Hung Gar
Encyclopedia
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.
According to legend, Hung Gar was named after Hung Hei-Gun
, who learned martial arts from Jee Sin, a Chan
master at the Southern Shaolin Temple.
Jee Sin (ak Gee Sum Sim See) was also the master of following 4 students, namely Choy Gau Lee, Mok Da Si, Lau Sam-Ngan and Li Yao San.
These five students later became the famous founders of five of the southern shaolin styles (Hung Ga, Choy Gar
, Mok Gar
, Li Gar and Lau Gar).
The temple where they trained had become a refuge for opponents of the Qing Dynasty
, who used it as a base for their activities, and was soon destroyed by Qing forces.
Hung, a tea merchant by trade, eventually left his home in Fujian
for Guangdong
, bringing the art with him.
Even though Hung Ga is supposedly named after Hung Hei Gun, the predominant Wong Fei Hung lineage of Hung Ga claims descent not from him but from his classmate Luk Ah Choi (陸阿采), who taught Wong Fei Hung's father Wong Kei-Ying and, by some accounts, Wong Taai (黃泰), who is variously said to be Wong Kei Ying's father or his uncle.
Because the history of the Chinese martial arts
was historically transmitted orally rather than by text, much of the early history of Hung Ga will probably never be either clarified or corroborated by written documentation.
Because the character "hung" (洪) was used in the reign name of the emperor
who overthrew the Mongol Yuan Dynasty
to establish the Han Chinese
Ming Dynasty
, opponents of the Manchu
Qing Dynasty
made frequent use of the character in their imagery.
(Ironically, Luk Ah-Choi was the son of a Manchu stationed in Guangdong.)
Hung Hei-Gun is itself an assumed name intended to honor that first Ming Emperor.
Anti-Qing rebels named the most far reaching of the secret societies they formed the "Hung Mun" (洪門).
The Hung Mun claimed to be founded by survivors of the destruction of the Shaolin Temple, and the martial arts its members practiced came to be called "Hung Ga" and "Hung Kuen."
The hallmarks of the Wong Fei-Hung lineage of Hung Ga are deep low stances, notably its "sei ping ma" horse stance, and strong hand techniques, notably the bridge hand and the versatile tiger claw.
The student traditionally spends anywhere from months to three years in stance training, often sitting only in horse stance between a half-hour to several hours at one time, before learning any forms. Each form then might take a year or so to learn, with weapons learned last. However, in modernity, this mode of instruction is deemed economically unfeasible and impractical for students, who have other concerns beyond practicing kung fu. Some instructors though will stick mainly to traditional guidelines and make stance training the majority of their beginner training.
Hung Ga is sometimes mis-characterized as solely external; that is, reliant on brute physical force rather than the cultivation of qi
; even though the student advances progressively towards an internal focus.
(子母雙刀), Angry Tiger Fist, Fifth Brother Eight Trigram
Pole
(五郎八卦棍), Flying Hook, and Black Tiger Fist (黑虎拳).
Wong distilled his father's empty-hand material along with the material he learned from other masters into the "pillars" of Hung Ga, four empty-hand routines that constitute the core of Hung Ga instruction in the Wong Fei-Hung lineage:
: gōng zì fú hǔ quán; Yale Cantonese: gung ji fuk fu keun
The long routine Taming the Tiger trains the student in the basic techniques of Hung Ga while building endurance. It is said to go at least as far back as Jee Sin, who is said to have taught Taming the Tiger—or at least an early version of it—to both Hung Hei-Gun and Luk Ah-Choi.
The "工" Character Taming the Tiger Fist is so called because its footwork traces a path resembling the character "工".
: hǔ hè shuāng xíng quán; Yale Cantonese: fu hok seung ying keun
Tiger Crane builds on Taming the Tiger, adding "vocabulary" to the Hung Ga practitioner's repertoire. Wong Fei-Hung choreographed the version of Tiger Crane handed down in the lineages that descend from him. He is said to have added to Tiger Crane the bridge hand techniques and rooting of the master Tit Kiu Saam as well as long arm techniques, attributed variously to the Fat Ga, Lo Hon, and Lama
styles. Tiger Crane Paired Form routines from outside Wong Fei-Hung Hung Gar still exist.
: wǔ xíng quán; Yale Cantonese: ng ying keun/pinyin
: wǔ xíng wǔ xíng quán; Yale Cantonese: ng ying ng haang keun
These routines serve as a bridge between the external force of Tiger Crane and the internal focus of Iron Wire. "Five Animals" (literally "Five Forms") refers to the characteristic Five Animals of the Southern Chinese martial arts: Dragon, Snake, Tiger, Leopard, and Crane. "Five Elements" refers to the five classical Chinese elements: Earth, Water, Fire, Metal, and Wood. The Hung Ga Five Animal Fist was choreographed by Wong Fei Hung and expanded by Lam Sai Wing (林世榮), a senior student and teaching assistant of Wong Fei Hung, into the Five Animal Five Element Fist (also called the "Ten Form Fist"). In the Lam Sai Wing branch of Hung Ga, the Five Animal Five Element Fist has largely, but not entirely, superseded the Five Animal Fist, which has become associated with Dang Fong and others who were no longer students when the Five Animal Five Element Fist was created.
