Master Milan Shelden
AKA Michael Li (pronounced Lee)
Master Milan Shelden has more than 4 decades of martial arts experience and eight black belts in diverse styles to show for it. He has channeled that experience into a new self-defense philosophy called Shou Yuan Chuan, or “Small Circling Fist.” He will teach that philosophy at the Golden Dragon martial arts Academy in Ventura County, Calif. – a haven for martial artists interested in the powerful convergence of multiple styles. Below is Master Shelden’s story.
Self-Defense/Self-Reliance Learned the Hard Way
Milan Shelden was born in Pasadena, Calif. on October 25th, 1957. At the age of 3, Master Shelden was forced to attend school to correct a speech impediment from birth. Master Shelden was naturally one of the youngest and smallest children at the school, and came under constant assault from older kids. Master Shelden recalls being kicked by another child, and that set him on a mission to return the favor. He asked his father, a former Federal Bureau of Investigations agent who held a brown belt in judo (and was an acquaintance of President Harry S. Truman) to train him. His father, fearing that he would not have time to train his son properly, enrolled him in kenpo under the direction of Master Tony Tolner. After nine years, Master Shelden acquired his first black belt.
Honing the Tools
During this time, a new school opened up just one block away, and none other than Master Chuck Norris operated it. Although Master Shelden never enrolled, Master Norris showed Master Shelden the utmost respect and courtesy while helping develop his skills. A short time later Master Shelden’s sisters and a friend of his joined a school run by Master Harley (Swift Deer) Reagan. Master Reagan trained Master Shelden in karate, judo, jujitsu and aikido.
During the next several years with Master Reagan, Master Shelden “secretly” attended other styles of martial arts, including learning taekwondo from Master Jhoon Ree and attaining a black belt. He began study of Chinese Gung-Fu under Master Robert Bowmen, who later introduced Master Shelden to his Master and they trained together in Chinatown Los Angeles for the next 17 years. This training included Northern and Southern Shaolin five animal systems, Wing Tsun, Iron Palm and Poison Hand.
During his training, Master Shelden had entered several local tournaments and later decided to turn his skills to the international martial arts world. Changing his name to Michael Li, Master Shelden entered a tournament run by Master Ed Parker in Long Beach. Master Shelden (or Master Li) entered with no school affiliation nor official style. After easily winning all his fights, Ed Parker “field promoted” Master Li to a 5th degree black belt and announced that he was not welcomed at any of his tournaments (this action was observed by Grand Master Richard Lee, who later learned that Master Li enrolled in one of his East-West USA schools located in Simi Valley, Calif.).
Heading to Hollywood
At some point during all this, Master Shelden answered and advertisement in a local newspaper looking for people to appear in a movie called “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Band.” This took Master Shelden behind the scenes and gave him the opportunity to cruise the back lots, where he saw a lovely lady working on a judo throw with a very large man. Master Shelden offered his assistance and later learned this was Kate Jackson working on a scene for “Charlie’s Angels.” He became hooked on fight choreography. Master Shelden later went on to assist other actors with their fight scenes and stunt work and was contracted as an official Hollywood fight scene choreographer.
Discovering a New Way
Master Shelden took some time off of his training to recover from a motorcycle accident and, due to his injuries, had to re-train his body to accommodate his new limitations. While recovering, Master Shelden discovered that while all the systems in which he had trained appeared different in philosophy, each had one common denominator: they all required circles or circular patterns to move and to deliver the techniques. Master Shelden, armed with this new knowledge, began on the road to develop Shou Yuan Chuan, or “Small Circling Fist.”
Master Shelden, who now goes solely by his given name, is married to Carrie, his wife of 18 years and a 2nd degree brown belt in Chinese Bok-Fu-Do kenpo. His three daughters are also active in the martial arts. The Shelden family has resided in Simi Valley for the past 10 years.
