Johan has a martial arts background which eventually brought him to the Five Immortals Temple where he spent more than 5 years under the tutelage of Li Shifu. There he studied a variety of subjects including Tai Ji, longevity exercises, Dao Yin (guiding and leading of Qi), alchemy, swordsmanship, martial arts, Feng Shui, Yi Jing (The Book of Changes) divination, Daoist healing, and entering the 24th Dragon Gate lineage. Johan currently works as a Chinese medicine practitioner, taiji and qigong teacher in a psychosomatic clinic near Cologne. He also co-founded Purple Cloud Press with the mission statement to preserve the ancient knowledge of China, especially in regards to medicine, martial arts and philosophy.