Roger Whidden was fully qualified as a YMAA Master by Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming in 2005, after 35 years of martial arts training. He has been teaching martial arts continuously since 1975. His background in sports, Karate, Yoga, meditation, Taiji, and Qigong enables him to excel.

Roger was born in 1954 and raised in Dedham, Massachusetts. He spent many of his summers in Marshfield at his grandparents' house. As a child, Roger had a severe foot injury, was overweight, and had many significant family difficulties to overcome. Thankfully, Roger found a niche in pitching in baseball, which led to his development in several sports. He performed especially well in wrestling at Dedham High, under renowned wrestling coach James Police. Other activities that Roger became involved in include cross-training through triathlons, weight-training, and a cross-country bicycle trek. Throughout his very physical career in sports, Roger often turned to chiropractic, acupuncture, and massage treatments to rehabilitate himself.

Roger holds both a B.S. and M.S. degree in Education and Counseling. His graduate studies helped him to attain a holistic understanding of himself in relation to the world, especially after the tragic death of his brother, Edgar. Roger taught and trained martial arts simultaneously while receiving his college education. Later on, Roger became a self-employed builder of houses while still, continuing to teach and train.

He gave up his lucrative career in building to devote himself full-time to teaching and training martial arts, training for many years under Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming. Intuitively, Roger realized knew inside that he would be a teacher and teach martial arts. Taiji Master John Cheung Li, shortly before his passing, implored Roger to pass on his experiences, and Dr. Yang given him much knowledge that helps to enable him to do so.

Roger has won several local, national, and world championships, including awards at the well-known A Taste of China Taijiquan competition.

YMAA Marshfield