In the book published in the Hung Sing Kwoon in 2006 on the occasion of its 170th anniversary, it appeared for the very first time a text written by my Master, Ho Choek Wah, telling the life of his father in martial arts. It is a writing of great beauty, because of the enormous love and respect that my Sifu has for the man who was his father and Master, and also of great importance for those of us who come from this lineage because it gives us the opportunity to get closer to this wonderful Master who was the "Kwoon Cheong" , the Head Master, of the Futsan Hung Sing Kwoon. For this reason we wanted to translate the text into both English and Spanish, so that both the spanish and english-speaking students that Sifu Ho has around the world could read it.
I want to especially thank our brother Kio Zou (邹宇杰, Zou Yu Jie) for his help in reviewing the translation.
Look at my father's life, he was always low profile and indifferent to fame ans wealth, but he spared no effort transmitting the teachings of the Hung Sing Kwoon. When Master Tong Sek was finally appointed as the director of the Futsan San Sing Kung Hung Sing Kwoon, my father was already working as an assistant instructor, helping to transmit the martial arts of the Hung Sing Kwoon.
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Photo of the Hung Sing Kwoon masters taken in 1998 to celebrate the
reopening of the Hung Sing Kwoon |
My Sisok, Master Jim Gai, who is still alive recalled: “At that time there were dozens of beginners who had done the 'bai shi' * to Master Tong Sek, but in fact they were all taught by your father until Hong Sing Kwoon was shut down ”.
In 1961 my father started teaching martial arts at home. At first to my two brothers and my Si Hing Yeung Yun. Then other relatives and friends continued to join us.
After the reopening of Hung Sing Kwoon in 1998, regardless of his almost 80 years of age, my father insisted on going to the temple to teach the Hung Sing martial arts in person every night. Whether they were close or not, rich or poor, tall or short, as long as the students were of good character and a sincere will to learn, he taught them carefully, without reservation. More than a thousand disciples passed through his hands throughout his life.
In 1966, he knew that Master He Yi, a former generation Hung Sing Kwoon disciple (Wong Sei's student, third generation of the Hung Sing Kwoon) was also accepting students at home. My father said: You can learn with me at any time but uncle Ho Yi is a master from an elder generation and you have the rare opportunity to be taught by him. Then he took me, my brothers, and Si Hing Yeung Yun to Uncle Ho Yi's house so we could learn his art.
In 98 after the revival of the Hung Sing Kwoon, students were again designated to follow famous Hung Sing masters such as Tsui Gwong Yun from Hong Kong, Ho Hong Wing from Futsan and Ho Ming from Guang Xi so they could continue deepening in their studies.
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Master Ho Cheung at the reopening of the Hung Sing Kwoon,
at the left, Master Tsui Gwong Yun |
At this moment thanks to the several decades that my father dedicated to preach with his example, the martial arts of the Hung Sing have: "Biu Ma of 24 movements", "Che Kyun", "Small Long Fist", "Long Fist", " Ping Kuen "," Kau Da Kuen "," Fist of the Bloody Battle "," Buddha Palm "," Fist of the Drunken Buddha "," The Fighting Drunk "," Knife and Shield "," Metal Whip "," Umbrella ”,“ Hoe ”,“ Double-ended flat stick ”,“ Plum Blossom Lance ”,“ The Bat that throws itself at the wall ”,“ Hung Sing bench ”,“ The Trident that tames the Tiger ”, "Stick of the Monk that Tames the Demon", "Fan of the Traveling Dragon", "Stick of the Wolf Fang of Hung Sing", "Fight for Couples", "Double Knife against Spear", "Knife and Shield against Trident that Tames the Tiger ”,“ Siu Jik Qing “, Eight Beginner's Techniques ","Fut Gar Sei Sap Kau Zi Kiu Fat" and so on.
