Jon's Website

Shaolin Kung Fu

Shaolin Kung Fu is often classified into Northern Shaolin and Southern Shaolin. Northern Shaolin is the style of kung fu developed in the northern Shaolin Monastery in Henan Province of China, and Southern Shaolin in the southern Shaolin Monastery in Fujian Province.

The southern Shaolin Monastery was built during the Ming Dynasty by imperial decree. When the Ming Dynasty was overthrown by the Qing, many Ming royalists rallied round the southern Monastery to gather support for the restoration of the Ming. Hence, while the normal greeting in the northern Monastery was clasping of both palms as in prayer, that in the southern Monastery was bringing the right fist towards the left palm in front of the chest. The right fist resembles the Chinese character for "sun" and the left palm for "moon", the combination of which is the Chinese character for "Ming".

The Qing emperor Yong Zheng infiltrated into the southern Shaolin Monastery as a monk to learn Shaolin Kungfu.. Later he dispatched the Qing army, with the help of Lama monks from Tibet, to raze the southern Monastery to the ground. Today the Chinese government has erected a stone tablet to indicate where the former site of the southern Shaolin Monastery was.

Some Shaolin masters escaped the inferno, and fled to Guangdong, which became the stronghold where many Southern Shaolin styles developed. To avoid the attention of the Qiing government, these masters did not use the term "Shaolin". The styles of kungfu they taught were called after the masters' surnames or after their characteristic forms. The five famous styles that took the masters' surnames were Hoong Ka, Lau Ka, Choy Ka, Li Ka and Mok Ka, "Ka" being the Cantonese (Guangdong) dialect for "family". The styles that were named after their characteristic forms were Dragon Style Kungfu , Black Tiger Kungfu and White Crane Kungfu. Later, Choy-Li-Fatt Kungfu was named as a result of a combination of three styles -- Choy Ka, Li Ka and Fatt Ka (which means Buddha Style); and Wing Choon Kungfu after the founder, Yim Wing Choon.

There is a Chinese saying which says "Southern fists, northern kicks". It means that Southern Shaolin Kungfu is well known for its hand techniques, while Northern Shaolin Kungfu for its kicks.. Another discernable difference is Northern Shaolin is flowing and elegant in its movement, whereas Southern Shaolin is stable and powerful.

The specialization of hand techniques and kicking techniques between Northern and Southern Shaolin was mainly due to environmental factors. Wide, open plains in northern China encouraged the frequent use of kicks in combat; but in southern China where buildings were close together, hand techniques were favoured. Nevertheless, one must not be misled to think that hand techniques are not important in Northern Shaolin, and kicks are not important in Southern Shaolin. In fact, there is a greater variety of kicks in Southern Shaolin than in other martial arts generally known for their kicking attacks like Taekwondo and Kick Boxing.

The range of hand techniques in Southern Shaolin Kungfu is extensive and profound. While most other martial arts employ mainly the fist and sometimes the palm, Southern Shaolin Kungfu employs more than 15 different hand forms, such as the Tiger Claw, the Leopard Punch, the Phoenix Eye, the Crane Beak, the Praying Mantis Hand, and the Monkey Paw . Regarding the clenched fist, while most other martial arts use it mainly for a thrust punch, in Southern Shaolin Kungfu the same fist can be used in more than a dozen ways, such as chopping, sweeping, whipping, swinging and hanging.


Why does Southern Shaolin Kungfu employ so many different hand forms in so many different ways? This is because of various technical, tactical or strategical advantages. For example, if you use a hand technique to strike an opponent's throat, a leopard punch is more advantageous than a clenched fist. If you wish to use the tactic of "sounding the east and striking the west", which in simple language means distracting your opponent with feign moves before an actual attack, using a hanging fist on his face before executing a a low kick is more deceptive than using an ordinary thrust punch. If you employ the strategy of "using minimum force against maximum strength" against a bigger, physically stronger opponent, using a Monkey Paw to deflect the opponent's strikes is more advantageous than blocking with a stiffen arm.

Information provided by Sifu Wong Kiew Kit, Grandmaster of Shaolin Wahnam Kungfu and Chi Kung. You can reach Sifu Wong's Homepage at http://www.shaolin-wahnam.org.