: tiě xiàn quán; Yale Cantonese: Tit Sin Kyuhn
Iron Wire builds internal power and is attributed to the martial arts master Leuhng Kwan (Chinese: 梁坤; pinyin: Liáng Kūn; 1815–1887), better known as Tit Kiuh Saam (Chinese: 鐵橋三; pinyin: tiěqiáosān). Like Wong Fei Hung's father Wong Kei-Ying, Tit Sin Saam was one of the Ten Tigers of Canton
. As a teenager, Wong Fei Hung learned Iron Wire from Lam Fuk-Sing (Chinese: 林福成; pinyin: Línfúchéng)
a student of Tit Sin Saam. The Iron Wire form is essentially a combination of Hei Gung (Chinese: 气功; pinyin: qigong) or meditative breathing with isometric exercise
particularly dynamic tension
although weights were also used in traditional practice in the form of iron rings
worn on the wrists. If properly practiced it can increase strength considerably and promote a stable root. However as with both most forms of qigong and most forms of isometric exercise it must be practiced regularly or the benefits are quickly lost.
Wong Fei Hung was known for his Fifth Brother Eight Trigram
Pole
(五郎八卦棍), which can be found in the curricula of both the Lam Sai Wing and Dang Fong branches of Hung Ga, two of the major branches of the Wong Fei-Hung lineage, as can the Spring & Autumn Guandao (春秋大刀), and the Yu Family Tiger Fork (瑤家大扒).
Both branches also train the broadsword
(刀), the butterfly sword
s (雙刀), the spear (槍), and even the fan (扇), but use different routines to do so.
Mother & Son Butterfly Swords (子母雙刀) can still be found in the curriculum of the Dang Fong branch.
Just as those branches that do not descend from Lam Sai Wing do not practice the Five Animal Five Element Fist, those branches that do not descend from Wong Fei Hung sometimes called "old" or "village" Hung Kuen, do not practice the routines he choreographed, nor do the branches that do not descend from Tit Kiu Saam practice Iron Wire.
Conversely, the curricula of some branches have grown through the addition of further routines by creation or acquisition.
Nonetheless, the various branches of the Wong Fei Hung lineage still share the Hung Ga foundation he systematized.
Lacking such a common point of reference, "village" styles of Hung Kuen show even greater variation.
The curriculum that Jee Sin taught Hung Hei-Gun is said to have comprised Tiger style, Luohan style, and Taming the Tiger routine.
Exchanging material with other martial artists allowed Hung to develop or acquire Tiger Crane Paired Form routine, a combination animal routine, Southern Flower Fist, and several weapons.
According to Hung Ga tradition, the martial arts that Jee Sin originally taught Hung Hei Gun were short range and the more active footwork, wider stances, and long range techniques commonly associated with Hung Ga were added later.
It is said to have featured "a two-foot horse," that is, narrow stances, and routines whose footwork typically took up no more than four tiles' worth of space.
(下四虎) is said to fit this description, though the implied link to the legendary Jee Sin is more speculative than most because of its poorly documented genealogy.
Ha Sei Fu Hung Ga of Leung Wah Chew is a Five Animal style with a separate routine for each animal.
Other Branches of Ha Sei Fu Hung Ga also contain combined animal sets like tiger & Crane, Dragon & Leopard, etc.
and Miu Hin (苗顯) who, like Jee Sin, were both survivors of the destruction of the Shaolin Monastery.
From Miu Hin, the Five-Pattern Hung Kuen passed to his daughter Miu Tsui Fa (苗筴花), and from his daughter to his grandson Fong Sai-Yuk
(方世玉), both Chinese folk heroes like Jee Sin, Ng Mui, and their forebear Miu Hin.
Yuen Yik Kai's Books introdued this branch to the Western/European venue. while conventionally translated as "Five-Pattern Hung Fist" rather than "Five Animal Hung Fist", it is a Five Animal style, one with a single routine for all Five Animals but also has other sets as well.
: hóng quán) though these predate the Qing Dynasty
(1644–1912). Other northern styles use the Character for "Red Fist".
Ang Lian-Huat attributes the art to Hung Hei Gun's combination of the Tiger style he learned from Jee Sin with the Crane style he learned from his wife, whose name is given in Hokkien as Tee Eng-Choon.
Like other martial arts that trace their origins to Fujian
(e.g. Fujian White Crane, Five Ancestors
), this style uses San Chian as its foundation.
Wong Kiew Kit trace their version of The Tiger Crane routine not to Hung Hei Gun or Luk Ah Choi but to their senior classmate Harng Yein.
and Fujian
Provinces in particular, is due to the concentration of anti-Qing activity there.
