My name is Panagiotis Pierrakos. Martial arts practicing was something that attracted me from a young age but I took my first steps in Shaolin Kung Fu in 1991 with ShiFu Grigoris Grigoriou.
A year later, alongside my studies in America (De Kalb, Illinois), I started training with ShiFu Arthur Berry, a student of Chin HoYin, a self-exiled Shaolin monk. With ShiFu Berry I studied Northern Shaolin, Chin na and Green Dragon Tai Praying Mantis for the next 4.5 years under which I also got my black belt (I am a member of the American Kung-Fu Association since 1996).
During this time, I often visited Greece where I was introduced to modern Wu Shu (*Chinese Martial Arts) by G. Grigoriou, a German champion at the time and student of the Chinese Master Yuan Xi. Master Yuan Xi was a professor at Tianjin Sports University and in charge of the university's Wu Shu team. With these supplies I competed in open United States championships, earning over time not only trophies and honors, but also the position of the Referee in many of them.
Upon my return to Greece, I enriched my knowledge near G. Grigoriou, and participated in championships and demonstrations as a member of his demonstration team.
Το 1998 – 2000, ανέλαβα τη διδασκαλεία μαθητών στο Γυμναστήριο “Champion” (πλησίον Πλ. Βάθης) διδάσκοντας Wu Shu.
Από το 1999 έως το 2001 ανέλαβα την προεδρεία του Α.Σ.Α. «Ο Μονομάχος» προσπαθώντας για την καλύτερη προαγωγή του wu shu στη χώρα μας.
In April 2002 I signed an agreement for the representation in Greece, Cyprus and Italy with of the largest Martial Arts schools in China, the "Shongjiang Wushu School" for the exchange of students and educational missions in China.
In December 2002, I presented to the Greek public, in Athens and Patras, a 20-member group of Chinese athletes from the province of Henan, the birthplace of Shaolin Kung Fu, who demonstrated their expertise in Shaolin Kung Fu and "hard" Qi Gong.
In June 2003, I followed as a Tour Leader and trained with the Shaolin Monks (invited as part of the Cultural Olympiad), and especially connected with Elder Monks Zheng Shuji (Shi Deshu) and Zhang Jisheng.
From the year 2004 I started teaching Yang Tai Ji Quan at the Sports club "O Kronos" in Kallithea. At the same time, from that moment on, I started private lessons to teachers of other martial art styles in order to let the general public know the beauty of Tai Chi.
In 2012, continuing my studies in Chinese martial arts in Greece, I received the Black Belt in Wu Shu Kung Fu.
To 2014 είχα την τύχη μετά από πολυετή αναζήτηση να ξεκινήσω τη μαθητεία στο Chen Tai Chi υπό την καθοδήγηση του Πλούταρχου Βλαχόπουλου, μαθητή του Grand Master Liming Yue, από τη γεννεαλογική γραμμή του συνεχιστή του συστήματος GM Chen Zhenglei.
Το 2016 παρακολούθησα το πρώτο σεμινάριο με το Master Chen Bing. Η διδασκαλία του ήταν πραγματικά αυτό που λένε «έφτασα στην πηγή» … μόνο που εγώ ήπια νερό και μετά δεν υπήρχε άλλος δρόμος. .. Με ανυπομονησία παρακολούθησα όλα τα σεμινάριά του, το 2017, το 2018 και το 2019 κι έκτοτε ακολουθώ τον τρόπο διδασκαλίας του.
Ο Master Chen Bing είναι ο επίσημος συνεχιστής της γενεαλογίας Chen , απόγονος του Chen Wang Ting και ανηψιός του παγκοσμίως γνωστού «ζωντανού θησαυρού» της ΛΔ της Κίνας Chen Xiao Wang!
In 2019, the dream came true and I went for study in China with the aim of training hard and deepen my knowledge in Taiji. I stayed at Master Chen Bing's Academy for almost a month in ChenJiaGou Village, Henan Province where the art of Tai Ji Quan was born.
Assistant instructor of self-defense seminars for Bright Security Services employees.
Today I specialize in Chen Tai Ji Quan (pronounced Chen Tai Tzi Chuan), constantly increasing my knowledge because I believe that practicing Martial Arts is a never-ending learning process.