Hung Hei Goon

Hung Hei Goon

Hung Hei Goon is considered as the founder of Hung Gar. It is said by some that Hung Hei Goon was born into a distant royal family and was descendant of Prince Leung the 15'th son of the Ming Emperor Chung Chen . He was born in kwuntung province of southern china when the country was under the rule of Ch'ing dynasty (Manchu). The Manchurian conquest and rule( 1644-1911) of China was a deeply humiliating experience for the Chinese. The Manchus, indeed, made things harder for themselves, as foreign rulers, with their decree that Chinese men would have to adopt Manchu costume (including the infamous "queue"). This provoked violent Chinese popular resistance and helped the "Southern Ming" princes rally forces against the Manchus for almost two decades. Hung Hei Goon being a Ming patriot disliked the Ch'ing rule like many other Chinese and spent most of his life fighting to over throw the Ch'ing and restore the Ming. Hung's real surname was Jyu,however due to being one of the most wanted rebels of his time, he later changed his name to Hung to hide his real identity from the Ch'ing government. He chose the name Hung as a tribute to the first Ming Emperor Hung Mo(Hong Wu) who is widely considered as one of the best, if not the best emperor in the history of China.

Hung Hei Goon made a living as a travelling tea merchant up until the time he joined the Siu Lum (Shaolin) temple as a layman. According to one of many stories, during one of his travels he was confronted and got into trouble with some Ch'ing officials which resulted with a price on his head. Not wanting to be caught by the Ch'ing, he fled and went into hiding at Fukien Siu Lum temple where many other rebels, ming supporters and former officials took refuge. Here at the Siu Lum Temple, Hung trained shaolin boxing under the abbot Gee Sin Sim Si, specialising in shaolin tiger system. Because of his character and physical appearance tiger style suited him perfectly and he soon became the number one disciple of the abbot Gee Sim.From Gee Sim, Hung learned the famous Gung gee Fook Fu Kuen which at the time was known as Siu Lum Fook Fu Kuen. However it is believed that Hung further developed Gung Gee Fook Fu kuen and he is widely considered as the creator of this form.

The Ch'ing government well aware of what was happening at the temple, felt threatenedby shaolin temple and its activities. They planed a full scale attack on Shaolin and send imperial troops to destroy the temple and kill all the monks and rebels. The monks were out numbered largely and did not stand a chance against the army, the Shaolin temple was burned down to the ground. Hung Hei Goon and Gee Sim as well as some others managed to survive the attack and fled to the southern parts of China. These man swore to spread the art of shaolin and fight to "overthrow the Chi'ng, restore the Ming".

According to some sources, Hung Hei Goon, Gee Sim and some others went into hiding in "hung sheun" or red boats/red junks which belonged to the Chinese Opera troupes that travelled all over China and staged playes. During his travels Hung met and married Fong Wing Chun (not to be confused with Yim Wing Chun). Fong Wing Chun was an expert in the crane style and some believe that she was the niece of the Legendary Fong Sai Yuk while others dispute this and say she was Fong Sai Yuk's daughter. Whatever the case may be the actual known fact is that Hung learned his wife's crane style and combined the the soft and fluid techniques of the crane with the straight forward and powerful tiger movements of siu lum temple to create the famous Tiger/Crane form. An interesting point to mention here is: some sources state that Fong Wing Chun was Hung Hei Goon's second wife. His first marriage was to a lady named Liu Ying-cheun but sadly she passed away. He latter married to Fong Wing-Chun. It is also said that Hung Hei Goon had a son named Hung Man Ting.

At the time Gung fu training was banned by the Manchus. So Hung Hei Goon taught his art secretly at the Big Budha Temple in Kwungtung. Once the ban was lifted, he began teaching openly and set up a school in Fa city of Kwungtung province. He named his art Hung Gar Kuen (Hung family Fist), mainly to hide its shaolin connections from the Manchus. During his life time, Hung Hei Goon became to be known as one of the best martial artist of his time. His Gung Fu and skills as an excellent fighter was so well known that he was known as "Southern Fist". It is stated in the official records of Fukien that Hung had killed a man with a single blow. Hung Hei Goon died around the age of 90 and it said that his tomb is located and still stands at FA city.