The Hung Mun began life in the 1760s as the Heaven and Earth Society, whose founders came from the prefecture of Zhangzhou
in Fujian Province, on its border with Guangdong, where one of its founders organized a precursor to the Heaven and Earth Society in Huizhou
.
Guangdong and Fujian remained a stronghold of sympathizers and recruits for the Hung Mun even as it spread elsewhere in the decades that followed.
Though the members of the Hung Clan almost certainly practiced a variety of martial arts styles, the composition of its membership meant that it was the characteristics of Fujianese and Cantonese martial arts that came to be associated with the names "Hung Kuen" and "Hung Ga."
Regardless of their differences, the Hung Kuen lineages of Wong Fei Hung, Yuen Yik Kai, Leung Wah Chew, and Jeung Kei Ji (張克治) nonetheless all trace their origins to this area and this time period, are all Five Animal styles, and all claim Shaolin origins.
Northern Hung Kuen (洪拳), by contrast, is not a Five Animal style and dates to the 16th century
.
Cantonese and Fujianese are also predominant among Overseas Chinese
, accounting for the widespread dissemination of Hung Kuen outside of China.
With exceptions such as Frank Yee (余志偉; Yee Chi Wai) of New York City and Cheung Shu Pui in Philadelphia, both of the Dang Fong lineage, the foremost teachers of Hung Ga in the United States belong to the Lam Sai Wing branch. As the principal teacher under Lam Sai Wing, Lam Cho (林祖)(Lam Sai Wing's adopted nephew) has taught well known masters such as Y.C. Wong (黃耀楨) (San Francisco) and Bucksam Kong (江北山) (Los Angeles and Hawaii). Lam Cho's eldest son, Lam Chun Fai, now carries on his Hung Ga teaching in Hong Kong. Lam Chun Fai has also done much to spread Hung Kuen in Europe.
Other notable students of Lam Cho include Kwong Tit Fu and Tang Kwok Wah (鄧國華). Kwong and Tang taught in Boston, Massachusetts for twenty years before retiring from teaching. Among Tang Kwok Wah's students currently teaching in the area are Winchell Woo, Yon Lee 李健遠 (who is also the master instructor for the Harvard Tai Chi Tiger Crane kung fu Club at Harvard University since 1985), and Sik Y. Hum. Calvin Chin of Newton Highlands carries on Kwong's legacy. In 2007, after 2 successful pilgrimage to the Shaolin Temple and several exchanges arranged through the Municipal Government of Dengfeng (登封市) City, China, Yon Lee and his students formed the Harvard Shaolin Cultural Foundation (少林文化基金會). In 2010, the Harvard foundation and the Songshan Cultural Research Foundation (嵩山文化研究會)of Dengfeng hosted a conference on Shaolin culture, focusing the link between kung fu and medicine (禪武醫).
Chiu Kau (趙教) began learning Hung Kuen in Singapore. He later married Wong Siu Ying (黃邵英) who began learning Hung Ga from her husband. The couple eventually settled down in Hong Kong where they continued their Hung Ga training at the Lam Sai Wing National Art Association Second Branch. Their sons Chiu Chi Ling
(趙志淩) of Alameda, California, and Chiu Wai (趙威) of Calgary, Alberta, Canada are the inheritors of this lineage. Kwong Wing Lam of Sunnyvale, California, studied with Chiu Kau, Chiu Wai, and Lam Jo and learned the Ha Sei Fu style from Leung Wah Chew.
John Leong learned from Lam Sai Wing's student, Wong Lee. The Jeung Kei Ji (張克治) branch of Hung Kuen is represented by Steven C. George (史帝夫) of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada and Daniel Král, Vladimír Šanda, David Kříženecký, Stanislav Fraibiš, Martin Veselý of Prague, Czech Republic.
One of the more famous teachers of Hung Kuen today is the famous Shaw Brothers movie director/actor, Lau Kar Leung(also from the Lam Sai Wing lineage), who has many students in Hong Kong. One of Lau Kar Leung's notable disciples is Mark Ho also known as Mark Houghton, an Englishman who has lived in Hong Kong for 20 years. Mark Ho, with the blessing of Lau Kar Leung, has opened a unique Hung Kuen school in Fanling. The school itself looks like a scene from a Shaw Brothers movie; it has many training chambers, wooden dummies, and hanging logs. There are now Lau Family Hung Kuen schools in China, England and the Philippines.
Chris Dougliss in Ireland trained for a while under Mark Houghton.Chris then trained under Dave Bradley who was a Student of Mark Houghton in Birmingham before Mark went to Hong Kong.Chris moved to Ireland and continued training for many years with a select few Students of his own.He then formed Clonmel Hung Gar Kung Fu School which trains rigidly according to tradition.
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
folk hero Wong Fei Hung
Wong Fei Hung
Wong Fei-hung was a Chinese martial artist, a traditional Chinese medicine physician, acupuncturist and revolutionary who became a folk hero and the subject of numerous television series and films. He was considered an expert in the Hung Gar style of Chinese martial arts. Wong is visibly the most...
