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Post by Eric Ling on Oct 7, 2004 22:57:13 GMT -5
Hung Gar is a major style of Chinese Kung Fu and occupies a significant place in the annals of martial arts. Many exceptional masters were practitioners of this style, more notable one being Wong Fei Hung, whose exploits are subjects of many motion pictures in recent years. Kung Fu reached its high in the Ching dynasty; Shaolin Kung Fu was particularly treated with high regards. The art was looked upon as secret treasure and few were fortunate to learn it. The destruction of the Shaolin monastery by fire caused the monks to disperse and avoid prosecution and indirectly brought Shaolin kung fu to the lay people and people of Kwangtung in particular. It is said that Te Kiu Salm (iron-arm Salm) also known as one of the Kwangtung Tigers (there were 10 of them, all were well known for their matchless kung fu skill) was a student of a monk named Kwok Yan of Shaolin. Kwok Yan was a giant of Hung Gar, he was widely known throughout large part of China. Te earned the trust of Kwok; in return, Kwok passed the art to him unreservedly. Te later also modified and incorporated changes of his own to create Te Sin Kuen, thus, adding a new dimension to Hung Gar. Te Sin Kuen is famed for its development of horse stance and abnormal strength of the arms. Te Kiu Salm was reputed to have arms that could withstand the combined weight of six hefty men; he could also stand so firmly on the floor that the floor tiles cracked and his feet sank slightly to the floor. Amongst Te Kui Salm's famous students were Choy Chan, Au Chu, Ng Hee Koon, Ma Gee Tim, Lam Fook Shing and Sze Yu Leung. Though few in number, but they were all stalwart adherent to their teacher's wish – not to teach Hung Gar indiscriminately, especially Te Sin Kuen. Only Lam Fook Shing taught the art to the illustrious Wong Fei Hong. From Wong Fei Hong, it went on to Lam Sai Wing. This was the start of Hung Gar's emergence to public notice.
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Post by pitbull on Oct 8, 2004 0:17:26 GMT -5
thanks for the info again...its really silly how cinema and entertainment can glorify an art and also corupt it with rumors and non sense. to tell you the truth,kwan tak hing's wong fei hong is the best for me since tehre are no hao shao things in his potrayal...what style did master kwan came from? what i know is that he isnt a hung gar student..is his drugstore still in HK? the one w the statue
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Post by Eric Ling on Oct 8, 2004 5:18:52 GMT -5
Hi Pitbull,
The late Kwan was from Hop Gar or Lama peho I think.
I also read someplace that he did Southern Shaolin. He authored a book based on shaolin 10 animals form.
Me, I prefer Sek Kin - the person who always played the bad guy in those early WFH movies.
Sek Kin did 4 or 5 different styles of kung fu mainly Northern styles like Preying Mantis, Ying Chow etc........
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Post by pitbull on Oct 8, 2004 7:48:35 GMT -5
is he the one in enter the dragon?
