Grandmaster Wong Ark Yuey was born in Canton. His home village was Toysun Tien Cum Chien. His grandfather, the head of the family, wanted all males learn Kung Fu. His well-to-do family was worried by the persistent threat of bandits in the area. A family dispute had precipitated the rule that each Wong member would […]
Sep
16
2016
16
2016
May
26
2016
26
2016
Kong Han Ngo Cho: Five Ancestors of Kung Fu
What a great book! If you have any interest in Five Ancestors Fist (Ngo Cho Kun) or Southern Boxing in general, this large, well-illustrated volume is a must-have for your library. The Five Ancestors is one style that combines five forms of Kung Fu fighting. Its core style is TaiZu, named after an Emperor of […]
Oct
29
2014
29
2014
Recommended School: White Crane Boxing, Montreal
This is the first of Plum’s series on exceptional and traditional Kung Fu schools. Of course, proximity is the first requirement but in the case of a good martial teacher, driving a little extra can prove to mean a lot. This school, offering Shaolin White Crane Kung Fu and run by sifu Lorne Bernard, is […]
Jun
4
2014
4
2014
Favorites, Southern this time…
“Any favorites among the Southern styles?” This question followed my last piece on some of the style less-represented in VCD format. Of course, in the over 1500 VCDs (video compact disks) we offer there are bound to be some gems. I just wrote about some lesser-known Northern styles so, as Stan Meador suggests, I now […]
May
22
2014
22
2014
The Boxing of the Five Ancestors (Updated!)
Though there is a lot of “cross-pollination” in the Northern styles of Kung Fu, it sometimes seems that the Southern boxing forms are particularly adaptable to hybrid forms. Is this possibly because their fighting envelopes are so close to one another? Here are two new books on one of the major hybrids known as the […]
Dec
20
2013
20
2013
Kung Fu Theater: Wing Lam
Here’s another entry from that great period on TV when Tat Mau Wong hosted Kung Fu Theater? Sifu would interview a different guest each week and then the teacher would go out on the floor and demonstrate his specialty. If you do remember, here it is. And if you don’t you are in for a […]
Dec
18
2013
18
2013
Seeking Soft and Hard
I want to compare two styles that most people might consider to be extremely opposed to one another. But Tai Chi and Hung Gar kung fu are not really that antithetical…
Jul
10
2012
10
2012
The Power of Jow Ga
Here is the first book on the Jow Ga style of Kung Fu by noted practitioner and competitor, Ron Wheeler…