, who was a master of Hung Ga.
According to legend, Hung Gar was named after Hung Hei-Gun
Hung Hei-Gun
Hung Hei 1745–1825, born Huadu, Guangdong, China, was a major influential figure of Southern Shaolin Kung Fu.-Overview:Hung Hei was originally named Jue 朱 and was a tea merchant. He escaped to the Southern Fujian Shaolin Temple after he had an argument with a few upper class Manchurians during the...
, who learned martial arts from Jee Sin, a Chan
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
master at the Southern Shaolin Temple.
Jee Sin (ak Gee Sum Sim See) was also the master of following 4 students, namely Choy Gau Lee, Mok Da Si, Lau Sam-Ngan and Li Yao San.
These five students later became the famous founders of five of the southern shaolin styles (Hung Ga, Choy Gar
Choy gar
Choy Gar is a Chinese martial art deriving its name from Choy Gau Lee and is one of the five main family styles of Kung Fu in Southern China...
, Mok Gar
Mok Gar
Mok Gar is one of the five major family styles of Southern Chinese martial arts. It was developed by a Shaolin monk named Monk Mo Ta Shi as an inheritance of the Southern Shaolin Fist in Guangdong province in China....
, Li Gar and Lau Gar).
The temple where they trained had become a refuge for opponents of the Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
, who used it as a base for their activities, and was soon destroyed by Qing forces.
Hung, a tea merchant by trade, eventually left his home in Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
for Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
, bringing the art with him.
Even though Hung Ga is supposedly named after Hung Hei Gun, the predominant Wong Fei Hung lineage of Hung Ga claims descent not from him but from his classmate Luk Ah Choi (陸阿采), who taught Wong Fei Hung's father Wong Kei-Ying and, by some accounts, Wong Taai (黃泰), who is variously said to be Wong Kei Ying's father or his uncle.
Because the history of the Chinese martial arts
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...
was historically transmitted orally rather than by text, much of the early history of Hung Ga will probably never be either clarified or corroborated by written documentation.
Because the character "hung" (洪) was used in the reign name of the emperor
Hongwu Emperor
The Hongwu Emperor , known variably by his given name Zhu Yuanzhang and by his temple name Taizu of Ming , was the founder and first emperor of the Ming Dynasty of China...
who overthrew the Mongol Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
to establish the Han Chinese
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
, opponents of the Manchu
Manchu
The Manchu people or Man are an ethnic minority of China who originated in Manchuria . During their rise in the 17th century, with the help of the Ming dynasty rebels , they came to power in China and founded the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China until the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, which...
Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
made frequent use of the character in their imagery.
(Ironically, Luk Ah-Choi was the son of a Manchu stationed in Guangdong.)
Hung Hei-Gun is itself an assumed name intended to honor that first Ming Emperor.
Anti-Qing rebels named the most far reaching of the secret societies they formed the "Hung Mun" (洪門).
The Hung Mun claimed to be founded by survivors of the destruction of the Shaolin Temple, and the martial arts its members practiced came to be called "Hung Ga" and "Hung Kuen."
The hallmarks of the Wong Fei-Hung lineage of Hung Ga are deep low stances, notably its "sei ping ma" horse stance, and strong hand techniques, notably the bridge hand and the versatile tiger claw.
The student traditionally spends anywhere from months to three years in stance training, often sitting only in horse stance between a half-hour to several hours at one time, before learning any forms. Each form then might take a year or so to learn, with weapons learned last. However, in modernity, this mode of instruction is deemed economically unfeasible and impractical for students, who have other concerns beyond practicing kung fu. Some instructors though will stick mainly to traditional guidelines and make stance training the majority of their beginner training.
Hung Ga is sometimes mis-characterized as solely external; that is, reliant on brute physical force rather than the cultivation of qi
Qi
In traditional Chinese culture, qì is an active principle forming part of any living thing. Qi is frequently translated as life energy, lifeforce, or energy flow. Qi is the central underlying principle in traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts...
; even though the student advances progressively towards an internal focus.
The Hung Ga curriculum of Wong Fei-Hung
The Hung Ga curriculum that Wong Fei-Hung learned from his father comprised Single Hard Fist, Double Hard Fist, Taming the Tiger Fist (伏虎拳), Mother & Son Butterfly SwordsButterfly sword
The butterfly sword is a short dāo, or single-edged blade, originally from the South of China, though it has seen use in the North.The blade of a butterfly sword is roughly as long as a human forearm, which allows for easy concealment inside loose sleeves or boots, and allows greater...
(子母雙刀), Angry Tiger Fist, Fifth Brother Eight Trigram
Bagua
Bagua may refer to:* Ba gua , a fundamental philosophical concept in ancient China* Baguazhang , shortly Bagua, a Chinese martial art based on Ba gua's principles* Bakkwa, a salty-sweet dried meat product from China similar to pork jerky...
