As luck would have it, Curtis learned that another one of Grand Master Leung’s students, Master Henry Suen, had opened a Kung Fu school in Saskatoon and was teaching Bak Hsing Choy Lee Fut. At first, Curtis would travel to Saskatoon to learn Kung Fu from Master Suen. But about a year after Master Richardson moved to Edmonton, Master Suen moved to Regina to open up another Kung Fu school. Master Suen called his Kung Fu school the Bak Hsing Kwoon. At this time Master Suen had some serious discussions with Curtis. It was agreed that Curtis would merge his Kung Fu school with Master Suen’s Kung Fu school to form one big martial arts school. This would allow them to have a full-time training facility. Soon after their discussions, Master Suen arranged a tea ceremony and accepted Curtis as his disciple.
Curtis’ goal was to be awarded a Black Belt in the Bak Hsing Choy Lee Fut system. Curtis knew that Master Suen had the last pieces of the puzzle that he needed to attain that Black Belt. Curtis took his martial arts training very seriously and trained very hard under Master Suen. Not only was he awarded his Black Belt from Master Suen, but eventually Master Suen would give Curtis his “SCROLLS” which recognize Curtis as a Sifu and a family member in the Bak Hsing Choy Lee Fut system.
While training with Master Suen, Curtis took three private students, who were to be his training partners for the next several years. When Curtis’ students were at a green belt level, Curtis wanted his students to have access to more training partners and decided that it was time to open his own martial arts school again.
It was no secret between Master Suen and Sifu Curtis that Sifu Curtis loved teaching martial arts and wanted to have a Kung Fu school of his own again. This time it was Sifu Curtis that set up a tea ceremony with Master Suen and asked permission to start another branch of the Bak Hsing Kwoon in Regina. Master Suen granted Sifu Curtis permission to teach and another branch of the Bak Hsing Kwoon was born.
This was Sifu Curtis’ second school. The school grew to 20-25 students over three years. This was his first school where he got to teach the students from the beginning. Sifu Curtis had three students who attained brown belts. Four of Sifu Curtis’ students worked as security in bars. The students won trophies at tournaments and even won a team sparring championship. The Kung Fu school lasted three years until Sifu Curtis moved to Calgary to pursue a career as a massage therapist.
While in Calgary, Sifu Curtis trained by himself and never really got involved with any martial arts schools. He did study Chen-style Tai Chi at the Jing Mo club for about six months where he learned the Yilu form.
In the spring of 2007, Sifu Curtis returned to Regina. He had done a lot of training during his time in Calgary and was anxious to show off his new skill set to Master Suen. Master Suen was very impressed with how much Sifu Curtis’ Kung Fu had progressed. Master Suen and Sifu Curtis discussed Sifu Curtis’ plans for the future regarding his Kung Fu. Sifu Curtis had been training for nearly twenty years and had a very deep understanding of Bak Hsing Choy Lee Fut. Master Suen had been teaching for a long time and most of his other senior students were not really active in the martial arts community. Master Suen, like any who practice martial arts, loved his martial art and wanted to see it passed on to the next generation. Master Suen knew Sifu Curtis loved teaching and kept encouraging him to start teaching again. Sifu Curtis did start teaching again. Master Suen knew his lineage was going to survive and awarded Sifu Curtis his Scrolls.
The best compliment that Sifu Curtis ever received from Master Suen was not actually given directly to him. One of Master Suen’s junior black belts asked Master Suen which one of his students had the deepest understanding of Bak Hsing Choy Lee Fut. Master Suen’s response was, “Curtis does.”
Sifu Curtis > Master Richardson > Master McRitchie > Master Muir > Master Suen