Grand Master Lam Chun Chung, Vincent Liu: Fifth Brother Eight Symbols Staff of Hung Gar

NaamKyun.com proudly presents a very special guest article written by Grand Master Lam Chun Chung and his disciple Vincent Liu.

Techniques are demonstrated by Grand Master Lam Chun Sing.

This staff form is one of the most famous forms in the Hung Gar Curriculum. The form was created by the fifth brother of the Yeung Family during the Song Dynasty. The fifth brother was particularly adapt in the techniques of the Yeung Family Spear. After his family’s army was defeated by the Mongols, he fled to Ng Toi Mountain and became a Buddhist monk. There, he converted his spear techniques into staff techniques and choreographed the Baat Gwa Gwan form.

It is rumoured that GM Wong Fei Hung was particularly proficient in his use of the single ended staff. When the form was first passed to GM Wong Fei Hung, the form only had 64 movements. However, when the form was first passed to GM Lam Sai Wing, he added the Luk Dim Bun Gwan into this form. Therefore, in Lam Gar Hung Kuen Curriculum, the Ng Long Ba Gwa Gwan has 70 and a half rather than 64 movements.

The principles of using the staff in executing attack and defence techniques are the same for this form as Lau Gar Gwan.

The main movements trained in the form include:

Tai Gik Sung Leung Yi Section (Single Supreme State to Yin and Yang State)

• Tarn Gwan – These techniques are used to attack an opponent’s head or grip hands
• Huen Gwan (a.k.a Siu Wan Sing – Little Stars) – circling staff movements in both clockwise and anti-clockwise directions. The movement is executed to attack an opponent’s frontal grip hand.
• Sow Gwan (a.k.a Dai Zhin Wong Kay – Swinging Yellow Flag) – large swinging movements are executed by the practitioner at head level which are intended to keep multiple opponents away from the practitioner.

Luk Dim Bun Gwan Section (Six and a half point staff)

The Hung Gar Luk Dim Bun Gwan section is executed in a left handed manner (meaning left hand and left leg forward). The techniques practiced in this section include:

• Cheung/Biu Gwan (Gap Dai Gwan) – spearing the staff to the opponent’s chest or side;
• Tiu Gwan – deflecting the opponent’s staff to the left side of the practitioner;
• Zhum Gwan – pushing the opponent’s staff to the ground;
• But Gwan – deflecting the opponent’s staff to the right side of the practitioner;
• Kum Gwan – striking the opponent’s staff to knock the staff out of the opponent’s hands

Leung Yee Sung Say Jeung Section (Yin and Yang State to the Four Phenomena State)

The main movements trained in this section include:

• But Gwan – a deflection movement used to defend against attacks to the legs;
• Got Gwan – a movement used to defend against attacks to the right legs;
• Yeung Cheung – an advance movement where by the practitioner evades an attack from the opponent’s staff by positioning the body to the side (Pin Sun) and counterattacks the opponent from the side.
• Tor Bui Cheung (a.k.a Yum Cheung) – spearing attacking to an opponent’s mid section;
• Dow Gwan/Kum Gwan Combination – teaches the practitioner to use the both ends of the staff for striking the ribs of an opponent followed by two strikes to the head in quick succession.

Say Jueng Sung Ba Gwa Section (Four phenomena State to Eight Symbols State)

• Ngoi Ba Gwa (External Eight Symbols) – a sideways swinging movement for attacking an opponent’s mid-section.
• Tai Gik Huen (Supreme Circle Staff) – a sideways swinging movement at head level. The practitioner spins the body in a full circle whilst executing this movement. This is the reason for the name of this technique to be “Tai Gik Huen“. The swinging movement is intended to add to the momentum of the staff to the Tarn Gwan at the end of the movement.
• Huen Gwan (a.k.a Dai Wan Sing – Large Stars) – circling staff movements in both clockwise and anti-clockwise directions. The movement is executed to control the opponent’s staff.
• But Gwan/Cheung Gwan/Siu Gwan/Biu Gwan Combination – introduces the practitioner to defend and attack movements in four different directions including:
  • But Gwan/Cheung Gwan movement – the practitioner learns to deflect an attack to the legs by way of But Gwan immediately followed by a spearing counterattack to the opponent’s head or mid-section;
  • Siu Gwan/Biu Gwan movement – the practitioner learns to deflect a straight staff attack from an opponent immediately followed by a spearing counterattack to the mid-section.
• Leung Tin Check (Ruler to measure the Sky) (a.k.a Loi Ba Gwa – Inside Eight Symbols) – a movement which is executed after a spearing attack to retreat from and evade an opponent’s counterattack and which immediately followed by a Kun Gwan (swinging downwards movement) to the opponent’s head. The movement is also known as Noi Ba Gwa because the strike is executed on the inside of circle.

About the authors: Grand Masters Lam Chung Chung and LAm Chun Sing are sons of legendary Grand Master Lam Cho. Vincent Liu is a disciple of Grand Master Lam Chun Chung. You can find more information about Lam Family Hung Kuen at www.lamkahungkuen.com.