Pole
Gun (staff)
The Chinese word gun refers to a long Chinese staff weapon used in Chinese martial arts. It is known as one of the four major weapons, along with the qiang , dao , and the jian , called in this group "The Grandfather of all Weapons".-Variants:There are various kinds of gun, and they include the...
(五郎八卦棍), Flying Hook, and Black Tiger Fist (黑虎拳).
Wong distilled his father's empty-hand material along with the material he learned from other masters into the "pillars" of Hung Ga, four empty-hand routines that constitute the core of Hung Ga instruction in the Wong Fei-Hung lineage:
"工" Character Taming the Tiger Fist 工字伏虎拳
pinyinPinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: gōng zì fú hǔ quán; Yale Cantonese: gung ji fuk fu keun
The long routine Taming the Tiger trains the student in the basic techniques of Hung Ga while building endurance. It is said to go at least as far back as Jee Sin, who is said to have taught Taming the Tiger—or at least an early version of it—to both Hung Hei-Gun and Luk Ah-Choi.
The "工" Character Taming the Tiger Fist is so called because its footwork traces a path resembling the character "工".
Tiger Crane Paired Form Fist 虎鶴雙形拳
pinyinPinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: hǔ hè shuāng xíng quán; Yale Cantonese: fu hok seung ying keun
Tiger Crane builds on Taming the Tiger, adding "vocabulary" to the Hung Ga practitioner's repertoire. Wong Fei-Hung choreographed the version of Tiger Crane handed down in the lineages that descend from him. He is said to have added to Tiger Crane the bridge hand techniques and rooting of the master Tit Kiu Saam as well as long arm techniques, attributed variously to the Fat Ga, Lo Hon, and Lama
Lama (martial art)
While today the martial arts known as Lama Pai, Tibetan White Crane, and Hop Gar exist as relatively distinct lineages and/or organizations, all originated with a single figure known as Sing Lung who arrived in Guangdong Province during the Qing Dynasty and taught a martial art then known as...
styles. Tiger Crane Paired Form routines from outside Wong Fei-Hung Hung Gar still exist.
Five Animal Fist 五形拳/Five Animal Five Element Fist 五形五行拳
pinyinPinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: wǔ xíng quán; Yale Cantonese: ng ying keun/pinyin
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: wǔ xíng wǔ xíng quán; Yale Cantonese: ng ying ng haang keun
These routines serve as a bridge between the external force of Tiger Crane and the internal focus of Iron Wire. "Five Animals" (literally "Five Forms") refers to the characteristic Five Animals of the Southern Chinese martial arts: Dragon, Snake, Tiger, Leopard, and Crane. "Five Elements" refers to the five classical Chinese elements: Earth, Water, Fire, Metal, and Wood. The Hung Ga Five Animal Fist was choreographed by Wong Fei Hung and expanded by Lam Sai Wing (林世榮), a senior student and teaching assistant of Wong Fei Hung, into the Five Animal Five Element Fist (also called the "Ten Form Fist"). In the Lam Sai Wing branch of Hung Ga, the Five Animal Five Element Fist has largely, but not entirely, superseded the Five Animal Fist, which has become associated with Dang Fong and others who were no longer students when the Five Animal Five Element Fist was created.
Iron Wire Fist 鐵線拳
pinyinPinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: tiě xiàn quán; Yale Cantonese: Tit Sin Kyuhn
Iron Wire builds internal power and is attributed to the martial arts master Leuhng Kwan (Chinese: 梁坤; pinyin: Liáng Kūn; 1815–1887), better known as Tit Kiuh Saam (Chinese: 鐵橋三; pinyin: tiěqiáosān). Like Wong Fei Hung's father Wong Kei-Ying, Tit Sin Saam was one of the Ten Tigers of Canton
Ten Tigers of Canton
The Ten Tigers of Canton or Ten Tigers of Guangdong refer to a group of ten Chinese martial artists from Guangdong , China, who lived during the late Qing Dynasty . They were said to be the best fighters in southern China at that time...
. As a teenager, Wong Fei Hung learned Iron Wire from Lam Fuk-Sing (Chinese: 林福成; pinyin: Línfúchéng)
a student of Tit Sin Saam. The Iron Wire form is essentially a combination of Hei Gung (Chinese: 气功; pinyin: qigong) or meditative breathing with isometric exercise
Isometric exercise
Isometric exercise or isometrics are a type of strength training in which the joint angle and muscle length do not change during contraction...
particularly dynamic tension
Dynamic tension
"Dynamic Tension" is the name Charles Atlas gave to the system of exercises that he first popularized in the 1920s.Dynamic Tension is a self-resistance exercise method which pits muscle against muscle. The practitioner tenses the muscles of given body part and then moves the body part against the...
although weights were also used in traditional practice in the form of iron rings
Iron rings
Iron rings are heavy metal rings used in martial arts for various training purposes. Metal rings have a long history of being used in Yau Kung Mun, Hung Gar, and other styles for weight training, to harden the muscle, skin, or bone, or strengthen the arms and fists.-Types of rings:Many different...
worn on the wrists. If properly practiced it can increase strength considerably and promote a stable root. However as with both most forms of qigong and most forms of isometric exercise it must be practiced regularly or the benefits are quickly lost.
