WONG FEI HUNG (HUNG GAR)

WONG FEI HUNG (HUNG GAR)
Wong Fei Hung (; simplified Chinese:; Pinyin: Huáng Fēihóng; Cantonese Yale: Wòhng Fēihùhng) (July 9, 1847–March 25, 1924) was a martial artist, Chinese medicine practitioner, and revolutionary who became a Chinese folk her and the subject of numerous television series and films. As a healer and medical doctor, Wong practiced and taught acupuncture and other forms of traditional Chinese medicine 'Po Chi Lam' , his clinic in Foshan, Guangdong Province, China , where he was known for his compassion and policy of treating any patient. A museum dedicated to him was built in Foshan. Amongst Wong's most famous disciples were Lam Sai Wing, Leung Foon, and Ling Wan Gai. He was also associated with Chi Su Hua, aka the Beggar So.
Early years
Legend has it that Wong Fei Hung was born in Foshan on the ninth day of the seventh month of the twenty-seventh year of the reign of Emperor Daoguang (1847). When Wong was five, he began his study of martial arts under his father Wong Kei Ying. To supplement his poor family's income, he followed his father to Foshan, Guangzhou and throughout the rest of Guangdong Province to do martial arts performances and to sell medicines.

Well within his youth, Wong began showing great potential as a martial artist. At the age of thirteen, while giving a martial arts demonstration at Douzhixiang, Foshan, Wong Fei Hung met Lam Fuk Sing, the first apprentice of Tit Kiu Saam, who taught him the "tour de force" of Iron Wire Fist and Sling, which helped him become a master of Hung Gar. When he was sixteen, Wong set up martial arts schools at Shuijiao, Diqipu, Xiguan, Guangdong Province, and then opened his clinic 'Po Chi Lam' (寶芝林) on Renan Street in Foshan. By his early 20s, he was fast making his mark as a highly-respected physician and martial artist.

Later years
As a famous martial arts master, he had many apprentices. He was successfully engaged by Jiming Provincial Commander-in-Chief Wu Quanmei and Liu Yongfu as the military medical officer, martial art general drillmaster, and Guangdong local military general drillmaster. He later followed Liu Youngfu to fight against the Japanese army in Taiwan. His life was full of frustration, and in his later years he experienced the loss of his son and the burning of Po Chi Lam. On lunar year, the twenty-fifth day of the third month in 1924, Wong Fei Hung died of illness in Guangdong Chengxi Fangbian Hospital. His wife and two of his prominent students, Lam Sai-Wing and Tang Sai-King, moved to Hong Kong, where they continued teaching Wong's martial art. Wong became a legendary hero whose real-life story was mixed freely with fictional exploits on the printed page and onscreen.

As a martial artist
Wong was a master of the Chinese martial art Hung Gar. He systematized the predominant style of Hung Gar and choreographed its version of the famous Tiger Crane Paired Form Fist, which incorporates his "Ten Special Fist" techniques. Wong was famous for his skill with the technique known as the "No Shadow Kick". He was known to state the names of the techniques he used while fighting. Wong Fei Hung also became adept at using weapons such as the wooden long staff and the southern tiger fork. Soon after, stories began circulating about his mastery of these weapons. One story recounts how he defeated a 30-man gang on the docks of Canton using the staff.

Wong is sometimes included in the Ten Tigers of Canton (ten of the top martial arts masters in Guangdong towards the end of the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912), a group to which his father Wong Kei Ying belonged).Wong Fei-Hung was born in 1847 in the Fushan district of China. He died in 1924 of natural causes. His contributions to modern day Hung-Gar are unmatched, and can be considered one of the forefathers of modern day martial arts. He was renowned for protecting the weak and helping the poor. Wong Kay-Ying was his father, who was a physician and great martial arts master also..

Wong Fei-Hung's father ran a famous medical clinic called Po Chi Lam, and Wong Fei-Hung grew up there, assisting his father. He learned traditional Chinese medicine, and also learned many important values such as generosity and compassion. Wong Kay-Ying always treated a patient, even if he or she couldn't afford any treatment.

