Mr. Michael Lee Branam started training in the Art of Sil Lum Kung Fu in 1966 at the age of 12. Mr. John Chang, his teacher, was a Shichidan from Quong Tong, China and resided in Bridgeport, Indiana. Mr. Chang had promoted only one person to yudansha, his nephew Nang, when he started training Mr. Branam. Sensei was taught 11 system kata by Mr. Chang, along with 1-step and free sparring with the Bo, Yawara, Escrima, Sai, and Samurai sword.
Mr. Chang did not allow his students to work out with other schools or participate in tournaments; therefore, Sensei was very anxious to see how other people plied their art. He had built up quite a healthy respect for Orientals from his experiences with his teacher, but he was sadly unimpressed with much of the "sport" martial arts in the outside world. Sensei was promoted to Shodan in January 1972 and received a sword forged in Japan in 1912 with his obi. He enlisted in military service soon after his promotion and was stationed in Stuttgart, Germany; moreover, he rose to post and battalion Karate instructor in October of 1972.
In the service, there were many martial artists available to continue further areas of study. Sensei immediately took advantage of this fact and acquired auxiliary rank from Mr. Park Kim, Rokudan in Tae Kwon Do, in August 1975 when he was promoted to Shodan. At the same time, Sensei was studying Aikido under Sergeant Medoyan and Judo under Mr. Wolfgang Schmittenhausen. Also, he was working out with Mr. Eddie Sinsowu/Shito Ryu; Mr. Alonzo Jefferson/Kyokushin Kai; Mr. George Archibald/Isshin Ryu; and he traded 10 months of Karate lessons to a Boxing champion for training.
Mr. Branam returned home from the service in 1975, on leave, and trained 4 hours a day with Mr. Chang who subsequently promoted Sensei to Nidan in December of 1975. Mr. Chang also promoted one more student during this time period, his daughter, Ms. Lois (Lotus) Chang, who married and moved to CA. Upon returning to the service, Sensei was ordered out into the field, and Mr. Chang died of colon cancer while Sensei was out of communication with him. Mr. Branam was not notified because Mr. Chang was not an immediate relative. By the time the news of his teacher's death reached Sensei, Mr. Chang's wife had transported the body back to China for burial. During this time period, Sensei became European Black belt champion in kumite in the tournaments in his area.
Soon after this disquieting event, Sensei was involved in a tank incident which left him permanently disabled, and he returned stateside for convalescence. Still, Mr. Branam started teaching karate in Indianapolis, Indiana, in October of 1978. Although he was seriously damaged, Sensei still sought knowledge in the form of seminar's and training with other prominent Martial Artists. He attended seminars offered by Master Phillip W. Koeppel, Mr. Joe Lewis, and George Dillman to name a few. In spite of the tank accident, Mr. Branam trained and taught in the dojo, competed in tournaments and placed up through the 70's and into the middle 80's, and spent time networking with other practitioners.