Wong Fei Hung was known for his Fifth Brother Eight Trigram
Baguazhang
Bāguàzhǎng is one of the three main Chinese martial arts of the Wudang school, the other two being Taijiquan and Xingyiquan. It is more broadly grouped as an internal practice...
Pole
Gun (staff)
The Chinese word gun refers to a long Chinese staff weapon used in Chinese martial arts. It is known as one of the four major weapons, along with the qiang , dao , and the jian , called in this group "The Grandfather of all Weapons".-Variants:There are various kinds of gun, and they include the...
(五郎八卦棍), which can be found in the curricula of both the Lam Sai Wing and Dang Fong branches of Hung Ga, two of the major branches of the Wong Fei-Hung lineage, as can the Spring & Autumn Guandao (春秋大刀), and the Yu Family Tiger Fork (瑤家大扒).
Both branches also train the broadsword
Dao (sword)
Daois a category of single-edge Chinese swords primarily used for slashing and chopping , often called a broadsword in English translation because some varieties have wide blades. In China, the dao is known as one of the four major weapons, along with the gun , qiang , and the jian , and referred...
(刀), the butterfly sword
Butterfly sword
The butterfly sword is a short dāo, or single-edged blade, originally from the South of China, though it has seen use in the North.The blade of a butterfly sword is roughly as long as a human forearm, which allows for easy concealment inside loose sleeves or boots, and allows greater...
s (雙刀), the spear (槍), and even the fan (扇), but use different routines to do so.
Mother & Son Butterfly Swords (子母雙刀) can still be found in the curriculum of the Dang Fong branch.
Branches of Hung Kuen
Beyond that, the curricula of different branches of Hung Ga differ tremendously with regard to routines and the selection of weapons, even within the Wong Fei Hung lineage.Just as those branches that do not descend from Lam Sai Wing do not practice the Five Animal Five Element Fist, those branches that do not descend from Wong Fei Hung sometimes called "old" or "village" Hung Kuen, do not practice the routines he choreographed, nor do the branches that do not descend from Tit Kiu Saam practice Iron Wire.
Conversely, the curricula of some branches have grown through the addition of further routines by creation or acquisition.
Nonetheless, the various branches of the Wong Fei Hung lineage still share the Hung Ga foundation he systematized.
Lacking such a common point of reference, "village" styles of Hung Kuen show even greater variation.
The curriculum that Jee Sin taught Hung Hei-Gun is said to have comprised Tiger style, Luohan style, and Taming the Tiger routine.
Exchanging material with other martial artists allowed Hung to develop or acquire Tiger Crane Paired Form routine, a combination animal routine, Southern Flower Fist, and several weapons.
According to Hung Ga tradition, the martial arts that Jee Sin originally taught Hung Hei Gun were short range and the more active footwork, wider stances, and long range techniques commonly associated with Hung Ga were added later.
It is said to have featured "a two-foot horse," that is, narrow stances, and routines whose footwork typically took up no more than four tiles' worth of space.
Ha Sei Fu Hung Ga 下四虎洪家
The Ha Sei FuHasayfu
Hasayfu is the Cantonese term which literally means Lower Four Tigers and has been applied to refer to a type of Hung Kuen kung fu style. This term is derived from the original term Ha Say Fu pronounced similarly, but in the past referred to the four lower districts/Prefectures in Guangdong Province...
(下四虎) is said to fit this description, though the implied link to the legendary Jee Sin is more speculative than most because of its poorly documented genealogy.
Ha Sei Fu Hung Ga of Leung Wah Chew is a Five Animal style with a separate routine for each animal.
Other Branches of Ha Sei Fu Hung Ga also contain combined animal sets like tiger & Crane, Dragon & Leopard, etc.
Five-Pattern Hung Kuen 五形洪拳
Like Ha Sei Fu Hung Ga, the Ng Ying Hung Kuen (五形洪拳) fits the description of Jee Sin's martial arts, but traces its ancestry to Ng MuiNg Mui
Ng Mui is said to have been one of the legendary Five Elders — survivors of the destruction of the Shaolin Temple by the Qing Dynasty....
and Miu Hin (苗顯) who, like Jee Sin, were both survivors of the destruction of the Shaolin Monastery.
From Miu Hin, the Five-Pattern Hung Kuen passed to his daughter Miu Tsui Fa (苗筴花), and from his daughter to his grandson Fong Sai-Yuk
Fong Sai-Yuk
Fong Sai-yuk is a Chinese martial artist and folk hero. He is first introduced in Wuxia stories from the Qing Dynasty such as Wan Nian Qing. He is also featured in several forms of media, of which the most notable is the 1993 film Fong Sai-yuk.-Early life:Fong Sai-yuk is a native of Zhaoqing,...