Hung Kuen

History of Hung Kuen

The Hung Ga system began in the Ching dynasty during the reign of Yung Jing (1723-1736 a.d.). Hung Ga was the number one style among five family styles of the south. These were:

Each of these systems is unique and possesses distinctive and special techniques. Originally, Hung Hei Guen's surname was Jyu. His grandfather was an official of the Ming government and the family was well off. Hung was originally a tea merchant before becoming a student of master Jee Sim and graduating from the south Siu Lam temple. As a staunch supporter of the deposed Ming regime, he changed his surname from Jyu to Hung in honor of the first Ming emperor Jyu Hung Mo (1271-1368 a.d.). Hung would have referred to his martial arts as Siu Lam kung fu, but out of fear that the Siu Lam connection would get him and his followers in trouble, he called the art Hung Ga of Hung family kung fu to hide its true source. Later, his followers would continue this practice, in honor of their venerated master. After the burning of the Siu Lam temple in Fukien, he met and married Fong Wing Chun, a former student of Buddhist nun Ng Mui. Fong was knowledgeable in Crane style kung fu. He later moved to Fa city in Gwang Dung province and later died there at the advanced age of 90 years. His tomb is still located there. In addition, historical records at Fukien Chan Jau Fu Ji indicated that Hung Hei Guen killed someone there with a single punch. In addition to this as evidence of Hung's existence, it also attests to the devastating power of Hung's fist.

Hung Kuen became known for two things:

1. The "thousand pound foundation" or horse stance

2. The "iron fist" and "iron arm" or fists and forearms continuously conditioned on sandbags and wooden posts.

For example, when Hung Hei Guen sank into a horse stance, more than ten people with staffs were unable to move him. This is a difficult achievement, requiring 3-7 years practice. Some others occasionally say that Hung Kuen is slow. This is untrue. Like many systems, Hung Kuen emphasizes fast strikes. However, it believes that a firm root is the most indispensable feature of the training. It is that when people are mobile and flexible but do not have a solid foundation it is easy for them to lose. Thus, Hung Kuen is solid first, and mobile and flexible secondly.

Wong Fei Hung

In recent times in southern China, there were many famous masters of martial arts. On the Hung shuen or red boats, which carried the Chinese opera companies, Leung Yee Tai and Wong Wah Bo, both of Siu Lam descent, were well known. On land, the strongest masters were known as the "ten tigers of Gwan Dung". Their names were:

These were the ten best martial artists as seen by their peers in south China. After Wong Fei Hung's induction, it was known that his martial skills had to be good. His life story has been immortalized in books and movies for 40 years. During a party at the Ying Ging restaurant in Hong Kong for the opening of Wong Fei Hung's school there, the plans for the movie starring Kwen Tak Hing were made. The first movie played to packed housed and this continued until over 100 Wong Fei Hung pictures were filmed. These movies made his name famous and his legend grew steadily to fold-hero status. In fact, fictionalized accounts of Master Wong's life are again popular in cinema.

When he was a young man Wong Fei Hung taught martial arts to the army. Wong Fei Hung has married four times. His first wife surname Law died three months after they were married from an illness. His second wife, surnamed Ma, bore him two sons, Hawn Sum, and Hawn Lum. She died soon after. Wong's third wife also bore him two sons, Hawn Hei, and Hawn Hsu, but she also did not live long. By this time, the word was out that Wong Fei Hung was bad luck for women, and no women wanted any part of him. Even Wong resigned himself to this, and stopped trying to remarry. Unfortunately, Wong's son Hawn Sum was killed by gangsters with pistols after an altercation. This caused Wong to withhold his knowledge from the other sons, in order to protect them. In addition, he had several good students including Lueng Foon, famous for his horse stance, and Ling Wan Gai, who was famous for his kicking skill. These two good students died at a young age and did not go on to having their own schools and disciples. Other famous students of Wong Fei Hung include the popular Lam Sai Wing, a former pork butcher who had many students and wrote three volumes on Hung Kuen, and Tang Fong, of whom we will speak later.

