NaamKyun.com Discussion Forum

My hung gar curriculum, as far as sets go, does not include Gung Gee, only Fu Hok and a shorter suplementary tiger form called Black Tiger. We spend the first 20 minutes of every class on fundamental stances (particularly horse) and footwork (we call this our "warm up"). The remainder of the class is generally drilling a short sequence from one of the sections of Fu Hok, working on applications of that sequence, and at the end of class, we do the entire Fu Hok set.

I have studied Gung Gee in an academic sense, having read the Gung Gee thread here that turned into a nice PDF, I have the Lam Sai Wing Gung Gee book which I have studied, and also I refer to a nice Gung Gee video quite frequently. My own personal opinion is that by not practicing this form I am missing a few nice techinque sequences, but that our "warm up" set trains stances and footwork in much the same way as Gung Gee.

What is your opinion on what *fundamental* of Hung Gar I may be missing by not having trained Gung Gee? What are the most important fundamentals learned in this form? Are there important lessons there that cannot be gotten from Fu Hok?

Thanks,

Brennan

Brennanos,

Fu Hok contains most principles found in Gung Ji Fook Fu Kyun, and can probably stand on its own for all practical purposes. Still, FHSYK was born from GJFFK, not the other way around...

FHSYK is built on GJFFK foundational achievements, therefore presupposing that the would-be Hung Kyun practitioner is likewise skilled...

To accomplish what GJFFK provides, using just the FHSYK, IMHO somebody would have to have already mastered the GJFFK in the first place...

Likewise, if by "Black Tiger Fist", you mean the second half of GJFFK, it's all very well, but again mostly contingency movement based upon a solid understanding of (in this case) the first half of the form, if that makes sense...



Best,

Michael

I consider GGFFK as a vital building block of Hung Kuen. Although it's the first form that is taught in various schools, it's *simplistic* pattern of progression should not be taken for granted.

GGFFK is not only designed to instill correct form or techniques (no matter how simple they are) but those techniques also provide the foundation to the techniques found in more advanced fist sets as well. I keep finding myself taking examples from GGFFK to answer questions or to correct mistakes of students that are in Fu-Hok & Ng Ying Kuen.

One SiFu stated that progressing in the Hung System is like climbing a ladder. Each of the fist and weapon sets you are taught are represented by a rung with GGFFK being the one on the bottom. If you neglect GGFFK as you progress, it will eventually deteriorate and the rest the rungs will no longer be as solid.

In my opinion, GGFFK is foundational ideas - the the trunk of the tree. It instills the basics of movement in the style, and lots of high percentage techniques. Fu Hok adds a bit of "fanciness" and breadth to your HK - the branches. Some movements in Fu Hok require more attention to detail, time, or specialized training to be able to use them effectively.

But learning a form and training are different things. You can't be good at everything. If you are learning Fu Hok, then by this time usually you are ready to pick a few things that you like and start specializing your training a bit more - training the 'gung' for a specific technique.

Gung Gee is the beginning of Hung Kuen without it the later forms are just that...forms. Fu Hok is the fighting form of Hung Gar but the power to use it comes from Gung Gee, it's like having an automatic weapon without the ammunition...pointless