(方世玉), both Chinese folk heroes like Jee Sin, Ng Mui, and their forebear Miu Hin.
Yuen Yik Kai's Books introdued this branch to the Western/European venue. while conventionally translated as "Five-Pattern Hung Fist" rather than "Five Animal Hung Fist", it is a Five Animal style, one with a single routine for all Five Animals but also has other sets as well.
Northern Hung Kuen 洪拳
There are Northern styles that use the name "Hung Kuen" (洪拳; pinyinPinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: hóng quán) though these predate the Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
(1644–1912). Other northern styles use the Character for "Red Fist".
Tiger Crane Paired Form 虎鶴雙形
The Tiger-Crane Combination style has been found in almost every Hung Style. While not as long as the Wong Fei Hung version that is typically seen as containing 108 movements/techniques.Ang Lian-Huat attributes the art to Hung Hei Gun's combination of the Tiger style he learned from Jee Sin with the Crane style he learned from his wife, whose name is given in Hokkien as Tee Eng-Choon.
Like other martial arts that trace their origins to Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
(e.g. Fujian White Crane, Five Ancestors
Five Ancestors
Five Ancestors Fist is a Southern Chinese martial art that consists of techniques from five different styles:* the breathing methods and iron body of Da mo * the posture and dynamic power of Luohan...
), this style uses San Chian as its foundation.
Wong Kiew Kit trace their version of The Tiger Crane routine not to Hung Hei Gun or Luk Ah Choi but to their senior classmate Harng Yein.
Remark to different Hung Kuen Styles
Not all share the opinion that several hung kuen styles are existing. Because Hung Gar has its origin in the famous southern shaolin temple. And there the most famous linage with Hung Hei Gung, Luk Ah Choy, Wong Tai, Wong Kei Yin, Wong Fei Hung and Lam Sai Wing has its roots.The dissemination of Hung Kuen
The dissemination of Hung Kuen in Southern China, and its GuangdongGuangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
and Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
Provinces in particular, is due to the concentration of anti-Qing activity there.
The Hung Mun began life in the 1760s as the Heaven and Earth Society, whose founders came from the prefecture of Zhangzhou
Zhangzhou
Zhangzhou is a prefecture-level city in southern Fujian province, People's Republic of China. Located on the banks of the Jiulong River , Zhangzhou borders the cities of Xiamen and Quanzhou to the northeast, Longyan City to the northwest and the province of Guangdong to the southwest.Zhangzhou...
in Fujian Province, on its border with Guangdong, where one of its founders organized a precursor to the Heaven and Earth Society in Huizhou
Huizhou
Huizhou , historically known as Waichow, is a city located in central Guangdong province of the People's Republic of China. Part of the Pearl River Delta, Huizhou borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the west, Shaoguan to the north, Heyuan to the northeast, Shanwei to the east, Shenzhen...
.
Guangdong and Fujian remained a stronghold of sympathizers and recruits for the Hung Mun even as it spread elsewhere in the decades that followed.
Though the members of the Hung Clan almost certainly practiced a variety of martial arts styles, the composition of its membership meant that it was the characteristics of Fujianese and Cantonese martial arts that came to be associated with the names "Hung Kuen" and "Hung Ga."
Regardless of their differences, the Hung Kuen lineages of Wong Fei Hung, Yuen Yik Kai, Leung Wah Chew, and Jeung Kei Ji (張克治) nonetheless all trace their origins to this area and this time period, are all Five Animal styles, and all claim Shaolin origins.
Northern Hung Kuen (洪拳), by contrast, is not a Five Animal style and dates to the 16th century
16th century
As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century lasted from 1501 to 1600. It is regarded by historians as the century in which the rise of the West occurred....
.
Cantonese and Fujianese are also predominant among Overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese are people of Chinese birth or descent who live outside the Greater China Area . People of partial Chinese ancestry living outside the Greater China Area may also consider themselves Overseas Chinese....
, accounting for the widespread dissemination of Hung Kuen outside of China.
With exceptions such as Frank Yee (余志偉; Yee Chi Wai) of New York City and Cheung Shu Pui in Philadelphia, both of the Dang Fong lineage, the foremost teachers of Hung Ga in the United States belong to the Lam Sai Wing branch. As the principal teacher under Lam Sai Wing, Lam Cho (林祖)(Lam Sai Wing's adopted nephew) has taught well known masters such as Y.C. Wong (黃耀楨) (San Francisco) and Bucksam Kong (江北山) (Los Angeles and Hawaii). Lam Cho's eldest son, Lam Chun Fai, now carries on his Hung Ga teaching in Hong Kong. Lam Chun Fai has also done much to spread Hung Kuen in Europe.
