Hong cha
Encyclopedia
Hong Cha Kung Fu is a southern Chinese martial arts
style that incorporates training and techniques that are characteristic of that region. Some of these characteristics are short-range kicks and punches, low stances, and ground fighting. Few kicks are utilized with greater emphasis on hand techniques. Because of these traits, Hong Cha is similar to Hung Gar
. Like Hung Gar and other Southern Shaolin-based styles, Hong Cha techniques are based on the Five Animals system: Dragon
, Tiger
, Crane
, Leopard
, and Snake
. Its training incorporates both hard and soft techniques with emphasis on proper breathing technique. Each animal from is performed with its own unique breath and sound. Hung Gar incorporates these animals forms too but with primary emphasis on the Tiger and Crane. Hong Cha on the other hand puts primary emphasis on the Dragon and Tiger. Additionally, both Hong Cha and Hung Gar incorporate the idea of the Five Elements (fire, water, wood, metal, and earth) in its training.
Hong Cha was promoted by the late Lao Kim, a martial artist from Southern China who traveled to Binondo, Manila in the Philippines and finally to Hong Kong. His student Johnny Chiuten and Johnny's student, Rene Navarro and his student Dr. Jan L. Miller are promoters of this style in the United States.
Grandmaster Chiuten recently died, his students, Master Rene Navarro and Master Navarros' kung fu brother Dr. Jopet Laraya are masters of the style in the USA/England and Hong Kong/Canada respectively. Those individuals who have been promoted to sifu by Dr. Jopet Laraya include Sifu David Ellsmere and Sifu John Rivers of Canada.Great Grandmaster Lao Kim and Grandmaster Lao Ke Tong were friends. There are some who believe that Great Grandmaster Lao Kims' Hung Kuen was derived from the Hung Mun (Chinese masons), though his lineage has been difficult to trace. There are some who claim that Lao Kim learned from the late Grandmaster Tang Fung of the Tang Fung lineage Hung Ga, though Lao Kims' forms are different. Hong Cha is the phoenetical pronunciation for the Mandarin "Hong Jia"(Mandarin Chinese for Hung Ga).
Chinese martial arts
Chinese martial arts, also referred to by the Mandarin Chinese term wushu and popularly as kung fu , are a number of fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common traits, identified as "families" , "sects" or...
style that incorporates training and techniques that are characteristic of that region. Some of these characteristics are short-range kicks and punches, low stances, and ground fighting. Few kicks are utilized with greater emphasis on hand techniques. Because of these traits, Hong Cha is similar to Hung Gar
Hung Gar
Hung Ga 洪家, Hung Kuen 洪拳, or Hung Ga Kuen 洪家拳 is a southern Chinese martial art associated with the Chinese folk hero Wong Fei Hung, who was a master of Hung Ga....
. Like Hung Gar and other Southern Shaolin-based styles, Hong Cha techniques are based on the Five Animals system: Dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
, Tiger
Tiger
The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
, Crane
Crane (bird)
Cranes are a family, Gruidae, of large, long-legged and long-necked birds in the order Gruiformes. There are fifteen species of crane in four genera. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back...
, Leopard
Leopard
The leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...
, and Snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
. Its training incorporates both hard and soft techniques with emphasis on proper breathing technique. Each animal from is performed with its own unique breath and sound. Hung Gar incorporates these animals forms too but with primary emphasis on the Tiger and Crane. Hong Cha on the other hand puts primary emphasis on the Dragon and Tiger. Additionally, both Hong Cha and Hung Gar incorporate the idea of the Five Elements (fire, water, wood, metal, and earth) in its training.
Hong Cha was promoted by the late Lao Kim, a martial artist from Southern China who traveled to Binondo, Manila in the Philippines and finally to Hong Kong. His student Johnny Chiuten and Johnny's student, Rene Navarro and his student Dr. Jan L. Miller are promoters of this style in the United States.
Grandmaster Chiuten recently died, his students, Master Rene Navarro and Master Navarros' kung fu brother Dr. Jopet Laraya are masters of the style in the USA/England and Hong Kong/Canada respectively. Those individuals who have been promoted to sifu by Dr. Jopet Laraya include Sifu David Ellsmere and Sifu John Rivers of Canada.Great Grandmaster Lao Kim and Grandmaster Lao Ke Tong were friends. There are some who believe that Great Grandmaster Lao Kims' Hung Kuen was derived from the Hung Mun (Chinese masons), though his lineage has been difficult to trace. There are some who claim that Lao Kim learned from the late Grandmaster Tang Fung of the Tang Fung lineage Hung Ga, though Lao Kims' forms are different. Hong Cha is the phoenetical pronunciation for the Mandarin "Hong Jia"(Mandarin Chinese for Hung Ga).