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 3/

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 3.

Master Lam Sai Wing Becomes a Disciple of Wong Fei Hung.

 Wong Fei Hung 

At that time there were strong anti-Japanese feelings among the people. The Japanese in Canton did injustice and unlawful actions, beat and humiliated the people and the people had to be on the run. The Japanese treated the Chinese with arrogance. One Japanese searched for Master Lam Sai Wing and tried to enter his school. He was not fastidious in his choice of words and sharply said that Master Lam Sai Wing was a sissy and had no any right to train other people and to have his own school. If he saw the fine Shaolin technique of esteemed Lam Sai Wing, he would not be so thoughtless!
Su Wenzu, a well-known classically educated master who got perfection in the pair sword technique and lived in Canton, highly appraised Lam Sai Wing's mastership. He said that he was ready to serve Master Lam.
Master Lam Sai Wing did not fear anybody; he taught at his school and showed benevolence to everybody. His disciples tried not to participate in shuffles or combat actions and kept aloof. However, worried about what happened around and realized that their country was on the verge of downfall, they agreed to participate in public show fight. A lot of important persons came to see the fight. Master Lam's enemy challenged him with a stick in his hand, and his voice was like a tiger's roar. It was a furious fight, the fighters' bodies were covered with wounds, they bled profusely. Suddenly Master Lam's enemy threw away his stick and ran away.
Although Master Lam won the victory, his body was covered with bloody wounds. Lam Sai Wing went to bow Wong Fei Hung who was not only an excellent Kung Fu master, but a doctor of the Chinese traditional medicine. Master Wong Fei Hung was very glad to meet Lam. He told him that he would be a worthy disciple at his school. He cured wounds and gave him a great support. Master Lam Sai Wing accumulated knowledge with veneration to his teacher.
NEXT CHAPTER (4) / Lam Sai Wing and Wong Fei Hung Talk to a Monk Called "The Iron Head".

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)