Hung Gar Kung Fu: Southern Shaolin Chinese Boxing

The reigning Emperor of the Ching Dynasty was worried. He had accepted the help of the fighting monks of the Shaolin Temple years earlier and they had been the deciding factor in his war with his enemies. Of course they had then retreated to the piety and sanctity of their temple. But seeing their skill and ferocity in battle had left the Emperor with an unease, a feeling of dread. These monks could be dangerous. They had to be eliminated.

What follows is a short history of a particular style of southern Chinese kung fu called Hung Gar Kung Fu. Following the destruction of their temple in 1736, the popular story goes; five of the most senior monks escaped and were determined to overthrow the foreign usurpers. They wanted to transplant the Ching Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty to its rightful place on the throne.

The abbot of the Shaolin (Cantonese: Siu Lum) Temple was Jee Sim Sum See. He and his disciple, who now called himself Hung Hay Goon, had gone further south to the Canton area to organize the resistance and further refine their art. Hung named his art after the name he had adopted to honor the Ming Dynasty- Hung Gar (Hung Family) Kuen (fist, or boxing style) Hung's classmate, Luk Ah Choy had a particularly skilled student named Wong Kay Ying. Wong taught his son, Wong Fei Hung.

This Wong was perhaps the most famous man in the history of southern kung fu. It is through him that the majority of schools of Hung Gar descends. Wong's system is characterized by its low "horse riding" stance.
In addition to its low stance work, Wong's system was well known for its strong bridging arm techniques and unique tiger claw hand. In addition to a heavy emphasis on basic training, Wong developed a series of pre-arranged choreographed moves we will call forms. His first form was the foundation of his entire system. He called it the Character "I" Shaped Taming the Tiger Fist, or Gung Jee Fook Fu Kuen. It referenced the "Jee" or the Chinese character shaped like an "I" because that was how the pattern of movement looked when practicing the form. This form is quite long and in addition to introducing the student to the basic techniques of the Hung system, it also develops stamina.

The next form, and the one that is the signature form for the style, is the Tiger and Crane Double Shaped Fist, or Fu Hok Seung Ying Kuen. This form, commonly called just Fu Hok (Tiger/Crane), emphasizes the powerful tiger claw strikes of the Tiger system and the graceful, internal power of the Crane system. Wong also added the strong "bridge arm" techniques and powerful stance work to this set that he had learned from Tid Kiu Saam (Iron Bridge Three, actually Lueng Kwan)
Fu Hok also teaches the "Ten Killing Hands" techniques.

The third form from Wong is called the Five Animal/Five Element Fist. Some historians think that Wong actually only taught the Five Animals, and the Five Elements were added later by his disciple Lam Sai Wing. Even today the school from the line of Tang Fong practices only the Five Animals.

The Five animals are: Tiger, for developing strong bone, fierce external power and rock hard hands and forearms. Its chief weapon is the tiger claw used for tearing and ripping. Next is the Crane, for relaxed whipping power. Crane uses the crane's beak, wings and crane head. It develops the connective tissue. Dragon develops spirit. It also helps strengthen the qi, or natural internal energy, in the body. The fourth animal is the Leopard. Leopard develops speed and agile footwork. It uses the special leopard fist for striking soft areas of the body. Finally there is the Snake. Snake is used for striking acu-points of the body with your fingertips and is often used for the so-called delayed death strike.

Then there are the Five Elements: Gold, Water, Fire, Wood, and Earth. These all refer to particular principles of fighting.

Finally we have the Iron Wire Fist, or Tid Sin Kuen. This is Hung Gar's "internal" form. It develops strength that is at once "hard as wire" and "soft as thread".
This set was invented by Leung Kwan as mentioned above. Leung was also known as Tid Kiu Saam, or Iron Bridge Three. He was the third son and was wee known for his outstanding "iron" forearm bridging technique. Iron Wire uses a combination of dynamic tension, sounds and emotions to channel energy through the twelve main acupuncture meridians, or pathways.

These four forms are known as the "Four Pillars of Hung Gar" and are the four original forms of the Hung system. As time went on various masters of Hung Gar added forms from other styles. Sometimes master became friends with teachers of other styles and traded sets among each other. Added to the Four Pillars were forms like Bung Bo from the Praying Mantis style. The first form I learned from my Hung Gar teacher, Lee Yat Ming, was Lau Gar Kuen, or Lau Family Fist. Shorter than the Four pillars, this set was originally from the Mok Gar system. Another shorter form is the Mui Fa Kuen, or Plum Flower Fist from Northern Shaolin. Another northern form is the Wu Dip Jeung, or Butterfly Palm.

As well, Hung Gar has a wide variety of weapons forms such as: Lau family staff, Monkey King Staff, Fifth Brother Ba Gua Long Pole, Chopper Broadsword, Jow family Butterfly Swords, Life Gate straight sword, Yu family Tiger Fork, Spring and Autumn Gwan's Long Sword, and many others.

Hung Gar Kung Fu is a vast and important system of Chinese martial arts. It is one that is practiced proudly by peoples of all nations and is a shining reflection of Chinese culture everywhere.