• military trainign and group calisthenics
• Changsha capital city women high school group calisthenics
• Hunan National Art Gym Schoolgirls performing “Eight Forms” and Shaolin quan
• Military training of Pu Ji
• Sao Tui Quan (Sweeping Leg Set)
• Bagua and Taijiquan of Central Guoshu Gym performed by General Zhang Zhijiang
• Ziran Sword

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocMJfZkADI4

Master Wong Chung Man (lineage Wong Lei – Leung Kam Kwong) led a series of seminars in Utrecht on May 4 and 5.

The seminars attracted participants from several schools, even non-Hung Ga schools, as well as from Hung Ga schools from Czech Republic and Germany. With over 45 people attending, many following several seminars, it was a big event.

Seminars were held on “Plum Flower Set” (Mui Fa Kyun), “Gung Ji Sparring Set” (Gung Ji Deui Chaak), Practical Applications and Forms Corrections. Master Wong taught all seminars with perfect didactic skills, patience, great passion and interesting insights, not keeping anything behind; it made the participants even more enthusiastic and motivated.

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Master Wong teaches in Shatin and Kwai Fong, Hong Kong. Furthermore, he is available for private lessons in Hong Kong. For further info please contact the poster of this article.

The article has been published at Kung Fu Magazine website.You can see the whole articl ONLINE HERE. We would like to thank Gene Ching for assitance.

Michael Goodwin, sfhunggar.com, Pavel Macek, hungkyun.com

Lam Cho sigung’s Funeral and Memorial Service will be held on:

• Wednesday 25 April 2012 (4.00pm to 10.00pm) at Universal Hall, Universal Funeral Parlor, at 10 Cheong Hang Road, Hung Hom, Kowloon,Hong Kong
• Thursday 26 April 2012 (10.00am – 11.00am) The Burial will be at Catholic Cemetery at Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon.

Following the burial there will be a banquet held at one of Grandmaster Lam Cho’s favourite restaurants in Hong Kong.

Anyone who cannot attend the funeral but would like to give a White Envelope (donations for sigung’s funeral) please contact this e-mail for further information.

Part 7 and 8 are dedicated to the styles of Southern Fist, Naam Kyun (Nan Quan in Mandarin) – very interesting survey of the systems south of Yang Zi River.

International channel means – the documentary is in English, 2x 26 minutes of footage!

Enjoy the videos below!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf2YGc7C3CQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLHmWvpNnpM

I have stayed in here over then three years and during this time I’ve met many sifus around Gwongdung province. One of real sifu and treasure man who I have met here is Leung Wai Wing sifu of Hung Sing Choi Lei Fat.

Leung sifu is one of the best from Fatsaan Hung Sing Gwun clan. Meeting him is enjoyable anytime. That is not just about his Choi Lei Fat but also about his personality. He taught me a lot whta does it take to be a real master, how to take care about students and their personal feelings etc. I think that was a reason why Beijing TV team has chosen him to make short documentary movie about gungfu master.

Their spent over one week with him and his students and made a lot of material. You can see their work in this 15 minutes movie – it more about him then Choi Lei Fat but I believe you will enjoy it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhnso6h_5ic

The saddest day for the art of Hung Ga Kyun and the world of martial arts.

The legend is gone.

Grandmaster Lam Cho has peacefully passed away at 13:58, 29th of March 2012 Hong Kong Baptist Hospital. Our condelences to Grandmaster’s family.

Rest in peace, sigung!

Thousands of your grateful students, grandstudents and great-grandstudents from the whole world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afZuDs5KbzA

One of the schools that still escapes the general interest is Ling Naam Wing Chun 嶺南詠春. This style is based on the teachings of several masters – it’s especially Gwongjau Wing Chun 广州 咏春 of Sam Nang  Sifu 岑能師傅, Siu Lam Wing Chun 少 林永春  of Baak Cheung sifu 白昌 師傅 and Chan Yumin Wing Chun 陈汝棉永春.