The Ch'ing Dynasty consisted of Manchu emperors, who had conquered China from there home in Manchuria. They were foreign invaders to the southern Chinese. The southern Shaolin Temple in Fukien was a place where the resistance would go to train to fight against the Ch'ing. The temple was first burned down in 1734, but the few monks and students who survived traveled across China teaching their skills to others worthy enough along the way. Variations on the Southern Shaolin styles soon emerged such as Wing Chun (Bruce Lee's original style) and Hung Gar Kung Fu (Wong Fei-Hung's style). The father of modern day Hung-Gar was Hung Hei-Kwun (another martial arts master that was portrayed by Jet Li in New Legend of Shaolin).

At first Wong Fei-Hung's father was reluctant to teach him Hung-Gar, but his martial arts training soon began by his father's teacher, Luk Ah Choi. Luk Ah Choi taught Wong Fei-Hung the basics of Hung Gar. After, Wong Kay-Ying took over his son's training. By his early 20's, Wong Fei-Hung had made a name for himself as a dedicated physician and a martial arts prodigy. In addition to becoming a master of Hung-Gar, he created the tiger-crane style and added fighting combinations now known as the "Ten Forms Fist / Sup Ying Kuen", which consisted of the set of 10 individual fighting stances of: Dragon, Tiger, Crane, Snake, Leopard, Wood, Metal, Earth, Fire, and Water. Wong Fei-Hung was also skilled with many weapons, especially the long wooden staff and the southern tiger fork. On one occasion where he utilized his skill with the staff was when he defeated a thirty-man gang on the docks of Canton (Similar scene is Once Upon A Time in China I). He also protected the weak and poor from both criminal gangs and government forces. Wong Fei-Hung, like his father before him was know as one of the TEN TIGERS of CANTON. A title bestowed on the best of the best martial artists of the time.

Wong Fei-Hung's son, Wong Hawn-Sum, followed his father's ways of defending the weak. Unfortunately, he was killed in the 1890's after being gunned down by the gang Dai Fin Yee. After this tragedy, Wong Fei-Hung vowed never to teach his remaining 9 sons martial arts to protect them from challengers seeking fame.If ever there really existed a true hero of martial arts, a person worthy of that title would definitely be Wong Fei-Hung. This website and online community is a tribute to that great hero Wong Fei-Hung.

Wong Fei Hung
Wong Fei Hung was born(circa 1847) in the Nam hoi district of Kwungtung province into a well respected and famous family of Gung Fu practitioners. He is undautabley the most famous and extremely well known hung gar master to date whose life has been immortalized by hundreds of movies, publications, TV shows etc. Wong Fei Hung is widely considered as the father of the modern day Hung Gar due to his additions and the pivotal role on the development of Hung gar as we know today.

Wong Fei Hung started learning gung fu and traditional Chinese medicine from a very early age under the guidance of his father Wong Kei Ying. As a young boy Wong Fei Hung traveled with his father all over China which gave him the opportunity to meet and train with some of the best gung fu masters of the time. During one of these travels (as mentioned above) he met Lam Foon Sing a student of the famous Master Tid Kiu Sam. Lam Foon Sing passed all his knowledge on to Wong Fei Hung including the form Tid Sin Kuen which was created by Tid Kiu Sam.

As Wong Fei Hung grow up, he earned an excellent reputation for his gung fu as well as for his skills as a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine. He also became known and respected for his strong character, honesty, righteousness and moral values. He always helped those in need without asking for anything in return. Wong Fei Hung's martial skills and the effectiveness of his style (Hung Gar) was tested and proven time and time again in many open challenge's. Many famous and skilled gung fu fighters of the time came to cross hands with Wong Fei Hung but none could defeat him. During his life Wong Fei Hung met many challengers and never lost a fight. He soon became one of the most famous masters of his time if not the most famous. His name and stories about his gung fu skills and moral values spread far and wide. Wong Fei Hung eventually inherited his fathers school and clinic "Po Chi Lum" where thousands of people came to be accepted as his disciple and study his famous gung fu Hung Gar. It must be mentioned that besides his martial and medical skills, he was well know for his excellent Lion Dance and was referred to as the "King Of Lions". Wong Fei Hung was also the head instructor of the Kwuntung army and leader of the Civilian Militia.

