| Ibrahim Mirzaii’s
biography |
The Grand Master Ibrahim Mirzaii was born in
Iran on 7 / 11/ 1318 according to the Persian calendar, which for us means
approximately 65 years ago. Since he was a boy, he studied different
Martial Arts and became an expert in various disciplines when he was still
quite young. His immense passion for Martial Art came to be known by the
Shah Reza Pahlavi who compensated him by financing a trip to the Far East
to study Martial Arts and Oriental Philosophy more deeply with the aim of
creating a new martial art from his experience, one that integreted the
Persian culture on physical form. Therefore, he founded “Kung Fu Toa” in
the 1960’s.
In Persia, now Iran, they have always given
great importance to physical form, which today is studied and experimented
with, on a scientific level and in the past as something fundamental for
the training of young warriors. The “Zour Khane” still exist today,
gymnasiums fitted with a circular arena where, in a masculine atmosphere,
they train in a circle with heavy shields and maces to the sound of drums
and songs from the vicissitudes of the epic poem of “Shahnameh”(Book of
the Kings), by Firdusi.
The young Mirzaii began a military career in
the Iranian army, becoming an officer in the Air Force. He participated in
a number of courses: regular combat technique, special air force corps,
free jump, advanced courses in special missions, irregular and guerilla
combat tactics; instructor’s course in parachuting ( where he reached the
three-star level), special course in mountains and trees, a desert
operations course, information wars, surviving in harsh conditions,
amphibious operations on land and see, rescue operations, and a course for
“Rangers”. He received a degree in philosophy, a
professorship in education in the military school, and he founded the
“Faculty of Body and Soul Training”, where he taught Kung.Fu Toa and the
physiology of human energy. He carried out scientific and physical
activities in different schools and universities. Furthermore, he worked
in a physical therapy clinic in Tehran, working on patients with uncurable
physical problems through his knowledge of the circulation of energy in
the human body and hypnosis. The reason why Professor Mirzaii’s hypnosis
was so much effective was surely due to his great charisma. He was able to
“pull” and motivate all his students (more than ten thousand in the first
year of teaching), who loved him and who still love him passionately. In
his teachings, he transmitted the idea of liberating oneself from false
necessities, of raising the popular cultural level and creating the
necessary instruments for the evolution of the lower social classes as
well, and build a harmonious system where progress is related to human
necessities and values, opposing a system based on fighting and the
deliberate neglect of legal responsability, a system in which a few get
the power and wealth and foment wars while the impotent masses can only
look on. The political events drastically changed the
life of this grat man. In 1979, during some protests against the bad
politics of the Shah, the Iranian revolution exploded, driven by different
forces united at least in this cause. The religious movement had more
force and soon Iran became the Islamic Republic of Iran. It was a
dangerous period for many Iranians, who decided to leave the country.
Professor Mirzaii, whose teachings had “too much” philosophical and
spiritual education for his students-who were always against
totalitarianism-suffered an attack a few years later: they shot him in the
legs. It was considered that his thoughts were uncomfortable. He escaped
to Turkey and later to Europe, and eventually all traces of him were lost.
In Iran, Kung-Fu Toa was forbidden. They closed the schools and those who
continued practicing were captured. All those who carried this martial
arts in their veins continued practicing clandestinely, hidden in the
forests and in the mountains, in the unbearable heat of summer and the
cold of winer. Thanks to them, Kung-Fu Toa still exists in Iran where, a
little more than ten years ago, it was legalized and is practiced by more
than half a million people. Thanks to those who escaped, Kung-Fu Toa also
spread to Europe and America, although today it is a little known style. Professor Mirzaii, despite his whereabouts
being unknown for many years now, remains in the hearts of all Kung-Fu Toa
practitioners, even the youngest students and children. Sometimes men are born with great
iontellectual power, capable of advancing society with their brilliant
intuition. Other times, men are born with great physical capacities, able
to become champions in their fields. However, rarely are men born with the
capacity to achieve extremely high levels in the physical, intellectual
and spiritual circles. Ibrahim Mirzaii is certainly one of them.
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