NaamKyun.com Discussion Forum

Hey guys,

I was just wondering, why did you choose Hung Kyun as your style and why your primary Sifu?

For me in my Home town I was lucky enough to have a great teacher who taught mainly Hung Gar and was the only Kung fu in town at the time. I also saw a now si-hing of mine perform Sup Yin at a belt test (I know, I know) that made me want to learn the style.

That same Si-Hing introduced me to my main Sifu (Sifu YC Wong) when I moved to San Francisco. I stayed with Hung Gar because as fighting art I found it well rounded. Now as I am in phase of my life that is more health based the 4 pillars practice I find is particularly beneficial combined with a regular yoga practice.

What about you guys?

Coincidence

I was in Jr High School and had just moved to the city from the countryside. At that age, if you weren't with a clique/ hadn't proven yourself, tough older kids might approach you, try and go through your pockets/ pop you up. Or, they'd pull the electric wires, take over an entire Muni bus, smack up/ rob everyone, then run before the cops came.

I didn't mind a fair fight, one on one. In the country, if you got into it, if you were getting beat, you could concede. However, here, fights could get quite vicious. They happened 2-on-one, 3-on-one, you could get "rat-packed", lol. These teenagers often had knives, occasionally a gun. Not to mention weird adults you could run into.

I knew I needed to "take something", and fast.

There was a kid in my homeroom, friendly, but kind of quiet, looked like he'd been poured into his clothes. He was 3 times as fast as anyone, three times as strong. Adults couldn't have done a thing with him at all.

To make a long story short, he showed me the opening section of Fu Hok, as well as Tiger and Crane movements. His longhands and his grip-strength were... phenomenal, to say the least. I asked him to teach me!

Still secretive about how and where he learned, I asked him where I could study Hung Gar/ Tiger and Crane. He explained he wasn't qualified to teach, and couldn't really recommend anyone who was, but if I wanted to learn the Hung Ga system, I might try in SF Chinatown, and he gave me a Sifu's name.

Only later was I to discover he was an early student of Hopgar GM David Chin, who, having additionally grown up in a family of martial artists (Boxing, Escrima, Wing Chun, Hapkido, Kyokushin, Wrestling, etc), so-happened to know the FHSYK as well!

To make a long story short, the lesson that I gained from all this (aside from over 35 years in the arts today), is that, "styles don't make martial artists, martial artists make the styles".



Best,

Michael

I had studied various styles, Northern, TKD, Tang Soo Do, Kenpo, but whenever I sparred, I was always the smallest guy, so when I landed a strike, my sparring partners would say, "Nice shot." Then they'd hit me and I'd be airborne.
I never wanted to hear anyone simply say "Nice shot," and shrug off my blows.
So I decided to do some research. Hung-Gar had everything I wanted and more:
First, I wanted a traditional Chinese system, (not some modern day, made up, chop-suey art,) that had roots to the Siu Lum Temple(because I was enamored with the legends..)
Second, I wanted the Five Animal techniques-for reasons above.
Third, I needed to find the most powerful system to take advantage of my then, 145 lb frame.
Fourth-it had to look cool. That was what originally inspired me to learn Gung-Fu. Bruce Lee as Kato looked so damn cool!
Gung-Fu was intriguing, mysterious, graceful, yet brutal. And...it looked so much cooler than Karate. (admit it! You all thought so!)

Hung-Gar had that reputation. Then, I discovered so much more, the infighting skills, the element punches, the depth and intricacies of the system. Each year, it just gets better and better.
and...it still looks cool!

I was fortunate to have an opportunity, choosing the teacher not the style. Hung Gar just happened to be what he learned... I had no idea what real gung fu was much less that it was Hung Gar and that there were so many styles, families, north, south, soft, hard, etc. I feel pretty lucky actually...

My start in the martial arts was also, by chance, Hung Gar. It was taught at the local YMCA, and I could work (janitor) to pay for lessons.
Very lucky and blessed to have this as my base art, to discern the good and bad that are out there.
Thank you, Sifu Steve Slover, for your time and patience.

Don

At Ten Tigers, I totally agree. It looks WAY cool!

I always watched Gordon Liu movies, and didn't even know it was Hung Kuen he showed mostly.



By coincidence Hung Kuen came into my path...or was it faith!?!