Hung Gar Kuen is one of the oldest and most full of legends Kung Fu styles.
From its roots in a forgotten Shaolin temple, to its actual appareance on action movies
and kids shows (Yes, there is Hung Gar in Kung Fu Panda ! ), there it a lot to say.
Sit comfortable, and prepare for a passionating exploration of the unavoidable
Tiger and Crane style.
The original 'five animals' system is used by Shaolin monks since around 1550.
When the Hunan temple is destroyed by the Qing army, some survivors find a way to escape south and settle a new temple in Fukien, where they train and teache their martial arts system. But the temple i soon discovered and burned down.
Only very few could esape this time.
One of them, Abbot Gee Sin, met a traveler who helped him to hide and shared his food.
During this time, the monk taught the traveler his secret Kung Fu techniques, so that
he could spread it in China to 'Beat the Qing [dinasty] and restore the Ming dinasty.'
The traveler, who was named Hung Hei Goon , mixed his new Kung Fu with his wife's White Crane style.
Because the rebels had to hide from the government, they pretended to be circus artist.
They traveled throug China on flat-bottomed boats, so their style evolved to become very rooted, sturdy, and close to the ground - you wont try a flying crescent kick on a flat-bottomed boat, believe me.
In 1813, fear of foreing colonization convince the governmen to lift their ban on Kung Fu.
Hung Hei Goon comes ou of hiding and open up a school in Fa city, Guangdong province.
Another lay student of Abbot gee Sin was Look Ah Choy.
They later met and trained together with Hung Hei Goon, and opened up a school in Canton, (or GuanZhou), China's capital.
Here, they taught three generation of famous Hung Gar masters, known as the 'Wong clan': Wong Tai, his son Wong Kei Ying (who is a supposed member of the legendary 'ten tigers of Guangdong'), and his son, the wordlwide famous Wong Fei Hong.
Then comes Wong Fei Hong
A chinese mythology hero but also a historical character (1847 - 1925).
Wong's life is famous and full of incredible feats, wich made him and his style well known in the whole country. He is kind of 'the missing piece', a link between legend and historical reality.
Because he taught Lam Sai Wing, a totally real-life person (1861 – 1943) who taught his nephew Lam Jo, then Y.C. Wong and son Ray Wong, then...
My father and me :-)
Hung Gar style today have changed in multiple ways is you compare it to the beginning, but the founding principles, rooted stances, powerful arm techniques, and main forms remain the same.
It now have more forms (originally it had only 3), weapons forms from others styles such as Pek Kwar.
Even if it include all five animals work on technique - Tiger, Crane, Snake, Leopard and Dragon, respectively for strength, evasiveness, nimbleness, speed and breathing-
It is still mainly known as the Tiger-Crane style because these two animals symbolize the unique characteristics of this style: the tiger, representing fierceness and powerful character, perfectly complements the crane, representing agility and swift movement.
Hung-Gar has strong versatile hand techniques and powerful effective kicks that are applicable to close-range as well as long-range situations.
Most students start with Hung Gar as it provides a solid foundation for other acrobatic or internal styles.
Hope you enjoyed the journey
See you later,
Maoni
Hung Gar Kuen