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 Some History of Kung Fu:
In the beginning, there was no kung fu. Buddhism, introduced to China from India
in the Han dynasty (about the time of the Roman empire),
was taught in monasteries and temples. Monks would join temples for
intensive study and devotion, and would sit for long periods of time to
listen to the teachings of the priests. Eventually, it was found that the
monks needed strong physical training to balance their intensive mental,
spiritual, philosophical training so they would have better strength and
endurance for sitting for long periods listening and studying. Therefore,
the abbot (the head monk) designed a boxing system based on 8 animal styles
(dragon, snake, tiger, crane, etc.). The "Martial Monks" became
renowned for their fighting style, strength, endurance, and stamina. At
first they would defend their temples and the treasures therein (gold
statues, scrolls and scripts, medicine, etc.), and then the surrounding
areas, and sometimes they would serve kings and emperors in various
battles. It was written that a single, barehanded martial monk could fight
against an attack of 10 people, and with a pole even face 50 to 100 people!
Destruction of the Shaolin Temple:
In the 19th century, the Qing dynasty (the last dynasty of China, ruled by
Manchurains, non-Chinese similar to Mongolians) found their crumbling rule
over China beset on all sides, both by encroaching foreigners (especially
Europeans) and by local rebellions (such as the Taiping and the Boxers,
many of whom were from or associated with Shaolin). Fearing the potential
threat of the Shaolin Martial Monks, the Manchurian rulers bribed a junior
monk in the temple to betray the monastery, murder the supreme priest, and
set fire to the temple. The temple was burned to the ground. Only 3
disciples managed to escape: Hung, Fong, and Wu. They were wanted men, so
they disguised themselves and hid among boat people. At night, they taught
Shaolin animal styles of kung fu - such as tiger, crane, snake, leopard,
and dragon - so that the style would not disappear with the temple. This
style has been named Hung gar (Hung family) or Hung Kuen (Hung fist) in
honour of Master Hung (the most important and prolific teachers of the
three monks who escaped the destruction of the Shaolin temple). From the
original 8 animal styles, Shaolin Hunggar Kungfu has been gradually
expanded to 108 forms.
Kung Fu comes to the West:
The term "kung fu" (or gongfu) meaning specifically Chinese
martial arts first appeared in 1972. Before that, the term gongfu meant
anything done with great skill and success. Chinese boxing was introduced
to the West by people such as Bruce Lee in Seattle
and Stephen Chang in Vancouver,
both of whom met strong opposition in the Chinese community for teaching
the Chinese secrets to non-Chinese. The local Chinese community initially
branded both Lee and Chang as traitors for teaching cultural secrets, but
Chang had been sent to North America by
his own grandmaster specifically to teach Chinese martial arts to
non-Chinese. Unfortunately, by this time Chang's grandmaster had already
passed away, so he could not verify or corroborate Chang's mission. Now,
after the work done by people such as Lee and Chang, Chinese martial arts
are widely available to and respected in the non-Chinese world.
Hung Gar Kuen:
The animal style is so graceful that the avid practitioner does not quite
look like a human kicking and boxing. The practitioner can defend like a
crane, attack as a tiger, retreat and defend as a snake, approach again as
a leopard, be as powerful as a dragon, grab like an eagle, fly as a
butterfly, sting as a scorpion, and prey as a mantis.
In Shaolin Hunggar (Chinese Boxing, Gongfu), we never attack or fight
first. Rather, we learn to improve human confidence, honour, health (in
body, mind, and spirit), and longevity. We imagine different animals when
practicing, for they only fight for survival, to protect themselves and
their young, and for food, rather unlike humans, who fight too much for
pride and prejudice and politics. We only strike back at the right time to
protect ourselves and our loved ones, and to strike with the minimal force
and impact necessary to achieve these minimalist goals.
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A young Master Chang practicing with the
trident.
A young Master Chang posing
Chang with the top 5 monks.
Master
Chang with class of disciples in '70s
Class practicing "Golden Leg Buddha"
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