09:00 Thursday 23 May 2013 Written by MARTIN FORD
Cheshunt warrior changing lives through kung fu
Shaolin warrior Matthew Ahmet, from Cheshunt Shaolin warrior Matthew Ahmet, from Cheshunt
THE quest of a Shaolin warrior from Cheshunt to turn around the lives of deprived young people from urban Britain is the subject of a forthcoming TV series.
Troubled teens and young people from gang-dominated estates in the country’s major cities follow in the footsteps of Matthew Ahmet, 24, head coach at the Shaolin Temple in Cheshunt, as part of the series, Kick-Ass Kung Fu.
Matthew’s own future was in danger of taking a wrong turn before he travelled to China to train with the Shaolin Temple in China.
He said: “When I was 16 I left school in Camden and I was hanging around with the wrong people, carrying a knife sometimes.
“Moving to China made me the person I am today and I want to give these guys the opportunity I had to contribute to society.”
After four years of training and mastering the matrial arts and acrobatic moves, he was awarded the Buddhist name of Shi Yan Wu.
“I was chosen as a member of the Wheel of Life Show, which is their biggest touring theatre show, and the first non-Chinese Shaolin warrior,” Matthew said.
He has since established the temple in Wycliffe Close and made numerous TV appearances, reaching the semi finals of Britain’s Got Talent in 2010 and filming with the BBC and Discovery Channel.
His latest series for Sky 1 sees him travel to London, Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds meeting young people, some caught up in violent and drug-realted crime.
Matthew said: “Each show we go to the estate and do a boot camp using the local area, such as running up stairs rather than a mountain, emulating what we do in China.
“It was a bit intimidating – there were youths smoking on the corner, but these were real criminals, some of them. We had all sorts of security, it was intense.
“They could relate to me as they were my age or even older, and they grew to respect us.
“We pick three of the best students, based on their mental understanding and physical ability, and take them to the Big Buddha in Hong Kong”
He added: “It’s about taking life back to the basics. Life in the UK isn’t so hard compared to when you have to wash your clothes by hand and there’s no heating.
“They had a lot of ego but the training broke them down. It really turned them around, you see a massive change.”
The training not only enabled some of the students to pull off stunts and achieve physical feats, but gave them a new outlook on life.
“There was eight to 10 hours a day of rigorous training, they had to hit sandbags for hours on end but by the end, some didn’t want to leave!”
Kick-Ass Kung Fu will screen on Sky 1 soon.