideal start in this direction.
Due to his devoted efforts and his promise to commit himself for at least three years, Master Tang Li Long tested him several times. In November of the same year, he recognized Michu as a disciple and lineage holder. Michu was given the name Tang Weizhen and thus became the lineage holder of the 16th generation of Wudang Xuanwupai.
Michu stayed with Master Tang until 2020. After over 8,000 hours of practice and four years of intensive training, he had a solid knowledge of Wudang Xuanwupai Gong Fu and a deep connection to the tradition. He said: "These years were like basic training - now it's just beginning."
Michu officially opened his school under the name Daomonk Gong Fu because this name was more memorable than Shuiquan Xuexiao. In 2021 he published his first book, followed by a work he is particularly proud of: the Hua Hu Jing of Laozi in 2023. The publication of this book, his continued intensive training, the integration of students as coaches and the recognition by many as a master paved the way to accept the title of master. Michu sees this as a commitment to continue walking the path with dedication and humility.