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Post by konghan on Oct 8, 2004 8:06:00 GMT -5
Here is an article of Wang fei Hong. "Like in the movies, Master Wong had the good fortune to learn both from his family's secret Kungfu manual as well as from many outstanding exponents of that era. His father, Wong Kei Ying »Æ÷èÓ¢, is one of the famous "10 Tigers of Canton" ¹ã¶«Ê®»¢. He is a disciple of Hung Gar ancestor Look Ah Choi ½°¢²É, who along with Fong Sai Yuk ·½ÊÀÓñ are members of the "5 Ancestors of (Southern) Shaolin"ÉÙÁÖÎå×æ who escaped from the Shaolin Temple in Quanzhou, Fujian (Hokkien) province when the Qing Government razed it to the ground. Borned in Foshan like his father, Master Wong started to learn Hung Gar Kungfu at the age of 6. At 15, he rescued Lam Fook Seng, the foremost disciple of Teet Kew Sam. In gratitute Lam taught Wong the difficult Iron Wire Form ÌúÏßÈ of Hung Gar & the skill of weight throwing. As for whether he did actually learned the Drunken 8 Immortals Form ×í°ËÏÉ & the Snake Form ÉßÐÎÈ from old Beggar So ËÕÆò¶ù like in the Drunken Master & Snake in the Eagle's shadow, I believe that is ficitional. In 1872, at the age of 16, Master Wong became the youngest Kungfu teacher in the Southern Chinese martial arts world to open up a school & start instructing students. Later he was also enlisted by the Governor to be the Martial Arts Chief Instrcutor in the army as well the militia of Canton. When he accompanied the army commander Lau Weng Fook to Taiwan, he also helped to fight the Japanese pirates alongside the soldiers. In the years that followed, stories of his other chivalrous exploits spreaded throughout the whole province; like in 1887 when a Gwai Lo in Hong Kong tried to humiliate the Chinese by using his huge dog to challenge martial artists to a fight. To his dismay, Master Wong went all the way down to HK & killed his dog with a single kick. Or in 1912, when a fish seller named Fung Hok Bew was extorted & beaten up by a group of thugs. Master Wong seeked them out & punished everyone of them severely with his Kungfu. Stories like these were heard by many both in Canton & Hong Kong, & they are the very stuff that inspired the young, invincible & benevolent Master Wong that we see in the movies today. Master Wong passed away in 1924 at the age of 68, a poor man, with no money even for his own funeral. Luckily one of his disciples took care of the funeral & had him buried at Bak Wan San °×ÔÆɽ or "White Cloud Hill". Ironically, his fame grew far greater than when he was alive in the deacdes that followed. Master Wong had many interesting disciples in the movies, but of this bunch only 2 of them actually existed historically. One of them is Leong Foon Áº¿í, his gifted & most famous disciple. Alas Leong did not live long but passed away at the young age of 25. The other one is Lam Sai Weng ÁÖÊÀÈÙ or better known as Butcher Weng ÖíÈâÈÙ, as he sells pork for a living. Lam is best known for his Tiger Crane Form »¢º×Ë«ÐÎÈ. One of his disciples, Lau Gar Leong Áõ¼ÒÁ¼, directed the Drunken Master, the movie that propelled Jackie Chan into fame. Then there is Master Wong's love interest, the 13th Aunt "Penny" who is actually inspired by the historical Wong's 4th wife, Mok Gwai Lan Ī¹ðÀ¼. Madam Mok was only 19 when he married Master Wong, already 59 at that time! There was a whooping 40 year age difference between them. Having a talent in Kungfu, she also became one of his husband's disciples, & was in later years to become one of the most respected teachers in the Hong Kong martial arts circle. They had a son, now known as Sifu Wong Hon Hei »ÆººÎõ who continues to be much respected in HK today. However I do not know whether he still lives? Now in Foshan the new Wong Fei Hung memorial hall has been opened to the public. It stores the only existing photo of Master Wong (seen above), related artifacts, as well as the most complete set of movies that ever featured him, whether as the main character or supporting. They number an impressive 86. A Wong Fei Hung cinema has also been set up, & it will play his movies there the whole day long everyday. Tourists will be able to tour both the memorial hall & the cinema at a price of 20 RMB. Quite cheap, actually. In the near future the officials plan to build a martial arts hall right beside the memorial hall, because out of the "10 Tigers of Canton", half of them originated from Foshan. That makes Foshan the cradle of Southern Chinese Martial Arts ÄÏÅÉÎäÊõÖ®Ïç, & from this cradle came forth its most famous son, the immortal Master Wong". The only existing photo of the famous Hung Gar Grandmaster, Wong Fei Hung (1856-1924).