As mentioned earlier, grandmaster Wong is widely known as the father of modern day Hung Gar due to the reason that using his excellent knowledge and hand on experience he further developed and modified Hung Gar.One of his greatest legacies and masterpiece is the Fu Hok Sheong Yin Kuen, or Tiger and Crane set, which he re-choreographed and further developed. Many important aspects and principles were further developed and added in , such as the unique internal training handed down by the Tid Kiu Sam, 10 special hands(sup duk sao- sup jeut sao) also known as 10 killing hands, theory of yin-yang, 5 elements, 7 stars etc. The ten special hands were the ten most favored techniques/principles of Wong Fei Hung which he used in many challenges to defeat his opponents.He is also accredited for developing and creating the Sup Ying Kuen as a bridge form between Fu Hok Seung Ying Kuen and Tid Sin Kuen.

Wong Fei Hung was married four times and had many children. Three of his wifes sadly died due to illness. It is said that his first wife died not long after their wedding. Wong had no children from the first wife however his second wife bore him two boys who were named Wong Hon-Sum and Wong Hon-Lam. Sadly she also died. Grandmaster Wong's third wife did not live long either, she also bore two sons for Wong, they were named Wong Hon-Hei and Wong Hon-Hsu. It is said that Wong Fei Hung's first son Wong Hon-Sum was excellent in gung fu, however he was ambushed and shot dead by gangsters. After this tragic incident Wong Fei Hung stopped teaching gung fu to his other children only to protect them.

He did not remarry again for many years until he met Mok Gwai Lan(see photo)through a funny but rather embarrassing indecent on Wong Fei Hungs behalf. It is said that Wong Fei Hung and his students were asked to perform lion dance and demonstrate gung fu for the anniversary of the Lam Hoi Association. After excellent Lion Dance performance and gung fu demonstration by his students, the grandmaster Wong Fei Hung stepped out to demonstrate his famous skills to the eagerly waiting crowd. During his performance, one of his shoe accidentally came of, flew into the crowd and hit a young woman in the face. Wong Fei Hung quickly approached her and apologized. However the young woman was furious and slapped Wong in the face and told him off in front of the whole crowd saying that such a famous master of gung fu had no excuse and should be more carefully. After this incident Wong Fei Hung could not forget about the young woman and later found out that her name was Mok Gwai Lan and she was not yet married. She was also from a respectable family of gung fu masters and was skilled in her family style of Mok Gar gung fu. ( Mok Gar is one of the 5 main family styles of the southern gung fu). It is sad that she learned Mok Gar under his uncle who was also a good friend of Wong Fei Hung. Despite the age difference Wong Fei Hung eventually married Mok Gwai Lan. Because of her back ground in Mok Gar gung fu and her interest, grandmaster Wong taught her the Hung Gar system. Later she became an instructor at her husbands school and was responsible for teaching a all women's class. After Wong Fei Hung passed away (circa 1924) she moved to Hong Kong with her children and lived in Wanchai where she carried on teaching gung fu until her death. She was interwieved by Hong Kong TV a few times in the late sixties, and seventies. When She was about 83, she was interviewed by the Hong Kong TV and performed the famous Tiger and Crane form .

Wong Fei Hung had many outstanding students. One of the most famous and well known of his student who carried on the legacy and teachings of his master was Lam Sai Wing. Wong Fei Hung had two other excellent students Leung Foon and Ling Wan Gai. However they both died at a young age and never had students of their own. It is said that Leung Foo was one of grandmaster Wongs top student, but sadly he got addicted to opium and soon fell ill and died.
Wong Fei Hung remains as the most famous of all Hung Gar masters to date. The story of his life has been immortalized by over hundred movies, publications, TV and radio shows. Kwan Tak Hing a well known Chinese actor rose to fame playing the character of Wong Fei Hung over 80 plus black/white and colured movies. Even today many movies and TV shows are still made about his life and his adventures by such famous actors like Jackie Chan and Jet Li.