Today’s greatest popularizer of this style in China is  Fok Jan Kau sifu 霍振球師傅 (1959), who started learning Wing Chun with his father  Fok Jeun Fan 霍骏勋 (1928-1990) – he was in 1948 one of the first students’ of Gwongjau Wing Chun.

I know Fok Jan Kau sifu since 1999 and his LingNaam Wing Chun has always amazed me with fighting and predatory manner of presentation – the is no doubt about fighting skills of his students. It has interesting curriculum, which consists of:

• Traditionally, as in Gwongjau Wing Chun: Sap Yi Sik 十二 式, Siu Lin Tau 小 练 头, Cham Kiu 寻 桥, Biu Ji 标 指
• Furthermore: Siu Fuk Kyun 小伏拳, pole 棍 (single 单头棍 and double ended 双头棍), knives 刀, wooden dummy 木人桩法
• Of course Chi Sau, two man drills and other exercises in pairs and in individual schools then teach other skills.

Last year two of my students (who had lived at that time in Fatsaan, China, practiced gungfu and one of them still lives and trains over there ) reported that on a visit to the city Chingyun (清远, Qingyuan) they  were completely captivated by the local school Ling Naam Wing Chun and their local fighters surprised them with fighting using tailor scissors (!) etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ceLJXCndfc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBP-9Prf_NQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpAtovzEfgI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vE67rbnm60c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y7fW5Qc2xs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8tzzCiTB_Y

About the Author: Ivan Rzounek sifu has started to learn martial arts in 1976 (Greco-Roman Wrestling), in 1983 he has started with Shotokan Karate. Since 1988 he trains Wing Chun. Please visit the webpage of his School and Wing Chun Research, as well his school’s Facebook page and YouTube profile.

Forget for a while those Bruce Lee like sound effects (i know, sounds more like a monkey then a tiger) and carefully watch – standing grappling techniques, takedowns, takedowns defense and reversals, sacrifice throws, heel hooks… it is all there.

Authentic or recently made? I do not know. Some techniques shown in the video seem to be ok, other, well, not really my cup of tea. Google 神虎術 and you will find some really crazy stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__JYhJJXZr8

It was originally posted in KFO discussion forum by user k gledhill and Phillip Redmond who has posted it on Facebook, so all credit goes there – i am just reposting the interview so more readers can enjoy it and it does not get lost in the discussion forums threads, as some interesting post unfortunately do as he time goes by.

Some very interesting information about various Wing Chun families, learning Kung Fu in the old days etc., enjoy!

Difference between the Weng Chung and Wing Tsun/Wing Chun styles

[note by PM: Both are actually pronounced the same in Cantonese, in Yale romanization Wing Cheun, but written with 2 different first character - 永春 and 詠春. Same goes for different romanizations of the name of the style - Wing Tsun, Ving Tsun, Wing Chun, Weng Chun etc. - they are all pronounced the same,]

They think these two clans are just the same style of kungfu using two different names. In fact, the Wing Tsun style is quite different from the Weng Chun style. In Hong Kong, the leader of the Wing Tsun clan is Grandmaster Yip Man, whereas the leader of the Weng Chun clan is Grandmaster Chu Chung Man.

The techniques and boxing sets are also quite different. For example, in the Wing Tsun system there are kungfu sets such as Siu-Nim-Tau, Chum-Kiu, Biu-Tze, Wooden Dummy and the Six-&-a-half Long Pole Techniques. However, in Weng Chun, there are Wooden dummy, Bart-Mo-Dan-Da or “Eight-Single-Fighting-Ways”, Lin-Wan-Kou-Da or “Chain-Punches with Trapping Hands”, as well as the Six-&-a-half Long Pole Techniques.

The reason these two styles are perceived as being the same style is that they have some techniques in common, though some of the concepts are different. For example, both of them apply the Noi-Lim-Sau or “Indoor sickle-like hand” technique, and both of them exert the Chuen-King of “Inch-force”.

Noi-lim-sau is a technique for a practioner to get into his opponent’s indoor-area from outside. Just as though he was using a sickle to cut in. This technique requires elbow-force and a very small circling movement. Therefore it is a very quick counter-attack technique.