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Post by Nataraya on Oct 10, 2004 3:25:16 GMT -5
Dear readers, One of the styles that I completed and teach for many years now, is Hung Ga Kuen. I can speak days and weeks about it, but will not do that. This is not the place it should be done. Like in many systems these days, much is about status and power, so politics. It is a serious problem these days, and shines a negative light on the scenery. I am sure that most of you guys understand what I mean. For me such a place like this, is about correct information, although sometimes it tends to become a socila meeting place and friendly chit chats. Eric created a place to do this, I can only hope that this will be respected in time. Already too much is said without any connection with the thread. Okay, there are several places where you can find and follow decent discussions about Hung Kuen. One of the popular places is: www.forumco.com/hungkuennet/default.aspMost of the Hung Kuen branches in the world, are discussing threads here. For instance, the latest discussion is about "original Tit Sien Kuen", as you all know now, one of my specialties. The tone of this discussion is tough and serious. I do not join such a discussion because many repliers don't do TSK and have heard of talking about it. 90% of the people hardly did research and understand the priciples and concepts behind it. I know, this is what a forum should do: open for anybody. You will read that much is manipulated these days. The last thing I aill say is about the letter that Konghan wrote. This one hurts me quiet a bt, and therefor I decided to reply from my Heart. Do not believe anything you READ!!! My excuse for being that Black/ white, but sometimes you need to sound harsh. Also in Crane Boxing there are some "crazy" people claiming a lot. No, I will not mention a name because most of you were frequent visitors of that forum. Again, my excuse.... Evert.
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Post by pitbull on Oct 10, 2004 7:04:48 GMT -5
the problem is sometimes little teenaged kids do the discussing..we dont know who they are or where they came from...like the case w a certain disillusioned kid in another msg board who keeps on talking about NCk/tonglong/hungga/chi dien meng etc...but in fact he doesnt know nuts..people like these can hurt a good name...thats why i wish moderators will actually screen their members...unfortunately things dont go as smooth
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Post by konghan on Oct 11, 2004 11:03:04 GMT -5
Dear readers, One of the styles that I completed and teach for many years now, is Hung Ga Kuen. I can speak days and weeks about it, but will not do that. This is not the place it should be done. Like in many systems these days, much is about status and power, so politics. It is a serious problem these days, and shines a negative light on the scenery. I am sure that most of you guys understand what I mean. For me such a place like this, is about correct information, although sometimes it tends to become a socila meeting place and friendly chit chats. Eric created a place to do this, I can only hope that this will be respected in time. Already too much is said without any connection with the thread. Okay, there are several places where you can find and follow decent discussions about Hung Kuen. One of the popular places is: www.forumco.com/hungkuennet/default.aspMost of the Hung Kuen branches in the world, are discussing threads here. For instance, the latest discussion is about "original Tit Sien Kuen", as you all know now, one of my specialties. The tone of this discussion is tough and serious. I do not join such a discussion because many repliers don't do TSK and have heard of talking about it. 90% of the people hardly did research and understand the priciples and concepts behind it. I know, this is what a forum should do: open for anybody. You will read that much is manipulated these days. The last thing I aill say is about the letter that Konghan wrote. This one hurts me quiet a bt, and therefor I decided to reply from my Heart. Do not believe anything you READ!!! My excuse for being that Black/ white, but sometimes you need to sound harsh. Also in Crane Boxing there are some "crazy" people claiming a lot. No, I will not mention a name because most of you were frequent visitors of that forum. Again, my excuse.... Evert. I agree as time & society get more complicated so does the politics & intrigues that goes with it. Internet forums are places to learn & exhange ideas & establishe a link between martial brothers & sisters that are distance away from each other that can help propagate & keep people inform as to what TMA is all about. But just like every neighborhoods & community there will always be bullies, thugs & gangs whose main purpose is to disrupt & create chaos in the internat.
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Post by Suhana LIM on Oct 12, 2004 5:35:26 GMT -5
Da jia ni men hao Not only annoying, these troll also earsdrop. Cheers.
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Post by Eric Ling on Oct 12, 2004 6:53:47 GMT -5
But just like every neighborhoods & community there will always be bullies, thugs & gangs whose main purpose is to disrupt & create chaos in the internat. You are right KongHan , there will always be these negative characters about. That is why this forum is like a family. Being the drivers of this forum, we must band together and be vigilant. Any "intruders" with unsound motives must be stopped. I am just the Tau Peck Kong - I need all of you to work with me. Evert, Martin and myself - we like to think of ourselves as the 3 muskeeters. All for one and one for all. We are always consulting each other on Kung Fu matters. If one of us is contacted and unsure - we will trash it out among the 3 of us. Along the way, we really learn to care and respect each other. This forum, hopefully, is about the growth of this little family of 3 now. We come together to share our love of TMA. Nothing more, nothing less. I always like to say this " All who are in Wu Lin are brothers".
