Ms. Newman with Grandmaster Lee and Master Buckley in front of the Tzuen Ta Pagoda in Sun Moon Lake, Republic of China 2006. >

After graduating from college in 2004, Ms. Newman committed herself to martial arts full time, following in the footsteps of her personal trainer, Master John Buckley, and their teacher Grandmaster Richard Lee. She quickly became one of the highest ranking and most accomplished woman of the Bok-Fu-Do system.

Ms. Newman is a first generation disciple of Grandmaster Richard Lee. She holds the rank of 4th degree black belt in Bok-Fu-Do as well as a 4th Tuan (black sash) through the World Kuoshu (Kung-Fu) Federation. Ms. Newman is a three time World Champion having won the World Kuoshu Championships in 2003, 2006 and 2009. She is one of only four women in the world to become an Internationally Certified Referee ‘A’ through the World Kuoshu Federation. Ms. Newman was voted the United States Chinese Koushu Federation’s Competitor of the Year in 2000 where she competed and placed in the top three in all ten of her divisions at the International Chinese Kuoshu Championship Tournament in Baltimore, Maryland. She has competed nationally and internationally in Chinese martial arts since 1997. Ms. Newman is head of the Management Training and Staff Development at Richard Lee’s East-West Kung-Fu school in Alamo.

World Champion, Morgan Newman defends her 2003 title and becomes one of only three women ever to win the World Kuoshu Championships twice - 2nd TWKSF World Kuoshu Tournament, Singapore 2006.

Brief Bio:

In 1995, Ms. Newman walked through the doors at East West at her parents urging. At twelve years old, she never could have imagined that her first steps into martial arts would also be her first steps into her life’s passion. From the beginning, Ms. Newman showed dedication and maturity beyond her years. At thirteen, she traveled with the U.S.A. Kuoshu (Kung Fu) Team to the World Kuoshu Championships in the Republic of China in 1996. There to support her teachers, Newman was exposed to the World Tournament for the first time. It was a life changing experience for her; one that would set her course for the rest of her life.

Inspired by the efforts that she witnessed by her teachers at the World Tournament and the pride they took in representing their country, Ms. Newman committed herself to one day doing the same. In 1998 she began training in full contact (lei tai) fighting. Her first major event was at the International Kuoshu Championships in Baltimore, Md,. where at the age of fifteen she placed second. Later that year she competed in her first Kuoshu tournament abroad in Germany. Several years younger than any opponent she faced, Ms. Newman was undeterred and went on to win the European Championships. Her goal of representing the United States at the 2000 World Tournament was now fixed permanently in her heart and her mind. With such single minded purpose, Ms. Newman even made the decision to postpone her first semester of college to totally dedicate her time to the effort. Her commitment to her training was only matched by the utter disbelief at what happened next. With less than five months before the World Tournament was set to take place, a letter arrived at East West announcing that the event was cancelled. Three years of preparation and a lifelong dream had been lost in an instant.

Although one of the most heartbreaking experiences she had faced, Ms. Newman knew that the mark of a good martial artist is not what happens to them, but rather it is the way they react to what happens to them. Finding solace in the wisdom of her teachers, Grandmaster Lee and Master Buckley, Newman soon turned her energy into attaining her black belt in Bok-Fu-Do. By the age of seventeen, she had earned her 1st degree black belt before she graduated from high school. This rare achievement would eventually pave the way for several younger students who aspired to do the same.

When it was announced that the next world tournament was to be held in Brazil in 2003, Ms. Newman made the brave decision to try out for the U.S.A. team a second time. The desire to become a world champion burned inside her as fiercely as it did three years ago. By now, a senior at Santa Clara University, Ms. Newman trained ferverously. Motivated by the unbelievable circumstances of 2000, she was even more diligent in her training, commuting back and forth from Alamo and Santa Clara almost on a daily basis. The only difference this time was the ending. At the end of the tournament Ms. Newman was a world champion. Her dream finally realized. It would become the first of two world titles for her. In 2006 Ms. Newman repeated her performance by winning the 2nd and 3rd TWSKF World Kuoshu Championships in Singapore and Germany, becoming only one of three American women to win the World Tournament three times.

• First Generation Disciple of Grandmaster Richard Lee

• A Richard Lee 4th Degree Black Belt

• Certified International Referee ‘A’ by The World Kuoshu Federation

• Three-Time World Champion:
- World Champion - 2009 3rd TWKSF World Championships, Germany.
- World Champion - 2006 2nd TWKSF World Championships, Singapore.
- World Champion - 2003 1st TWKSF World Championships, Brazil.

• Represented the United States Kuoshu (Kung Fu) teams in World Competition:
- 2009 3rd TWKSF World Championships, Germany
- 2006 2nd TWKSF World Championships, Singapore
- 2003 1st TWKSF World Championships, Brazil

• Represented the United States Kuoshu (Kung-Fu) team in International Competition:
- 2006 2nd European Kuoshu Cup, Switzerland
- 2005 European Championships, Germany
- 2003 European Championships, London
- 1998 European Championships, Germany

• Inducted into the Top Women of the I.B.K.A. – 2000

• Inducted into the Order of the Cobra – 1999

• Inducted into the Bok-Fu-Do Hall of Fame – 2000

• Presidents List Member since 1998

• Instructor of the Year – 1999, 2000, 2001

• U.S.C.K.F. Competitor of the Year – 2000

• Head of Management Training and Staff Development at Richard Lee’s East-West Kung-Fu.