Many years later, in Fatsan Dip Gao Heung, Wong's school was performing a lion dance in honor of the anniversary of the Lam Hoi Association. Wong Fei Hung's good students Leung Foon and Ling Wan Gai performed the head and tail respectively. After the lion dance, a martial arts demonstration was held outside on the stage. After all the students had show their shown their kung fu, Wong stepped up to the platform to perform the Yu family trident, a type of weapon now considered the king of southern Chinese weapons. During his performance, he accidentally kicked his shoe off into the crowd. The shoe struck a young woman, and she was incensed. Despite attempted apologies by Wong, she slapped him in the face, yelling that he had no excuse, since he was a famous master of martial arts. "What if that had been your weapon", she retorted, "I could have been killed". After this, a rather chastened Wong returned to the stage to perform his set. Later on, though the woman was plain in appearance, he could not get her out of his mind. She was young and strong and, he thought, maybe she would last longer than the other women! He investigated and found out that her name was Mok Gwai Lan and was in town with her number two aunt looking for a husband. As it turned out, the aunt, fearing that Wong would want revenge for his humiliation sought him out to apologize and he told her of his feelings. She agreed to act as a go-between and eventually Mok Gwai Lan and Wong Fei Hung were married. Mok Gwai Lan had a strong foundation in her Mok Ga kung fu, so Wong Fei Hung taught her Hung Kuen. She eventually became the instructor for a all woman's class in Hung Kuen, Which women had not had a chance to learn form before.

She lived long, indeed, surviving her husband by many years and later teaching as Tang Fong's assistant.

Tang Fong

Tang Fong was born in Sam Soy village. In these days, the oldest mail member of the village was in charge. Villages often hired martial arts instructors to teach them so the village could protect itself. During his youth, Tang Fong Learned from Sifu Wong Yau, and Sifu Yuen Yin, learning "village" style Hung Ga, also know as "old style" to distinguish it from the orthodox line of Wong Fei Hung, and Mau Shan, a form of folk sorcery. Later, he studied with Wong Fei Hung, completing the traditional Hung Ga style. During his tenure with Wong, he was classmates with Lan Sai Wing. During this period, there was a famous incident. A rival of Wong Fei Hung trapped Lam Sai Wing, Tang Fong, his brother Tang Yee and others inside the Luk Sin theater. Having only 10 people, and being outnumbered 6 to 1, Tan and Lam were hard pressed to escape. During the fight Tang Fong used an iron ruler to douse the light, and they fought their way out. They escaped, despite the fact that Tang was stabbed during the incident. After this both Lam and Tang left town to avoid trouble. Lan Sai Wing went to the Gwang Dung/Gwang Sai border area because there were fewer people there. Tang Fung went to work in Singapore as a miner. Later, Tang Fong returned to Gwang Dung. After Wong Fei Hung was quite old, Tang Fong and his brother opened a school called Yee Ying Ton or "chivalrous/brave hall". Also, he renewed his relationship with Lan Sai Wing, learning forms that were not part of Wong Fei Hung's original curriculum. Because of this period, many erroneously considered him Lam's disciple, but as he had mastered all of Wong Fei Hung's curriculum before leaving Wong's school, he is rightly considered a junior classmate of Lam Sai Wing. Eventually, Tang Fong took over the position of head of security at the Sau Kay Wan fish market from Lam Sai Wing. Tang Fong had several well-known students, of which Ho Lap Tin was most senior, and Yuen Ling, who was considered the best. It was Yuen Ling who would eventually take Tang's place at the fish market when Tang was elderly.

Yuen Ling

Yuen Ling was originally born in Fatson, Gwang Dung province China. He learned "old style" Hung Ga, Which is a branch of the art from Hung Hei Guen, but not through Wong Fei Hung. He learned this system from Sifu Luk Fung Seh. He also learned Dog Boxing from Sifu Gum Yuen Dang. In 1949, he went to Hong Kong and began to learn Hung Kuen with Tang Fong until the latter's death, where upon he took over Tang's position at the Sau Kay Wan fish market. During his tenure at the market, he had a school at 73 Dong Tai Street, in Hong Kong.

THE CURRICULUM BELOW IS FROM EVERT VAN DER MEULEN'S SITE (http://hunggakuen.com/) AND IS OF MY LINEAGE

Nam Siu Lam Hung Ga Kuen Curriculum

Fist Solo Forms

Partner Forms

Weapon Solo Forms

Weapon Partner Forms

Family Lau Boxing

Shaolin forms from South- East China

Shaolin forms from China/ Tibet

Shaolin Wing Chun

Southern Style Flower Boxing

Long Weapons

Short Weapons

Two Part Weapons

Special Weapons

Flexible Weapons

Wing Chun

Wing Chun is the name of a system of martial arts developed in southern China approximately 300 years ago. Its originator, the Buddhist nun Ng Mui, was a master of Shaolin Kung Fu and used this knowledge to invent a way to take advantage of the weaknesses inherent in the other Shaolin systems. This new system was well-guarded and passed on to only a few, very dedicated students. Later, the style became known as Wing Chun, after Ng Mui's first student, a woman named Yim Wing Chun.