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Post by pitbull on Oct 12, 2004 18:38:10 GMT -5
earsdrop? must be evesdrop lah...yah...trolls evesdrop and take these as their own
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Post by Eric Ling on Oct 13, 2004 1:33:32 GMT -5
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Post by Evert on Oct 13, 2004 3:01:09 GMT -5
Eric, in fact the photo’s were not meant to be published, just for your personal interest. But now that you published I will add a nice story to it.
In February this year we met in Hong Kong, together with several students. It was an interesting meeting in Victoria park, the place where my grandmaster taught the art for more then 30 years. From the moment Sisok (not Sibak) met me he said Sihing to me. This did confuse me tremendously and I told my Chinese student Mingfai to correct his name towards me. But he waved it away, I was practicing the art longer then he did, so I was his Sihing. I was more then happy that he finally accept the use of title, from then on he was my Sisok (younger kungfu uncle). I was one generation later, his Dai Sihing was my teacher.
In relation to tradition, I never realized this change of title, but it is worth to mention it here.
The workouts were fun and enjoyable. He gained much respect in the area due to the fact that we came with 6 practitioners and showed a diversity of forms and added much special sound effects throughout the park.
Several years ago he told us that he started Northern Shaolin and Ba Qua again. He missed instruction, and started to learn a new style. Imagine he was then 74 years old. For me that’s the true martial spirit. You will see the peak, but never will reach it….
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Post by Eric Ling on Oct 13, 2004 5:27:20 GMT -5
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Post by Nataraya on Oct 13, 2004 7:29:20 GMT -5
Reviewing the letters in this thread I must say that I am not happy with the direction. Therefore decided to make a very general reply. The Hung Kuen – as created by Wong Fei Hung – is the most popular version of Hung Kuen in the world. It is practiced by thousands of martial artist, and present a specific flavour characteristic for Hung Kuen. Although Wong Fei Hung Kuen is huge, it isn’t the trunk of Hung Kuen. IMHO this should be dated back to Hung Hsi Kwan, also reflected in Eric’s article correctly. There are old Hung Kuen versions, but also village Hung Kuen, Hasayfu Hung Kuen, etceteras. You see the same happened in Fukien Crane Boxing, many varieties. Some mixed it, others refined it according to their beliefs. And so, over the many years it did create in a slightly different system. Nothing wrong with that as long if you are NOT speaking over the original” or “authentic” system. The first homepage will show you the many twigs the Hung Kuen tree have. I can tell you that the variety is clear although the forms are recognized as Gung Ji Fook Fu Kuen and/ or Fu Hoc Seung Ying Kuen. http://www.hkhunggar.com./home.htm We are human beings and have the tendency to be special, claiming to be the world leading authority. The last ten years this did happen in Hung Kuen, but also in many other styles. Our branch – the Tit Kiu Sam branch – might be an incorrect link because our Tit Sin Kuen come from Tit Kiu Sam, while our Hung Kuen is Wong Fei Hung Kuen. It is not clear from which twig we are from. Below you will see one of the finest homepages you can find in the Cantonese style of Hung Kuen. The information is reliable and reflects close to the truth. Try to neglect political statements and keep it with the general picture, principles and methods. www.hungkuen.net/www.siulam.info/http://www.hkhunggar.com./home.htm www.hungkuen.com/Together with the Hung Kuen forum, I think that the reader can create a broad understanding of Hung Kuen worldwide. To make the visitor even more enthusiastic, please visit the next address and download what you want to see in the filed of martial arts. 164.58.65.137/wushu/For Hung Ga you will find a map. Feel free to ask questions about this system. I will do my best to answer them with a general voice. Thank you, Evert.
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