When my father was already seriously ill, he repeatedly told us: Since the will of heaven has wanted us to hang up the Hung sing Kwoon sign, we cannot remove it again. We must carry out the Hung Sing Kwoon and transmit and preserve its martial arts. Hung Sing's martial arts can´t be lost!
At 9:56 pm on January 3, 2004, my father died at the age of 86. My father left us suddenly, but his spirit always remains here! On the occasion of the 160th anniversary of the Hung sing Kwoon, I wrote this article to comfort my father's spirit in heaven: The Hung Sing Kwoon will certainly carry on, the martial arts of Hung Sing must be passed down from generation to generation!
Sifu Ho Choek Wah - November 2011
何焯华师傅 - 2011年9月
MASTER HO CHEUNG'S LEGACY
As my Master Ho Choek Wah says in this text, his father, Ho Cheung, is no longer with us but his spirit still lives at the Hung Sing Kwoon today.
Ho Cheung was much more than a teacher, much more than the headmaster of the temple, throughout his life he placed the Hung Sing Kwoon ahead of himself, he tried to transmit the teachings that his masters and the masters of his masters had imparted. During tough times he worked so that all this knowledge wasn´t lost, so that the temple would reopen, so that all the teachers who were scattered throughout China would once again have a place where they belonged.
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| Current Hung Sing Kwoon organization, in it there are disciples of Master Ho Cheung, Master Ho Yi and Master Tsui Gwong Yun among others |
He did all this by placing the name of Hung Sing Choy Lee Fut ahead of his own, he didn´t care that his students trained with other masters of the same style if he thought hence they could contribute with something valuable and he always believed that the union of all members would make the Hung Sing Kwoon great again one day.
These values are still felt in the temple today, both my Sifu and Master Wong Zan Gong, current headmaster of the Hung Sing Kwoon, as the rest of Sifu who walk there every day consider that the most important thing is to transmit the martial arts and the ethical and moral values of the ancestor masters. This can be seen in every championship and exhibition, pupils do not represent this or that Sifu, but they represent the Hung Sing Kwoon and there is a constant mixing and transfer of students from different teachers who go from one group to another when necessary, for both the Hung Sing Kwoon and the Hung Sing Leung Kwoon. This mixture is so extent that when someone comes from outside it is rather confusing to distinguish who is who´s master and it is essential to explain them that, above all, we are all students of the temple.
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| Disciples of four or five different Masters of the Hung Sing Kwoon performed together along with the Headmaster of the Hung Sing Kwoon representing the temple (Rubén Romero at the right with the shield) |
What's more, after a few months people immediately have a feeling of belonging to the place, and each one helps in the way they can, everyone is involved, masters, instructors, adults, children and parents. There are sifu who love to teach but do not usually appear in the media, others teach and organize, there are fathers and mothers who take care of the material, clothes and that nothing is missing, other masters are the visible face in championships and exhibitions, there are students who do not miss any performance and others who, despite having new occupations and jobs, come whenever they can, there are students who, as they gain experience, begin to teach their younger siblings at the expense of their own training time, there are those who are skillful taking photos and videos, there are masters focused on lion dance, others take care of teenagers, others do the same with children.
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| Sifu Lei Wei Fong, one of the Hung Sing Kwoon coaches, is always present at the tournaments and exhibitions together with the Hung Sing team, ensuring that everything goes smoothly |
In the Hung Sing Kwoon I have seen three generations training together, I have seen the headmaster of the temple spending an hour teaching horse stance to a child who had been there for only two days. I have seen many masters working long hours to organize events for no money at all, just for the love for a style and a place.
In Rubén's case, it can be said that he never failed to go to an exhibition or championship and that from Spain he continues to transmit this art, in mine, for example, I defend myself quite well in three languages and they know that they can always count on me to translate and put in contact whoever is necessary. It's all part of belonging to the Hung Sing Kwoon.
