Born in Taishan, China, Bow Sim Mark rose from humble beginnings during a time of cultural and political upheaval to become one of the most influential martial artists of the 20th century. Gifted in music, dance, and expressive movement from a young age, she trained as a first soprano singer and performed professionally before discovering her lifelong passion for martial arts. Her artistic sensibility and natural grace later became the foundation of a career that would redefine how Chinese martial arts were perceived around the world.

Her path to mastery began under the tutelage of two of China’s legendary martial arts figures — Fu Wing Fay and Li Tian Ji — who recognized her extraordinary discipline and spirit. Immersing herself in daily training, she specialized in the internal systems of Tai Chi Chuan, Bagua Zhang, and Wu Dang Sword, while also mastering the full traditional and modern Wushu curriculum. This deep integration of internal and external practice shaped her into a performer of rare artistry — calm as still water, yet radiant with internal power.

In 1976, shortly after emigrating to Boston, she founded the Chinese Wushu Research Institute (CWRI), becoming the first woman to introduce and promote standardized Wushu to American audiences. She was also the first to use the term “Wushu” in the United States, helping to popularize the art and earning her the historic title Mother of American Wushu. Through CWRI, she built a cultural bridge between East and West, elevating martial arts beyond combat into the realms of art, health, and academia.

Her vision was to present martial movement as both cultural performance and holistic well-being, long before “wellness” or “mindfulness” entered mainstream language. She developed a comprehensive curriculum and authored more than thirty publications and instructional videos based on her original Tai Chi forms. Over the decades, she trained devoted students across continents — many of whom later founded their own schools throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia, carrying her lineage forward for new generations.

As an early advocate for Tai Chi for health, she also championed the inclusion of both Tai Chi and Wushu within higher education. She taught accredited Tai Chi courses for 17 years at Boston University and led lectures and masterclasses at Harvard University’s American Repertory Theater, MIT, Brandeis, Tufts Medical School, Suffolk University, Boston College, and the Greater Boston Chinese Cultural Association. Her pioneering work helped legitimize martial arts as an academic discipline — one that unites philosophy, movement, and health.

Grandmaster Mark’s achievements have been recognized worldwide. In 1984, she earned a Gold Medal at the First International Tai Chi Chuan and Sword Demonstration in Wuhan, China. The following year, she led a 16-member CWRI team to represent the United States at the First International Wushu Competition in Xian — a landmark moment for her American students to stand alongside some of China’s top Wushu athletes, bridging cultures through excellence in the art.

Her many honors include:

• Woman of the Year – Inside Kung Fu Magazine (1994)

• Woman of the Year – Black Belt Magazine (1996)

• Martial Arts Hall of Fame Inductee (1994)

• 100 Most Influential Masters of the Millennium – Inside Kung Fu

• Most Influential Masters of the 20th Century – Black Belt Magazine (1999)

• Wushu Pioneer Platinum Lifetime Achievement Award – World Martial Arts Federation (2009)

• Sojourner Award – Chinese Historical Society of New England (2003)

• City of Boston Official Resolution (2000)

• Massachusetts State Senate Official Citation for 30 years of cultural leadership (2006)

• Lifetime Achievement Award for WuShu Pioneer – World Fighting Martial Arts Federation (2025)

For decades, her school the CWRI was a cultural pillar of Boston, performing annually at First Night, the Dragon Boat Festival, civic events, corporate programs, and numerous multicultural celebrations. Her performance team earned national media attention, appearing on local and global television. She introduced new audiences to martial arts as a living cultural art, strengthening community bonds across generations and backgrounds.

Grandmaster Mark’s love for teaching and performing was matched only by her vision to redefine what Wushu could be. She pioneered the concept of Wushu Theater, merging storytelling, music, and martial choreography into staged works such as The Quest for the Magic Herb and The Song of Yang Guan, performed at major Boston venues including Suffolk University’s C. Walsh Theatre and Emerson College’s Majestic Theatre.
As a musician, she often accompanied her own performances with live vocals and traditional Chinese instruments — Yangqin, and Guzheng — creating immersive experiences that transcended category.

Her performances were breathtaking to watch — poised, fluid, and charged with living Qi. The energy she radiated was both refined and powerful; audiences could feel her internal force even in her quietest moments of motion. She demonstrated that true mastery lies not in aggression, but in control — the perfect balance between strength and serenity.

Behind the scenes, her husband Klysler Yen — a respected journalist for Sing Tao Daily, community advocate, and co-founder of CWRI — was the quiet force supporting her mission. Together, they built an institution that blended artistry, discipline, and cultural pride.

Her legacy also lives through her children, each shaped by the skills and sensibilities she passed down. Her son, Donnie Yen, became a global martial arts film icon and one of cinema’s most recognized action stars.

Her daughter, Chris Yen, whom she began training at age four, is now the steward of her mother’s legacy, preserving CWRI’s history, documenting the voices of its community, and safeguarding Bow Sim Mark’s body of work for future generations.

From her CWRI studio in Boston to seminars across the world, Grandmaster Bow Sim Mark’s impact transcends awards and titles. It lives in her students, in the techniques she refined, in the theatrical and academic spaces she opened, and in the recognition she brought to Chinese martial arts. Her life embodies perseverance, cultural pride, artistic innovation, and the timeless wisdom of Tai Chi. Her journey — from famine-era China to the global stage — reflects mastery, resilience, cultural transformation, and a legacy dedicated to enriching lives through higher art and the nurturing of spiritual and physical well-being.

麥師傅是世界著名的武術家、教練、作家、和表演家。她擅長內家拳包括太極、八卦、形意、和武當劍等。生在中國，小受嚴格體育、武術訓練，後從名師專攻太極拳、武當劍等。1976年隨家人移民美國，在波士頓創立中國武術研究所。

教學: 麥師傅是中國武術研究所、和麥寶嬋太極武藝協會的創始人兼總裁。她是第一位在美國編辦專為武術競賽的課程。她新創各種套路包括太極入門、高深的太極龍形扇、太極絲帶、和太極精華等。不少學員已成為武術、太極教練和冠軍。她曾在波士頓各大學教導太極，包括波士頓大學和哈彿大學。

著作: 麥師傅編寫和出版十多本武術叢書，和十多套武術教學視頻，行銷世界各地，深受教練和學員的讚揚。她亦發表多篇有關太極的論文，包括發表在工夫雜誌。

表演: 數十年來，麥師傅在中國和歐美各地表演武術。其學員的武術隊常應邀表演，包括波士頓龍舟節和元旦節。受歐美和中國傳媒多次訪問，詳加報導推崇。麥師傅開拓武術藝術，創編武術劇，用中國古典音樂和武術動作來表述故事。