In 1949, Yip Man, the most well-known grandmaster of modern Wing Chun, brought the style out of China into Hong Kong and eventually to the rest of the world.

Below is Yip Man's own take on the history of Wing Chun. It should be noted however that there are variations and downright differences in the history between different systems and that, contrary to popular belief, Yip Man's system is by no means the only Wing Chun system in existence.

The Origin of WING CHUN

by Grandmaster Yip Man

The founder of the Wing Chun Kung Fu System, Miss Yim Wing Chun was a native of Canton [Kwangtung Province] in China. She was an intelligent and athletic young girl, upstanding and forthright. Her mother died soon after her betrothal to Leung Bok Chau, a salt merchant of Fukien. Her father, Yim Yee, was wrongfully accused of a crime and, rather than risk jail, they slipped away and finally settled down at the foot of Tai Leung Mountain near the border between Yunan and Szechuan provinces. There they earned a living by running a shop that sold bean curd.

During the reign of Emperor K'anghsi of the Ching Dynasty (1662-1722) Kung Fu became very strong in the Siu Lam [Shaolin] Monastery of Mt. Sung, in Honan Province. This aroused the fear of the Manchu government [a non-Chinese people from Manchuria in the North, who ruled China at that time], which sent troops to attack the Monastery. Although they were unsuccessful, a man named Chan Man Wai, a recently appointed civil servant seeking favor with the government, suggested a plan.

He plotted with Siu Lam monk Ma Ning Yee and others who were persuaded to betray their companions by setting fire to the monastery while soldiers attacked it from the outside. Siu Lam was burned down, and the monks and disciples scattered. Buddhist Abbess Ng Mui, Abbot Chi Shin, Abbot Pak Mei, Master Fung To Tak and Master Miu Hin escaped and went their separate ways.

Ng Mui took refuge in the White Crane Temple on Mt. Tai Leung [also known as Mt. Chai Har]. It was there she met Yim Yee and his daughter Wing Chun from whom she often bought bean curd on her way home from the market. At fifteen, with her hair bound up in the custom of those days to show she was of an age to marry, Wing Chun's beauty attracted the attention of a local bully. He tried to force Wing Chun to marry him, and his continuous threats became a source of worry to her and her father. Ng Mui learned of this and took pity on Wing Chun. She agreed to teach Wing Chun fighting techniques so she could protect herself. Wing Chun followed Ng Mui into the mountains, and began to learn Kung Fu. She trained night and day, until she mastered the techniques. Then she challenged the bully to a fight and beat him.

Ng Mui later traveled around the country, but before she left she told Wing Chun to strictly honor the Kung Fu traditions, to develop her Kung Fu after her marriage, and to help the people working to overthrow the Manchu government and restore the Ming Dynasty.

After her marriage Wing Chun taught Kung Fu to her husband Leung Bok Chau. He in turn passed these techniques on to Leung Lan Kwai. Leung Lan Kwai then passed them on to Wong Wah Bo. Wong Wah Bo was a member of an opera troupe on board a junk, known to Chinese as the Red Junk. Wong worked on the Red Junk with Leung Yee Tei. It so happened that Abbot Chi Shin, who fled from Siu Lam, had disguised himself as a cook and was then working on the Red Junk. Chi Shin taught the Six-and-a-half-point Long Pole techniques to Leung Yee Tei. Wong Wah Bo was close to Leung Yee Tei, and they shared what they knew about Kung Fu. Together they shared and improved their techniques, and thus the Six-and-a-half-point Long Pole was incorporated into Wing Chun Kung Fu. Leung Yee Tei passed his Kung Fu on to Leung Jan, a well known herbal Doctor in Fat Shan. Leung Jan grasped the innermost secrets of Wing Chun, attaining the highest level of proficiency. Many Kung Fu masters came to challenge him, but all were defeated. Leung Jan became very famous. Later he passed his Kung Fu on to Chan Wah Shan, who took me and my elder Kung Fu brothers, such as Ng Siu Lo, Ng Chung So, Chan Yu Min and Lui Yu Jai, as his students many decades ago.

It can thus be said that the Wing Chun System was passed on to us in a direct line of succession from its origin. I write this history of the Wing Chun System in respectful memory of my forerunners. I am eternally grateful to them for passing to me the skills I now possess. A man should always think of the source of the water as he drinks it; it is this shared feeling that keeps our Kung Fu brothers together.

Is this not the way to promote Kung Fu, and to project the image of our country?

Yip Man