Lam Cho

Lam Cho

Grand Master (Sigung) Lam Cho is the living legend of Hung Gar. The last of the great masters of his generation, Lam Cho sigung has dedicated his whole life to the research and advancement of Hung Kuen.

Lam Cho sigung, also known as Lam Kwoon Kau was born in 1910 in Ping Chow, a small village in Namhoi district of Kwangtung province. His parents passed away when he was still a young boy. He was adopted and raised by the famous Hung Gar Master Lam Sai Wing who was the top student of the legendary folk hero Wong Fei Hung. Lam Sai Wing could not have children of his own so he loved and raised Lam Cho like his own son, gave him his family name and passed down great bulk of his Hung Gar knowledge. He also taught Lam Cho the traditional art of bone setting and healing, known as dit da in Chinese. After the fall of Chin'g dynasty and in the early days of the Republic, Lam Sai Wing was invited to live and teach in Hong Kong. Grand master Lam Cho followed his uncle to Hong Kong and made the former British colony his permanent home. Soon after moving to Hong Kong, Lam Sai Wing set up the Southern Martial Physical Culture Association (Nam Mou Taiyuk Wui) where grand master Lam Cho assisted his uncle by teaching gung fu and eventually took over the school.

Lam Cho sigung's lifelong journey in Chinese Martial Arts began when he was still a young boy. He was only 6 years old when he began training in Hung Gar gung fu under the strict but caring guidance of his uncle Lam Sai Wing. Extremely talented, young Lam Cho was not only a natural athlete but also very intelligent and hardworking. His natural flair combined with his conscientious attitude towards training allowed him to quickly learn and grasp the finer points of the art. Under the watchful eyes of his famous uncle, young Lam Cho diligently practiced everything he was shown and kept on practicing day after day until he perfected every single move and mastered everything Lam Sai Wing taught him. Grand master Lam Cho was born to be a gung fu man and destined to be a great master. Lam Sai Wing taught his nephew everything he knew, including the traditional art of dit da medicine along with many secret herbal formulas which was only passed down to the next successor of the art. Not surprisingly, grand master Lam Cho is as famous as a dit da healer as he is for his Hung Gar. Using his first hand knowledge and years of experience in dit da, Lam Cho sigung has helped and healed thousands of people all his life and still continues to do so today.

In his teens, Lam Cho sigung had already become a well known and respected figure within the martial arts community throughout the whole of Southern China and Hong Kong. He was only sixteen years old when he began teaching the art of Hung Gar. He was admired by all and called sifu even at the tender age of sixteen. Initially he assisted his uncle in teaching at his Southern Martial Physical Culture Association which he eventually took over. Later, he set up his own gung fu school and dit da clinic in Hong Kong. Grand master Lam Cho also taught gung fu at the first branch school of Lam Sai Wing and in 1933 he took over Lam Saiwing's Branch School Nr. 2 which was formerly run by his "si dai", younger gungfu brother Dang Hinchoi. After taking over the second branch school Lam Cho sigung changed the name of the school to "Lam Cho Gwok Sutt Say" (Lam Cho's Chinese Martial Art School/society). Grand master Lam Cho was an excellent teacher and taught his art openly to all those willing to learn. He was extremely accurate in his teaching and always ensured that his students completely understood even the hardest aspects of the art. Masses of students from all over southern China traveled to learn Hung Kuen from Lam Cho. Sigung had loads of students who in turn became quiet well known within the Chinese Martial Arts community in Hong Kong and around the world. Following the footsteps of their master, many of grand master students went on to open gung fu schools of their own through out Hong Kong and southern china.

Grand master has been one of the most celebrated gung fu masters of his time. He often demonstrated his skills and power of his art to the public and was invited to all important events. In one such event during the 1930's for the British military, Lam J0 sigung was invited to perform gung fu in front of hundreds of foreign and Chinese spectators. The audience was amazed by grand master powerful performance. The photos and articles about sigung's amazing performance was published in a London newspaper as well as local newspapers in Hong Kong. The art of Hung Gar had now become internationally renown.

On December 8 1941, during World War II , Hong Kong woke up to find itself in war. The Japanese military had invaded Hong Kong and a great darkness had fallen up on the people of Hong Kong. This was the beginning of almost four years of hardship and deprivation. Grand Master did all he could to help ease the pain and suffering of the people. People looked up to him and recognized him as a leading figure within the community. The cruel treatment by the Japanese military soon resulted with a civil disorder breaking out in the streets of Hong Kong. Lam Cho sigung came forward as a leader to try to maintain the peace and lead them to safety. The Japanese well aware of grand master Lam's status and influence on the public wanted him on their side. They pressured sigung to work for the Japanese and offered him many privileges. Lam Cho,however, refused everything offered by the Japanese which resulted with his studio being burned down. He was now a wanted man and had no choice but to flee to China. He eventually ended up in his native village of Ping Chow. There he taught, Hung Gar gung fu in secret until the end of the war. Sigung returned to Hong Kong once the Japanese invasion was over. His deeds and efforts to help those in need during the hard,haunting times of Japanese occupation are still remembered to this day.

Back in Hong Kong, grand master reopened his school and dit da clinic. He also became the chairman of the Physical Culture Association, the martial arts consultant for the Paper and Boxes Association Union and the Dit Da herbalist of the Restaurant Workers Union. Sigung carried on teaching his art openly to the public and continued to treat patients using his superb dit Da skills. Treating the rich he never over charged, treating the poor he charged a very little or nothing at all.

Grand master Lam Cho is the living treasure of Hung Gar, a true gung fu genius who has dedicated his entire life to the art of Hung Gar and has been teaching more than three quarters of a century. A man of principles and strong moral values, sigung posses more knowledge and experience in the art of hung gar than any one of us would ever dream of. Grand Master has contributed much to the art of Hung Kuen. Thanks to his genius and almost a century of hand on experience, the style of Hung Kuen has been enriched and further developed in many different ways. Using his extensive knowledge and vast experience in gung fu, sigung added number of different weapon and two-man weapon sets to the style. Furthermore, he devised the famous Tiger and Crane two-men/sparring set (Fu Hok Seung Ying Deui Chaak). More over, Lam Cho sigung also enriched Hung Gar with the principles and techniques of the Northern styles. He combined power and stability with speed and mobility.

Today, well into his 90s, Lam Cho sigung is still vigorous and full of life. Even at such advance age, he still practices gung fu every single morning, operates a dit da clinic and occasionally teaches hung gar to some of the students training at his famous studio and dit dat clinic located in Mong Kok. Grand Master Lam Cho is one of the most venerable and greatest grand master Hong Kong has ever seen in its rather short history. An exceptional man, sigung has had an incredible life and accomplished much. Despite all that he has achieved and accomplished in life, sigung is extremely humble and very much down to earth. Every year Hung Gar practitioners from all corners of the world travel to Hong Kong to pay their respects to grand master Lam Cho and train at his legendary gung fu studio.

Lam Cho sigung no longer takes on students and has retired from teaching more than 20 years ago. He has passed down his great legacy to his sons Lam Chun Fai and Lam Chun Sing. Like father,like son, both master Lam Chun Fai and master Lam Chun Sing are exceptional masters gifted with natural talent who poses decades of experience in their family art of Hung Gar and dit DA medicine. As a matter of fact all of grand masters children have been trained in their family art since childhood. Grand Master's first born son, Master Lam Chun Fai runs his own gung fu school and dit da clinic, located in North Point/Hong Kong. Master Lam Chun Sing, sigung's youngest son, is in charge of his fathers legendary studio in Mong Kok where he teaches gung fu.