Hung Ga Monkey

[researcher]

[Daifong]

Sometimes horrible things can happen to a post as it is being sent, therefore now I always "save"...

Ok, ever since you told us that you learned the Hei Gung Kau, I've been checking for your reply every 15 minutes around the clock. If it was up for even 20 minutes, I'd have seen it!



J/k, j/k lol...

Still, I'm sorry if something untoward became of any contribution of yours, you've provided certain inroads with this thread which have been quite illuminating!



Best,

Michael

[researcher]

Oh, sorry about that Daifong. You want to learn more about the hei gung kau? Well, the ball on the table is only seen in this style and Liuhebafa... as far as I know. That was derived from the Taiji Ball, which came from the Taiji Ruler. This hei gung kau (we also say Loi Gung Kau) is different from the one in Liuhebafa though. Both use a very heavy ball but some different purposes, and the Liuhebafa ball is only half the size.


Gan Dak Hoi striking the Loi Gung Kau with his elbow : Chan Sau Chung training sideward force on the table

The "loi gung kau" is used to restrict the usage of your own force and control it more maturely. If you push the ball very hard then it is you who has to catch it or it will fall on the floor... so you only give as much force as you yourself can receive. This is useful in any martial art and really brings a necessary maturity to ones skills. The Liuhebafa ball is similar except that it trains a lighter force and requires more chi projection.

One unique method that I touched on is training with 2 people at a bigger table. Here the ball is struck, by a push or punch or whatever, and the opponent must receive it. But its not simply "caught" as that wouldnt train anything. It is "met", hopefully with little opposing force, and redirected to disperse the momentum. In taiji the practitioner yields, but here that would send the ball to the floor and nothing would be learned. So with the loi gung kau the oncoming ball must be acknowledged and dealt with properly![/img]

[Daifong]

That has got to be about the most fascinating thing that I have seen all day...

Thank you so much, researcher, for expanding on the subject, Hei Gung/ Loy Gung Kau!



Anyway, here is a clip from an episode of Kwan Tak Hing's Wong Fei Hung, featuring "Drunken Hung Kyun VS Monkey":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4J4Cvx__po

I don't know that the "Monkey" shown here is any more representative in its authenticity than the "Hung Kyun" of Kwan Tak Hing, but from what I've seen, guest martial artists often seemed legitimately skilled in a variety of arts which were prevalent in HK at the time...

Also, so long as there is some question regarding the existence of a traditional "Hung Ga Monkey", we might as well examine all sources which have been contributing to that perception!



Best,

Michael

[researcher]

Glad you found it interesting. TSPK has alot of material so theres something for everyone!

Thanks for that clip, cool to see old masters in action! I was never really a fan of Kwan Tak Hing and didnt think his drunken fist was very drunken, but hes a legend none the less!

[Daifong]

Right,

So, as for "Hung Ga Monkey", we have the late GM Ken Tak hoy, Yuet Kek/ Cantonese Opera, or possibly something else put together far more recently...

Anyway, At 3:09 you can see my Sifu, LGHK GM Lam Jansing performing our own signature version of the Pek Gwa Lau Yip Dan Do:

http://www.56.com/u57/v_NDY5MzU0NjI.html

I also learned GM Chan Sau Chung's version when he came to San Francisco some years ago...

I found being granted the opportunity for comparative analysis to be educational in the extreme!

Well researcher, I wish you all the luck in the world with your 'Monkey round-up'. Myself, I think it would be much easier just trying to 'herd some cats'...

Still, "the one who says 'it can not be done' should never interfere with the one who says, 'I'm gonna try'"!



Best,

Michael

[laukarfei]

him and the other i see them with the broadswords alot, chun fai i have few of him doing double broadswords. why is it, in cma no one ever uses real broadsword? ive seen plenty of real spear, pole, straight sword even the crazier ones like "tiger fork" and hook swords, section staffs..

[Daifong]

I don't know why he used that sword either, certainly not because of a weak arm, by any stretch!

One thing I can tell you, Hong Kong takes a decidedly dim view on anything like actual weaponry being gathered in what they would basically characterize as an arsenal-type fashion...

Only "martial instruments" are allowed by HK law, and a current permit necessary for even those, "premises of the permit holder to be inspected on demand"...

For some reason or other, HK doesn't see any particularly positive reason served for the average citizen to collect, brandish, or carry actual militia-grade weaponry about?

Good point though, lkf...

[Daifong]

For anyone interested in more about Monkey Boxing, here is an interview in three sections with TSPK Grandmaster Chan Sau Chung:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ob_od5on-NA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1J25V_t ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaYYK68R ... re=related




Best,

Michael

[popsjnr]

According to my former boss Toby Russell,when I used to work for Eastern Heroes video,he interviewed Lau Kar Leung and asked him where his monkey forms came from,like most people he thought it came from Chen Kuan Tai (Taai Sing Pek Kwa Moon) Lau si-fu insisted that he learrned it fron an old man in Macao where Lau si-fu had his 1st kwoon. The style was called Fung Hou (also the cantonese title of Mad Monkey Kung Fu), in 2004 when both Mark Houghton and Lau Kar Yung visited our kwoon in London, also where Frank Bolte 1st met them, on the last night they were there Lau Kar Yung showed me some of the form (mainly the yat jeung say sik parts) and also said the technique was Fung Hou, luckily as a lifelong kung fu movie freak I can get by in cantonese, so Lau Kar Yung felt quite comfortable talking to me.

[lindajamison76]

Well, great work! You have helped me to improve my knowledge about this field. Thank you so much for sharing.

[Daifong]

One thing I hate about forum threads is that the video clips all get removed over any period of time. The footage of Master Chow Keung performing the Chan Ga Taai Gik Kyun form that he learned from Daai Sing Pek Gwa Mun founder, GM Ken Tak Hoi now seems to be gone...

Does anybody have a personal clip of this that they would like to post?



Best,

Michael