Shihan Richard’s path with Shen Chuan has had many twists and turns. Regrettably after a severe shoulder injury, he had to step down as Head Instructor of Shen Chuan StreetBoxing. But he has been, and will continue to be recognized as a Shen Chuan instructor… Professor Billy Jack Worsham

The following is an excerpt from Shihan Richard’s history with Lansdale’s Self-Defense Systems:

I got a late start in the martial arts. I began Taekwondo training in the mid-eighties. It took several years to get my black belt and in that time I developed a love for martial arts. I earned my 2nd degree black belt & instructor’s certification in 1990. The Taekwondo organization I trained with focused on traditional forms, one-step sparring sets, and competition point sparring (this wasn’t enough). During this time, training twice a week wasn't enough for some of my students and I, so we did backyard workouts to get in more practice. While training more informally I saw techniques and skills from a couple of them that made more sense than the self-defense I was currently teaching. This made me start looking for more practical moves.

One of my best students and good friend tested for his black belt in December of 1991 & I decided to make that my last testing with that organization. I tried other Taekwondo organizations for the next few years and finally opened my own school, Metteauer’s TKD, in a flood-prone building on Pillar Street. Joe Lansdale, a friend and former student of mine from the Taekwondo school, was paying part of the rent to use the building to train in Aikido. Joe was training with Terry Thoburn. I worked out with Joe, Terry, and their students for a time but finally decided that as much as I liked Joe, I couldn’t stand Terry so I dropped the Aikido. I eventually got tired of being an unaffiliated instructor so I sold all my equipment to Joe and took a couple of years off.

I kept in touch with Joe and watched his school evolve & grow. I dropped by to watch classes from time to time and watched as Joe, Coy, Eugene grew away from Terry. Part of the reason was that the martial art being practiced was no longer Aikido, it was changing and growing. Joe often says that he never invents new techniques, just steals or re-discovers techniques. Techniques were added and others dropped to fit the image or vision Joe had for his martial art. This art soon became Shen Chuan.

Shen Chuan is not a variation of any martial art but a compilation of many arts. There are several divisions of Shen Chuan. StickBoxing, Aikbujitsu, and beginning in September of 1997 StreetBoxing. The concepts of StreetBoxing were derived from Taekwondo, Shen Chuan, and a good old-fashioned dose of "East Texas" butt kicking. Like the main system of Shen Chuan, StreetBoxing is a very non-traditional martial art. We have no “forms”; the self-defense sets we practice are not set in stone as the sets in other systems and some are stolen directly from the main system.

Since 1997 I have been closer to the school and able to watch the transformation of Shen Chuan. The art began as a derivative of Kenpo Karate, Jujitsu, and Aikido. After weeding out the techniques he didn’t like Joe started modifying the techniques he got from other styles. Small circles became much smaller, balance disruption began to be refined, and throws were shortened. Shen Chuan started taking on a life of it’s own.

Joe now has, and has had numerous outstanding students but three have really made extensive contributions to the style. Joe’s two oldest students are Eugene and Coy. They couldn’t be more different in personality and build or more similar in skill. Eugene brings a greater attention to precision to Shen Chuan while Coy is just as skilled but has an intensity that few can match. If anybody other than Joe is the foundation of Shen Chuan it was these guys. There are many more students who have made contributions. Unlike the other martial arts I have been around Joe doesn’t shut out his lower rankings students. If they make a change that is more efficient he will use it. Shihans Billy Jack and Paul Britt, Sensei's Jim Moore, Richard Hartstein and Norma Almanza have all made contributions based on physical ability, body type, or personal experience.

Shen Chuan began as a very hard style martial art. Soon the style began changing to a more fluid, softer style. Joe claimed he was changing because of age. He lied. It was just more efficient. It didn’t matter the age. The changes allowed everybody to hit, lock, or throw harder with less energy. The style isn’t truly a soft style either. It simply teaches that there is a place for every type of technique. Sometimes balance disruption will setup a hard strike or knocking the crap out of an opponent may make a lock or throw more feasible. The training isn’t easy and Shen Chuan isn’t for everybody. It hurts. That is the only thing that never changes. Shen Chuan hurts. I don’t know where Shen Chuan is headed but it will never stay the same. I see it constantly changing, I can’t wait to see what changes Conner comes up with.

I think the following should be taught to everybody in martial arts and it is the embodiment of Shen Chuan:

Each person brings something into the martial arts; this is what evolves the styles. Everybody doesn’t have the same approach or beliefs, so when you pass your knowledge on, whatever style you are teaching change also. Like languages, people, business, etc. if a martial arts style is not growing and changing, it is dying.

Shihan Richard Metteauer