USA 5 Tournaments Honoring Jow Ga 5 Tigers

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[Daifong]

Excellent, simply excellent, Sifu Derek Tai Lik Johnson!

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This year 5 U.S. Jow Ga schools came together to perform the double table stand

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HONORING KUNG FU ANCEST0RS
East Coast Newest Traditional Kung Fu Tournament
By William Collins
(Article published in New Martial Hero and Kung Fu Magazine)

Saturday, June 5, 2004 was truly a day of firsts. Foremost on this date, in the modest gymnasium of Howard Community College, over 800 spectators and competitors gathered to witness the inaugural Five Tigers All Kung Fu Championship. Held by Sifu Derek Johnson (Cheung Tai Lik) and the Jow Ga Kung Fu Athletic Association of Columbia, MD, this tournament is the newest addition to the east coast competition circuit. The decision to hold this tournament came about as a result of Sifu Johnson’s desire to promote traditional kung fu and also pay homage to the five Jow Ga ancestors for whom the tournament was named.

The five Jow Ga founders or “Five Tigers” as they are known were five brothers from Sa Fu village in the Kwangtung (Canton) Province in China. The eldest of the five, Jow Lung, began learning Hung Ga from his uncle, Jow Hung, at a very young age. After his uncle’s death, Jow Lung began practicing Choy Ga under Master Choy Kau. As Jow Lung honed his fighting skills, he found he needed to travel in order to find work. While working in a mine in Kuala Lumpur, Jow Lung fought with an area gangster. Having fatally wounded the man in the fight, Jow Lung fled to the mountains and came to a temple called “Gi Leu.” The master of the temple, Chian Yi allowed Jow Lung to stay in the temple and eventually taught the young man northern shaolin kung fu and medicine. After Jow Lung left the temple, he realized the uniqueness of the three styles of Kung Fu he knew and decided to combine them into one, thereby developing Jow Ga Kung Fu. In his hometown, Jow Lung taught his brothers Jow Hip, Jow Biu, Jow Hoy, and Jow Tin the system of Kung Fu he created. The first school was named “Jow Gwoon Yan Yee Tong”, which means “Jow School of Kindness and Righteousness.”

In 1911, a commander of the military ordered General Fu-Lin Li to hire a martial arts expert to be the coach of the military by holding a public competition. Whoever won the competition would get the job. After enrolling in the competition with 100 other fighters, Jow Lung won and became the military martial arts coach. Because of Jow Lung's success, his brothers assisted him in teaching the military. It was around this time that the brothers became known as "The Five Tigers of Jow Ga".

With competition engrained deeply in the style’s history through the exploits of Jow Lung, Sifu Johnson and his students faced the tall order of hosting a tournament worthy of the Five Tigers’ name. Such a competition would have to uphold their proud martial tradition. As such, it was only fitting that the Five Tigers Championship began with a traditional Jow Ga lion dance. During the opening ceremony, the Jow Ga Kung Fu Athletic Association Lion Dance Team performed the dangerous “yih- dihp, yih-bok” (two tables, two shoulder stand), made famous by their kung fu ancestors in China and duplicated in kung fu movies. This particular stunt features a group of twelve men hoisting a group of five atop a table. The group of five supports a smaller table with two persons on top performing a shoulder stand, while playing the lion approximately 30 ft. in the air. Being a first for American Jow Ga schools, other Jow Ga schools abroad waited
impatiently to hear the news that their American brothers and sisters had performed the yih-dihp, yih-bok successfully!

There was exciting kung fu competition all day. The specialty weapons division was a true showcase of the uniqueness and intricacy of the Chinese martial arts. Competitors performed such rare weapon forms as the umbrella, cane, fan, and bench. The continuous sparring competition saw old rivalries rekindled and new ones formed. A national feud developed as the hometown competitors battled three new faces from Germany in the advanced men’s middleweight continuous sparring competition.

A unique feature of this tournament was the traditional lion dance competition. The winner of this competition was awarded a trophy baring the name of Sifu Johnson’s late Sifu Master Dean Chin, who was a pioneer of American Jow Ga, along with Master Hoy Lee. This year, the Master Dean Chin Cup for traditional lion dance was awarded to Raymond Wong’s Chinese Boxing for their stellar performance of the ¬¬“Puhn Cheng” (water basin routine).

The tournament brought together Jow Ga members from all over the U.S. and abroad. Jow Ga masters and schools in attendance included Sifu Hoy Lee, Sifu Hon Lee, Sifu Reza Momenan, Sifu Troy Williams, Sifu Eugene Mackie, Sifu Raymond Wong, Sifu Charles Middleton, Sifu Phat Tang, Sifu Darren Tran, Sifu Frank Greinacher, and Sifu Deric Mims who presented Master Dean Chin’s personal straight sword to Sifu Derek Johnson as a symbol of the auspices of the day. With enormous support from overseas, Jow Ga Grandmaster Chan Man Cheung, a disciple of Jow Biu, served as the tournament’s Honorary Chairman. Also in support of an event, which would proudly honor the Five Tigers, schools from Hong Kong such as the Chung Oi Jow Biu Chinese Martial Art Sports Association, Jow Biu Chinese Boxing Association, and the Jow Tin Martial Arts Association pitched in their support as well.

However, this event was not merely a showcase for Jow family. This was truly a day for all styles of traditional Chinese Martial Arts. Many other masters and competitors from various styles came to represent their respective ancestors and schools at this competition. Grandmaster Tai Yim of Shaolin Hung Fut, Sifu Pedro Cepero Yee and Sifu Bill Fong of Yee’s Hung Ga, Sifu Kevin Preston of Siu Lum Pai Chinese Boxing, Sifu Bob Rosen of Wah Lum, Sifu Norman Smith of Tien Shan Pai, Sifu Jay Hitchman of Wing Chun sytem, Sifu S.L. Martin of Ching Lung Kuo Shu , Sifu Abdulmuhsly of Tai Chi Institute, Sifu Shannon Moore of Wing Chun System, and many others.

The tournament’s theme written in Chinese characters translates:
“Promote traditional Kung fu for future generations”
“All Chinese martial arts styles should work together”

The tournament’s theme promotes the idea that all traditional styles of kung fu should band together in order to continue traditional events and honor our kung fu ancestors.

[Tailik]

It was a great time during all 5 tournaments. good competition and no drama

[Tailik]

Kung Fu brothers from various styles came out to support our Jow Ga Ancestor tournament

[Tailik]

Just yesterday someone showed me an article written in action magazine right after 4th tournament and i had never seen this article. The writer mentioned the traditional family atmosphere in the 5 Tiger tournaments. he noted that the 5 tigers tournament brought many traditional schools from other states who usually don't come out to too many tournaments. writer seem impressed with atmosphere and competition by reading his article. he wrote something about our association not following the more commercialized methods of running a tournament as though he was puzzled how we managed to pull it off, but the best part is when he mentioned we were gonna do a 5th tournament and wrote something like Sifu Johnson and his students are brave, stubborn and determined to promote their Jow Ga ancestors. I can agree that our association is stubborn like any other family. so stubborn we may have to do another 5!

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