The Grand Master Ebrahim 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 Mohammad Reza Shah 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 To’A” 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 sea, 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 Mind Training”, where he taught Kung Fu To’A 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 great man. In 1979, during some protests against the 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 To’A 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 To’A 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 To’A 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 To’A practitioners, even the youngest students and children.
Sometimes men are born with great intellectual 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. Ebrahim Mirzaii is certainly one of them.