Other notable students of Lam Cho include Kwong Tit Fu and Tang Kwok Wah (鄧國華). Kwong and Tang taught in Boston, Massachusetts for twenty years before retiring from teaching. Among Tang Kwok Wah's students currently teaching in the area are Winchell Woo, Yon Lee 李健遠 (who is also the master instructor for the Harvard Tai Chi Tiger Crane kung fu Club at Harvard University since 1985), and Sik Y. Hum. Calvin Chin of Newton Highlands carries on Kwong's legacy. In 2007, after 2 successful pilgrimage to the Shaolin Temple and several exchanges arranged through the Municipal Government of Dengfeng (登封市) City, China, Yon Lee and his students formed the Harvard Shaolin Cultural Foundation (少林文化基金會). In 2010, the Harvard foundation and the Songshan Cultural Research Foundation (嵩山文化研究會)of Dengfeng hosted a conference on Shaolin culture, focusing the link between kung fu and medicine (禪武醫).
Chiu Kau (趙教) began learning Hung Kuen in Singapore. He later married Wong Siu Ying (黃邵英) who began learning Hung Ga from her husband. The couple eventually settled down in Hong Kong where they continued their Hung Ga training at the Lam Sai Wing National Art Association Second Branch. Their sons Chiu Chi Ling
Chiu Chi Ling
Chiu Chi Ling is an actor that appears mostly in Kung Fu style movies produced in Hong Kong. He also teaches Hung Gar Kung Fu at Chiu Chi Ling Hung Gar Kung Fu Association, a San Francisco-based martial arts school he founded, and at the old Chiu Family Kwoon in Hong Kong...
(趙志淩) of Alameda, California, and Chiu Wai (趙威) of Calgary, Alberta, Canada are the inheritors of this lineage. Kwong Wing Lam of Sunnyvale, California, studied with Chiu Kau, Chiu Wai, and Lam Jo and learned the Ha Sei Fu style from Leung Wah Chew.
John Leong learned from Lam Sai Wing's student, Wong Lee. The Jeung Kei Ji (張克治) branch of Hung Kuen is represented by Steven C. George (史帝夫) of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada and Daniel Král, Vladimír Šanda, David Kříženecký, Stanislav Fraibiš, Martin Veselý of Prague, Czech Republic.
One of the more famous teachers of Hung Kuen today is the famous Shaw Brothers movie director/actor, Lau Kar Leung(also from the Lam Sai Wing lineage), who has many students in Hong Kong. One of Lau Kar Leung's notable disciples is Mark Ho also known as Mark Houghton, an Englishman who has lived in Hong Kong for 20 years. Mark Ho, with the blessing of Lau Kar Leung, has opened a unique Hung Kuen school in Fanling. The school itself looks like a scene from a Shaw Brothers movie; it has many training chambers, wooden dummies, and hanging logs. There are now Lau Family Hung Kuen schools in China, England and the Philippines.
Chris Dougliss in Ireland trained for a while under Mark Houghton.Chris then trained under Dave Bradley who was a Student of Mark Houghton in Birmingham before Mark went to Hong Kong.Chris moved to Ireland and continued training for many years with a select few Students of his own.He then formed Clonmel Hung Gar Kung Fu School which trains rigidly according to tradition.
See also
- The five major family styles of southern Chinese martial arts
- Jee Sin Sim SeeJee Sin Sim SeeJee Sin Sim See is said to have been one of the legendary Five Elders, survivors of the destruction of the Shaolin Temple by the Qing Dynasty ....
- Wong Kei-Ying
- Wong Fei-Hung
- Lam Sai WingLam Sai WingLam Sai-wing , was a student of the Cantonese martial artist, healer and folk hero Wong Fei-hung.-Early life:...
- Fu Jow Pai - Tiger Claw System
External links
- Frank Bolte's Hung Kuen in Germany and Philippines
- Kung Fu School Martin Sewer (Student of Grandmaster Chiu Chi Ling)
- Clonmel Hung Gar Kung Fu Club The Only Authentic Hung Gar School in Ireland.Comprehensive History of Hung Gar
- Hung Gar Kyun Discussion Forum
- Short Historical Essay on Hung Gar Master Lam Sai Wing Written by His Disciple Zhu Yuzhai. As related by Zhang Shibiao from Pangyu. The twelfth year Kuihai of the Peoples Republic (1923), the first month of the summer.
- Hung Gar Bible - Canonical Books by Lam Sai Wing (Translated from Chinese)
- Hung Kuen Net
- Netherlands Hung Gar Association
- Lam Family Hung Kyun
- the official Lau Family school in Hongkong
- the only hung gar school in the Philippines(Lau family)
- the official Lau Family school in the United Kingdom
- Yee's Hung Ga International Kung Fu Association: Tradition
- The History of Hung Ga
- Five Animals Hung Ga
- hung gar tradition in Italy
- Ching Chung Hung Gar in Italy (Chiu Family)
- Swedish Hung Kuen assoc.
- Hung Gar Andorra Association
- Pakistan, Islamabad Hung Gar
- Chin Woo Argentina
- Chiu Mo Kwoon, Sifu Winchell (Ping Chiu) Woo - Boston, USA