Shaolin monks hone their kung fu skills. Murals in the White Hall of the Shaolin Temple.

Short Historical Essay on Master Lam Sai Wing /Chapter 1/

WRITTEN BY HIS DISCIPLE ZHU YUZHAI. AS RELATED BY ZHANG SHIBIAO FROM PANGYU. THE TWELFTH YEAR KUIHAI OF THE PEOPLES REPUBLIC (1923), THE FIRST MONTH OF THE SUMMER.

Introduction - Master Lam Sai Wing Sets Up a School for Training the Fighting Arts in Canton - Master Lam Sai Wing Becomes a Disciple of Wong Fei Hung - Lam Sai Wing and Wong Fei Hung Talk to a Monk Called "The Iron Head" - Master Lam Sai Wing Gaines the Upper Hand over the Monk Called "The Iron Head" - Master Lam Sai Wing Deals with a Band of Rowdies - Master Lam Sai Wing and his disciples enter "The Society for Cooperation" with the aim of mutual confrontation to robbers and cutthroats - Master Lam Sai Wing is Lured into a Death Trap - Master Lam Sai Wing becomes the Chief Instructor in the army of Fujien province.

CHAPTER 1.

Introduction. 

Lam Sai Wing (1860 - 1943)

Master Lam Sai Wing (1860-1943) was born in Pingzhou district of the southern Guangdong province. He was a generous, bright and witty boy who from his childhood strove for knowledge and did well in traditional classic sciences. His esteemed ancestor Lam repeatedly told him that talent and persistence are a good base to form one's character.
Besides, as far as Chinese pugilistic arts and sword fencing are concerned, the past period, when fighting techniques were secretly trained, should serve as an example. So, the second factor of success is to follow the ancient methods.
Master Lam Sai Wing learned Kung Fu for many years and had long experience, yet he could not be self-confident and humbly gained knowledge of ancient times in his desire to comprehend the innermost essence of the art. His disciples Hu Jin Xin and Shao Zhang Bo helped him in that. Later, they could not go on with their training and set up butcheries to earn their living. Only Master Lam, full of high aspirations, did not forget the ancient directions and diligently and indefatigably reared the art in his soul. It cannot but give rise to our admiration, indeed!
NEXT CHAPTER (2) / Master Lam Sai Wing Sets Up a School for Training the Fighting Arts in Canton.

CANONICAL BOOKS BY LEGENDARY GRANDMASTER LAM SAI WING (1860 - 1943)

Lam Sai Wing. Taming the Tiger (工字伏虎拳)
Lam Sai Wing. Gung Gee Fook Fu Kuen. Moving Along the Hieroglyph GUNG, I Tame the Tiger with the Pugilistic Art (Hong Kong, 1957) - cover

The book scrutinizes an old canonical form (the Tao) of the Southern Shaolin Kung Fu, the Gung Gee Fook Fu.

According to the legend, the founder of the
Hung Gar style, Hung Hei Goon studied this form under the tutorship of Southern Shaolin best fighter, a Master of the Tiger Style abbot Gee Sin Sim Si.

The Quintessence of
Southern Shaolin Kung Fu - classical Fighting Methods from the book GUNG GEE FOOK FU KUEN:

"The claws of a Black Tiger"
"A fierce Tiger hiding in a cleft"
"The Bull strikes with its horn, makes a turn and breaches the sky"
"The arm of the Golden Dragon"
"To tear out a Phoenix's eye"
"The Tiger striking with its tail"
"The two Dragons steal pearls"
"The Snake raises up its head"
"The Celestial Dragon wags its tail"
"The Golden Dragon carries gifts in its claws"
"The hand that calls out a Ghost"
and others...

LAM SAI WING. GUNG GEE FOOK FU KUEN. MOVING ALONG THE HIEROGLYPH GUNG, I TAME THE TIGER WITH THE PUGILISTIC ART (HONG KONG, 1957)
Lam Sai Wing. TIGER AND CRANE (虎鸖双形拳)
Lam Sai Wing. Fu Hok Seung Ying Kuen. Tiger and Crane Double Form (Hong Kong, 1957) - book cover

The book deals with the most popular and probably the most monumental form of the Hung Gar Kung Fu style. This form, known as The Tiger and the Crane, was created in the late XIX century by Lam Sai Wing's teacher, an unrivalled master of Kung Fu Wong Fei Hung. The Tiger's extremely tough, fierce and lightning-fast attack are balanced against and supplemented by the softer and smoother techniques of the Crane. The "tough" and the "soft" combine in a harmony.

The Quintessence of Southern Shaolin Hung Gar Kung Fu - classical Fighting Methods from the book Fu Hok Seung Ying Kuen:

"A Fierce Tiger Pressed Himself to the Ground"
"Tiger's Eye, Leopard's Blow"
"The Hungry Tiger Catches a Ram"
"The Tiger Goes Out from his Den"
"The Fierce Tiger Descends a Mountain"
"The Tiger Tramples On Wolves and Jackals"
"Claws of the Black Tiger"
"A Fierce Tiger Pushes the Mountain"
"The Dragon Hid, the Tiger Jumped Out"
"The Fierce Tiger Scratches Sand"
" Tiger's Roar and Crane's Call"
"A Crane Beak", "One Leg of a Flying Crane"
"A Hungry Crane Standing on One Leg"
"A Hungry Crane Catches Shrimps"
"Crane Crest", "The Monkey Steals a Peach"
"The Wild Goose Sits Down on the Sandbank"
"Prancing Unicorn", "Butterflies Depart in Flight"
"The White Horse Hoofs"
"Arhat Goes Out from the Cave"
"Eight Drunken Celestials"
and others...

LAM SAI WING. FU HOK SEUNG YING KUEN. TIGER AND CRANE DOUBLE FORM (HONG KONG, 1957)
Lam Sai Wing. Iron Thread (鐵綫拳)
Iron Thread. Southern Shaolin Hung Gar Kung Fu Classics Series (front cover of the book)

The Iron Thread Form (Tid Sin Kuen) was created by Tid Kiu Sam (Iron Bridge III), one of the best martial artists in the history of China. His real name was Leung Kwan (1813-1886). He was one of the famous Ten Tigers of GuangdongTid Kiu Sam was born in the town of NanghaiGuangdong province. He, the third child in the family, became a disciple of a monk from the Southern Shaolin Temple, Gwok YanGwok Yan was one of the greatest masters of the Southern Shaolin Hung Gar Kuen school. He was known along the whole length of the Yangtse river. Through the years Tid Kiu Sam passed his knowledge down to one of his students, Lam Fook Sing. Some time later Lam Fook Sing taught Wong Fei Hung (1847-1924) and the latter Wong Fei Hung taught Lam Sai Wing (1860-1943).

The Iron Thread is considered as the highest form taught in the traditional Southern Shaolin Hung Gar Kung Fu system. This method belongs to a branch of "hard", or fighting Southern Shaolin Qi Gong (Chi Kung) and considered as "Internal Training". A master of the Iron Thread can withstand, with no consequences, the strongest of blows, including ones with heavy objects or cold steel, bend thick iron rods with his hands, and his "rooting power" is so strong that he cannot be displaced by a group of strong people. In addition, this wonderful method strengthens all internal organs, bones, muscles and sinews. The entire body thrives and rejuvenate.

LAM SAI WING. IRON THREAD. SOUTHERN SHAOLIN HUNG GAR KUNG FU CLASSICS SERIES (HONG KONG, 1957)