Master Shi Miao Dian was born in 1977 in Athens. His family name was Kouris. At a very tender age, he met the bitter side of life and lived his first years in the national nursery orphanage in Kallithea and later at the orphanage of Georgios Hatzikonstas. Family situations pushed him to immigrate with his father to Germany. There, at the age of eight, he was taught Shaolin Gong Fu under the strict supervision of the master Liang Che. When Miao Dian was 14 years old his master passed away and Miao Dian returned to Greece.
His love for martial arts led him to the Shaolin Temple gate. In 2004, he became a student of the master Shì Héng Jūn 释恒君 from the 35th generation of Shaolin warrior monks (Shì Héng Jūn was recognized as one of the 10 best masters in the Shaolin temple in 2000. Two years later, he was transferred to the Fa Wang Temple as main lecturer and assistant to the senior head monk). From then on Shi Miao Dian stays close to him for almost 20 years now. On August 25, 2005, he was given the Buddhist name Shi Miao Dian 释妙滇 (Shì Miào Diān) of the 36th Shaolin generation.
In 2005, the master Heng Jun approved the mission of the master Miao Dian as an apostle in Greece to create the first Greek approved Shaolin Training Center Shaolin Gong Fu. It officially opened on January 18, 2006, in the area of Ilion - Athens.
From 2011 until today, he continues to study at the Shaolin Temple with his master Shi Yan Ao 释延奥 (the ambassador of the traditional kung fu from the Shaolin Temple), following him for 12 years now.
Since 2016, his master Shi Heng Jun has been sending him as an official trainer of the Shaolin Association "European Association of Chan" (E.A.C) based in Paris, France, where he lives for 6 months a year and suggests training seminars in Europe and around the world, representing officially his master. He remained an instructor in Paris until mid-2019 when he returned permanently to Athens.
Shi Miao Dian is now president of the Shaolin Kung fu Jia, created under the association name: Shaolin Chuan Tong Gong Fu - France, whose name refers to Shi Yan Ao as he is the leader of the traditional Shaolin kung fu in the temple. "Shaolin Chuan Tong Gong Fu" litterally means "Traditional Shaolin Kung Fu".
SHI MIAO DIAN
In addition to the martial arts and the philosophy of Chan (Zen), master Dian intensively studies the history of the Shaolin Temple for over 15 years. He is the author of books on Shaolin culture such as:
