Shi Yan Fan

LA City Council President Herb J. Wesson presents Venerable Shi Yanfan with recognition

Franco Testini, known professionally as the Venerable Shi Yan Fan, is a 34th-generation ordained Shaolin Warrior Monk and cultural ambassador of the Songshan Shaolin Temple in China. He is a disciple of Shi Yongxin, 30th Abbot of the Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng City, Henan Province, and is the head abbot of the Los Angeles Shaolin Temple in Sherman Oaks, California, United States.

Biography

Born in Brindisi, Italy, Testini began studying martial arts aged seven. Aged nine, he was then introduced to a master named Kim Wong Feng, who accepted Testini as his student.

In 2007, an ordination ceremony was held at the Shaolin Temple. Shi Yan Fan was the first of a total of 43 Shaolin monks to receive the jieba markings in that ceremony, becoming the first Westerner to be ordained as a Shaolin monk.

In 2012, Shi Yan Fan founded a nonprofit organization, the Yanfan Foundation, providing health and wellness training.