Two different Styles from the Same Source

Grandmaster Yip was a Fatshan native. When he was very young, he was quite weak. Therefore, his parents sent him to learn Wing Chun from Chan Wah Shun, the most outstanding student of the famous Dr. Leung Jan.

When Grandmaster Yip described his past, he did so with great warmth. Here is a segment of the interview in its original format.

New Martial Hero: “Did Chan Wah Shun have the nickname Jau-Chin Wah (Wah the Money-Changer)?”

Yip Man: “This nickname does not represent my instructor’s character. Other than ‘Wah the Money Changer’, he had also a less graceful nickname. ‘Ngau-Chin Wah’ of ‘Wah the Bull’. He was the headstudent of Dr Leung Jan”.

New Martial Hero: “This name indicates that Wah the Money Changer was a very bad tempered person who liked fighting all the time, right? How many students did Wah the Money Changer admit? How were you ranked amongst your kungfu brohters?”

Yip Man: “Including me, Wah Kung only admitted 16 students since opening his kungfu school. I was 11 years old when I became his student during his latter years.”

New Martial Hero: “We Chinese have a saying that the last son is the most beloved one. According to the Chinese custom, since you were his last kungfu son, you must be the most beloved student of his. Right?”

Yip Man, smiling: “You’re right. When I learnt under Wah Kung, he was already 70. He was a bit weak at that time. However, he still corrected my mistakes with great patience. Futhermore, he also told his other students to teach me. As a result, my techniques improved at high speed.”

“It’s a good question. Let me tell you why. In olden days, people were very strict concerning the teacher/student relationship. Before they admitted a student, they had to know the character of this would-be student very clearly. This is what is called ‘to choose a right student to teach’. Secondly, it also depended on whether the student could afford to pay his school fees or not”.

Grandmaster Yip stopped for awhile. He then talked i a rather low tone: “The fact is, not too many people could affordd to pay for such a high school fee. For example: at the time I paid, the red packet for the ‘Student-admitting Ceremony’ had to contain 20 taels of silver. And I had to pay 8 taels of silver each month as my school fee.”

 A Lot of Money for Learning Kungfu

New Martial Hero: “How much was 20 taels of silver worth, in terms of your living standards?”

Yip Man, after thinking for a while: “For 20 taels of silver you could marry a wife, say if you did it economically. Also, with no more than 1 and a half taels of silver you could buy 1 picul of rice.” The Grandmaster continued: “That was why, at that time, most of the people who learnt kungfu were rich people. These people could leave their jobs and live in the old temples in deep mountains for training. It is not the same as today when people can easily learn kungfu anywhere.”

New Martial Hero: “After the death of Wah the Money Changer, you left Fatshan and came to Hong Kong to study in St. Stephens’s College. Did you learn Wing Tsun kungfu again when you were in Hong Kong?”

Yip Man, smiling: “Of course I did! And I can say that it was because of a highly proficient Wing Tsun expert whom I met that I learnt the most advanced Wing Tsun techniques.”

New Martial Hero: “Who was that highly proficient expert?”

Yip Man: “It was Leung Bik, the eldest son of Dr Leung Jan. The story of how I came to meet my teacher Leung Bik was really quite dramatic. It’s a long story.”

After repeated requests by the writer, Grandmaster Yip Man started telling this story in detail:

At the time Grandmaster Yip left Fatshan to go to study in Hong Kong, was already very skilled in the basic wing chun fighting techniques. He always fought with his classmates at the school. Although Yip Man was not tall, he was very skilful in fighting techniques. Therefore, he could defeat all his classmates, even those that were much taller and stronger than he. For this reason, he became arrogant for he believed that nobody could match him.

Meeting Leung Bik in Hong Kong

After six months, one of Yip Man’s classmates, surnamed Lai, whose father ran a big silk company named “Kung Hang Silk Company” in Jervois Street of Sheung Wan, told Yip that there was a friend of father’s living in their house. He was in his 50s. This man knew some kungfu techniques. He offered a friendly sparring with Yip Man.

