About us
Instructors
Christoph Ponikwar
Christoph Ponikwar has been following the martial arts school of Sifu Paolo Cangelosi with Alfred Koenen since 2004. He as been a trainer for 17 years with Alfred Koenen (Wing Chun, Hung Gar, Tai Chi Quan, Selfdefense). In 2008 he got his ESDO-Trainer Diploma. In the 75kg weight class he has won the 3. Mixed Martial Arts Tournament by ACDO Sifu Paolo Cangelosi in 2009. Roughly 1 year later he got the first Dan in ESDO. Since 2025 he is an instructor for Tai Chi Chuan with Sifu Paolo Cangelosi.
Lineage and Grand Master
Grand Master Sifu Paolo Cangelosi
Short summary
Sifu Paolo Cangelosi devoted his life to traditional martial arts. Beginning as a child under the guidance of Fu Han Tong, he trained extensively in Kung Fu and several other disciplines, traveled throughout China, Hong Kong, and Thailand, and learned from many respected masters. He later founded his own school and became an internationally recognized teacher who continues to preserve and teach traditional martial arts around the world.
Translated summarized biography
Sifu Paolo Cangelosi was born in Genoa, Italy, in October 1960. He began practicing Ju Jitsu at age eight and, two years later, became a student of Fu Han Tong, a Chinese Kung Fu master who had settled in Genoa. Under his demanding guidance, Cangelosi trained intensively and eventually studied more than eight hours a day.
Alongside Kung Fu, he earned black belts in Karate and Judo and trained in Western boxing and Kendo. At sixteen, he left school to dedicate himself entirely to martial arts. He initially taught gymnastics, self-defense, and Karate, while keeping his Kung Fu practice private out of respect for his teacher.
In 1977, Fu Han Tong officially authorized him to teach Kung Fu and awarded him the title of Sifu before returning to China. Cangelosi then opened his first martial arts school in Italy and became one of the early pioneers of Kung Fu there.
At age twenty, he traveled to mainland China and Hong Kong to deepen his training and reconnect with Fu Han Tong. He later studied with several influential masters, especially Chan Hon Chun, an important teacher of Hung Gar Kung Fu and traditional Chinese orthopedic techniques. Cangelosi also trained in various Kung Fu styles, including Choy Lee Fut, Wing Chun, Tang Lang, Tai Chi, Pa Kua, and Chow Gar.
In 1983, he began studying Muay Thai in Thailand, training with notable teachers and fighters in Bangkok. He continued returning to Thailand throughout his travels and was given the Thai name “Sanpayak,” meaning “the man who fights in every style.”
The biography also describes his participation in challenging, non-sporting fights during his youth, which he undertook to defend his school’s reputation and earn recognition within traditional martial arts circles.
Today, Sifu Paolo Cangelosi teaches internationally, conducts seminars across four continents, and performs at martial arts events. With the support of his instructors, he runs a school in Genoa and affiliated schools throughout Italy and Europe. His biography, The Man and the Master, co-written with Nathalie Tocci, was published in 2021.