Northern Eagle Claw Kung Fu:
Northern Eagle Claw Kung Fu is a martial art originating from Northern Shaolin styles, renowned for its unique gripping techniques and focus on joint locks, takedowns, and pressure point strikes. It's known for its effective application of the "eagle claw" hand shape, used for grabbing, controlling, and striking. The style emphasizes both direct combat and subtle redirection of an attacker's energy.
Sifu Wolfram Birkenbeul-Hesse
Sifu Wolfram Birkenbeul-Hesse has studied Eagle Claw kung fu and Wu-style tai chi chuan for over 36 years. He began studying in March 1990 under Benson Lee in Sacramento, California and was Benson Lee’s senior student and primary instructor from 1998 through 2005 until opening his own school in Sacramento. He now teaches both Eagle Claw kung fu and Wu-style tai chi in Portland, Oregon. Sifu Birkenbeul-Hesse tested for his YJP Association Instructor’s Test and Certification in 2005 directly from Grandmaster Shum Leung and is the only West Coast student of Benson Lee’s to have tested and passed this certification.
Sifu Birkenbeul-Hesse has extensive experience in law enforcement where he became a Defensive Tactics instructor for his department as a Ranger with the California Dept. of Parks & Recreation. While serving as a State Park Ranger and as a Police Officer with the Sacramento Police Dept., Sifu Birkenbeul-Hesse used his Eagle Claw kung fu and his departments’ defensive tactics on a daily basis to assist in safely resolving dangerous situation on a daily basis.