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Sifu Zau Seung Ching is an essential piece both in the teaching of the kids and in the organization of the Hung Sing Kwoon
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| Sifu Pun Sing Guang (in the picture with Ah Qi) goes every weekend to the temple to teach his students, who in turn help training the youngest students |
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| Lai Zi Ming, one of Sifu Pun's more experienced students, helping a girl to learn the bench |
Nowadays, more than ten masters students from Ho Cheung, Ho Yi, Tsui Kong Yuan and students of the next generation are in charge of making sure that everything works and they sum up strength and knowledge so that the Hung Sing Kwoon is a reference within the martial arts of China today, so that the place is always full of life, renewing itself with new students, welcoming people from other countries, so that the story of sacrifice and love for this style kept alive by so many ancestor masters is taught there and not forgotten.
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| Masters and disciples of the Hung Sing Kwoon together to congratulate everyone a happy new year |
Thereby, every time a child or an adult approaches the Jeong Hung Sing altar for the first time, with the photos of the ancestor teachers watching, Ho Cheung's legacy is present, together with the values for which he fought all his life. The martial art, medicine and the values of the Hung Sing Kwoon will not fall into oblivion, on the contrary, they will become stronger every day.
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| Master Leung Wai Wing teaching to his youngest students the Hung Sing Kwoon's history |
MASTER HO CHEUNG DISCIPLES AND THE HO CHEUNG KWOON
Many were the students who passed through the hands of Ho Cheung throughout his life, among them I would like to highlight those who have in some way continued to be linked to the Hung Sing Kwoon contributing to make his great his legacy.
Sifu Ho Choek Wah
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| Master Ho Choek Wah, Ho Cheung´s son and the author of the text I have translated throughout this articles, continues teaching and passing on his father´s values |
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| Ho Sifu on the opening day of the Ho Cheung Kwoon (photo by Rubén Romero) |
Sifu Yeung Sam Yum
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| Sifu Yeung eas Ho Cheung's first student, the Da Shi Hing, he kept all his life the contact with the Hung Sing Kwoon |
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| Sifu Yeung with Sifu Lok, who was also a Ho Cheung's disciple, and Sifu Lei Wei Fong, who is a Sifu Lok and Sifu Leung Wai Wing's disciple |
Sifu Lok Zi Hung
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| Lok Sifu is one of the most outstanding disciples of Master Ho Cheung |
Sifu Leung Wai Wing |
| Master Leung Wai Wing was a Ho Cheung's disciple and today he continues carrying his legacy on by teachig martial arts, history and martial values to his students |
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| Sifu Leung With his master, Ho Cheung, at the Hung Sing Kwoon in 2001 |
The Ho Cheung Hung Sing Kwoon
In 2016 Master Leung Wai Wing opened the Ho Cheung Hung Sing Leung Kwoon (何祥武术同学总会鸿胜梁馆) to honor his Master's memory, to continue his teachings and to carry out what Ho Cheung asked them before he passed away: make the Hung Sing Kwoon greater day by day. (鸿胜馆发扬光大!!)
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| Ho Cheung Kwoon's altar |
This inauguration was attended by many of Ho Cheung's disciples who were at that time in mainland China or Hong Kong, students of his disciples, disciples of other Hung Sing Kwoon masters, students of Sifu Ho Choek Wah and of course all the students of Sifu Leung.
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| Master Ho Choek Wah with Master Tsui Gwong Yun's wife, who didn't want to miss the opening |
It was an unforgettable day, first we all went to inaugurate the Kwoon, then we went all together to have lunch, in the afternoon there was an exhibition of forms and lion dance and finally we ended the day having dinner together, to celebrate the opening of a new school, the union between masters and students and the life and legacy of Master Ho Cheung that will live on forever as long as the Hung Sing Kwoon stands.
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| Group photo taken during the Ho Cheung Kwoon opening |
* "bai shi" 拜师 ("pak si" in cantonese): Ceremony where a student formally become an apprentice to a Sifu
Text translated by María Arias and Rubén Romero
Text "The Legacy of Master Ho Cheung" by María Arias Antoranz 何天萍
