Dr. Steven Liu was born in Taiwan in 1959 to a family deeply devoted to the principles of Taoism. Dr. Liu studied Taoist chi gung, healing, and martial arts meditation. In his 20s, he met White Crane, the thirteenth Master of the Dragon Gate school of Taoism—centered on inducing the spontaneous and free flow of chi and the development of numerous Taoist art forms including meditation, martial arts, dream yoga, feng shui and the 5 Taoist Arts. Dr. Liu studied with Master White Crane for many years, passing through a series of rigorous trials to become the 14th generation master of the system.
Jonathan Blank is an award-winning filmmaker, writer, high-tech entrepreneur and martial artist with over 25 years experience studying numerous martial art forms and the eastern philosophy upon which they are based. In 1996 Jonathan met Dr. Liu and has been studying Dragon Gate Taoism from him ever since. He also currently serves as the Western Liaison for the Shaolin Temple in Los Angeles. Among Jonathan’s critically acclaimed films (as writer, producer, director) are Sex, Drugs & Democracy ("Enthralling… a seductive argument." – Roger Ebert), Anarchy TV ("A wild, crazy and twisted comedy!" – Jan Wahl KRON-TV), and Collecting America (3½ Stars… Fascinating” – NY Newsday(. Jonathan has also written numerous screenplays and articles.