Martine Niven, who began training in martial arts as a teenager in Bournemouth, has since become a Shaolin disciple, acupuncturist and Chinese medicine practitioner serving the community where her journey began.

Martine Niven (Image: Submitted - Martine Niven)

Martine said: "I was fourteen when I first walked into a karate class in Bournemouth.

"I had no idea that decision would shape the rest of my life."

Her martial arts journey later led her to London, where she trained with Shaolin warrior monks and discovered Sanda, a form of Chinese kickboxing.

After winning national competitions, she travelled to China to train and later returned there to teach.

In her twenties, Martine faced personal tragedy and health challenges that changed her direction.

She said: "Then life dealt some hard blows: I lost family members within a short space of time, and grief like that takes a toll on the body as much as the mind.

"My immunity collapsed.

"I ended up in hospital, and afterwards was left with chronic fatigue that lingered for a long time."

Martine Niven (Image: Submitted - Martine Niven)

During a period of recovery in Asia, she began exploring internal practices such as Qigong and meditation.

This experience inspired her to study Chinese medicine formally.

Upon returning to Bournemouth, she enrolled at the College of Integrated Chinese Medicine in Reading and began building her practice.

It was during this time that she met Shifu Shi Yan Min, a Shaolin master and warrior monk living in the area. 

She became his first female Shaolin disciple, a 35th-generation lineage holder, and has spent the past 25 years travelling between the UK and China, deepening her studies in martial arts, medicine and energy work.

Martine said: "I've been shaped by the culture I trained in.

"In a way, it all comes full circle.

"You leave home as a teenager, to follow your path out into the world.

"You travel to different countries, gathering knowledge and insights, awakenings and eventually you bring them home.

"It's a beautiful cycle."

She now runs Purebei Healthcare, a clinic based in Bournemouth and Poole, and offers Qigong and meditation classes through UK Shaolin Bournemouth.

The UK Shaolin martial arts charity has also secured funding to run free Tai Chi classes in the area.

Martine said: "What means the most to me now is being able to bring all of that back to my local community, treating patients here in the area I grew up in, using medicine I spent decades learning on the other side of the world.

"There's so much we can learn from Chinese culture, and so much I can help to share.

"Chinese medicine can help rebalance the body, the mind and the emotions."

For more information about her practice and patient experiences at the Purebei website.