Chuntian Academy International

1980's ( Master Plewes finds Kung - Fu)

In 1984, Shorin Ji Ryu Seikukan Karate karateka/practitioner since 1976, Matt Plewes's karate school left the area. Still not satisfied, Matt was forced to go looking for another school.
After trying several schools and styles, he eventually met and became an almost daily student and later Protoge of long time practitioner and teacher, Associate Master S.Cheeks. Matt being the six disciple/student and the first white in "that" families American lineage.

Matt received his Assistant Instructor's status after 13 months. Along with his teacher. Matt and started a popular class of about 30 students, named The Cheeks-Plewes Martial Arts Club November 21st 1985.
Matt received his Instructor status on April 15th 1988, a founded Chuntian Academy Club. Matt received Teacher status in 1990, Full Teacher in 1992 and Master Teacher in 2001, Junior Associate Master in 2004 and Associate Master ( 8th Rank ) in 2008. In 1998 the first commercial Chuntian Academy was opened. Chuntian Academy went International in 2001.
During part of his formative years, Matt trained and certified as an ambulance driver and E.M.T. worked with the Nansemond-Suffolk Rescue Squad (Ambulance). Matt experienced a lot of the violence of the dangerous 1980's with the onslaught of the new drug "crack cocaine” hitting the inner-cities of America and increasing violent crime significantly. This influenced him to lean toward the practical, real world Self-Defense side of Kung-fu.
Which now real world defense is recently becoming becoming popular, Matt was doing it more than 20 years ago.

*F.Y.I. (The meeting room of the Nansemond-Suffolk Rescue Squad was the location of the first Cheeks-Plewes Martial arts club classes, circa 1985).