At that time Yip had never been defeated, and so he wasted no time in accepting the challenge. Lai made an appointment to introduce them to each other on one Sunday afternoon.

On that Sunday, Yip went to the house of his classmate. After being introduced to this middle-aged man, Yip looked at him appraisingly. To Yip’s eyes, he looked more like a typical slim-gentleman than someone who really knew kungfu.

After a short, Yip Man frankly challenged the man to a sparring match.

With a smile, the middle-aged man said: “Well, Yip Man, so you are interested in doing some sparring with me. Before your fight me, I can tell you not to worry about me. All you need to do is attack me to any part of my body with your full strength and that’s all!”

On hearing this, the arrogant Yip Man, though apparently still unruffled, was actually so mad that all he wanted to do was to beat this man up!

No sooner did the middle-aged man give Yip Man a hand-signal inviting him to attack than he was subjected to Yip Man’s aggressive rain of punches. However, this man was so quick that Yip Man could not match his counter-attack movements. In an instant, Yip Man was forced to withdraw into a corner. The man stopped at the same moment.

After the first contact, and already defeated, Yip Man could not believe that this man had gained the upper hand so quickly. Therefore, he asked the man if he could try again. Once again, Yip Man was completely controlled by this man. He could not do anything against him! This time, Yip Man knew that he had surely been beaten by a real kungfu expert. Without saying a word, Yip Man went away with great disappointment.

After that friendly sparring match, Yip Man was so depressed that he did not even dare to mention that he knew kungfu.

One week afterwards, Yip was told by Lai that the middle-aged man wanted to see him again. At that time, Yip Man rather afraid and too ashamed to see the middle-aged man again. He told Lai: “I feel too embarrassed to see him again. I am not his match at all.”

However, to Yip Man’s surprise, Lai told Yip that his father’s friend actually praised Yip’s kungfu techniques highly. That was why he wanted to see Yip and talk to him again. Lai started telling Yip Man the secret of his father’s friend. In fact the one who had fought with Yip Man was none other than Leung Bik, the son of Dr. Leung Jan!

After learning the truth, Yip Man thought to himself: “Gosh! That is why he is so good in kungfu techniques. Actually this time I was fighting with a high-rank Wing Tsun expert!”

Immediately Yip Man’s realized what an opportunity this was. He was still not that highly skilled in the kungfu techniques taught to him by his si-fu Wah the Money Changer. This would be the best chance for him to learn the more advanced Wing Tsun techniques. Therefore, he wasted no time in asking Lai, his classmate, to take him to the Kung Hang Silk Company to meet Leung Bik.

Since Yip Man was a genius in terms of learning kungfu, Leung Bik was very happy to teach all he knew to Yip Man.

A few years later, Leung Bik got tired of living in Hong Kong and was thinking of going back to Fatshan. At that time Yip Man had already attained the highest proficiency in kungfu techniques.

Back to Fatshan. At that time Yip Man had already attained the highest proficiency in kungfu techniques.

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Late Alexander Fu Sheng and Chi Kuan-Chun – legendary duo of Shaw Brothers Studios -  on the cover and few applications inside: “Covering Hand, Tiger Claw vs. Bail  the Moon from the Bottom of the Sea” and “Double Flying Butterfly Palms”.

Fu Sheng was one of the favourite students of Lau Kar-Leung, Chi Kuan-Chun oth the other hand has mastered the Hung Ga curriculum under the guidance of Chiu Wai.

I am no CLF expert, but i have to say that the aplications shown in this particular issue by these two gentleman do not seem to me be typical CLF techniques, but well, i might be wrong. Maybe a choreography from some of their movies?

Check it out:

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So or so, as a main character of The New Shaolin Boxers, Fu Sheng has definitely learned some Choy Li Fut as well. We might argue about the flavour, but well, it is a movie, and everybody loves Fu Sheng, right? See the training sequence below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vdx5fZjb40