Chow Gar Kung Fu

Chow-Gar style is from Southern China. It was instituted by Chow Lung, who learned hung-gar, one of the five quintessential southern systems originating in the Shaolin temple, from his uncle who added the pa-kua staff maneuvers to his nephew’s training prior to passing away. The Choy style was taught to him by Choy-Kau. Subsequently, after a three-year residence at the temples he exposed his own school in Canton. in 1915 Gen. Lee-Fook-Lam appointed Chow-Lung an instructor in the Chinese army.

Chow Gar is a short range fighting process from the Southern Shaolin, and is a form of Southern Praying Mantis, which is one of a number of Chinese martial arts. It is an frightening style with emphasis on close range fighting. These attainments are developed by utilizing a range of training techniques a.k.a chongs and gungs, which have been advanced over several centuries.

The Basic Movements of Chow Gar

There are also 20 basic movements consisting of one or 3 moves, these are known as San Sau. they are;

* Bow Chong (cover hand, meaning to wrap up)
* Gau Choi (hammer fist to come down)
* Cye Sau (deflect)
* Doa Sau (spring hand)
* Narp Sau (hook hand)
* Got sau (cut back hand)
* Saw Sau (lock hand)
* Chum Chung sau (sinking elbow hand)
* Yong Sau (upward reach hand)
* Chuen sau (Transmit hand)
* Larp sau (snatch hand)
* Mut sau (sweep hand)
* Kum la Ja Jook (seize and hold hand)
* Kwor sau (circle over hand)
* Yui Sau (Shake off hand)
* Pai Kui (slicing hand)
* Cheet Jeung (cutting palm)
* Lau Sau (Leaking hand)
* Dun Chung (back elbow)
* Ngai Chung (Forward elbow)
* Jin Sau (scissor hand)
There are 16 more.

Current History

Grand master Yip Shui, became the successor of the Chow Gar Praying Mantis kung fu in 1942 from his teacher Lau Soei. It was the late Lau Soei that brought the Chow Gar Praying Mantis system to Hong Kong from China in 1913. Grandmaster Yip Shui, was born in 1913 and started his training with Lau Soei when he was 21 years old in 1934, he often spoke about the time when he first started training, as he was once propelled through the air by Lau Soei’s shock power, Lau Soei used the soc sau technique that caused the young Yip Shui to fly across the room to hit his head on a wall, which caused him to go unconscious, Lau Soei had revived him and gave him medicine. So thrilled by the skill, he decided he wanted to learn from Lau Soei, Lau Soei accepted him and their relationship lasted until the death of Lau soei in 1942.
Before young Yip Shui met Lau Soei, his only experience in martial arts is what he had learnt from his father, which was a form of Shaolin martial art as his Grandfather had learnt in the Shaolin temple. His father was not to keen for him to only practise martial arts but after some 6 months of training, he got used to the idea, also he had frequent sparring matches with his father and showed the effectiveness of what he had learnt, and his father was then convinced. The young Yip Shui trained earnestly and was an outsider to the other students of Lau Soei, this was because he was not Hakka, and however Lau Soei looked over this problem and trained with him personally. Years later when Lau Soei became ill, young Yip shui looked after him during the 2 years of illness before his death in 1942. Though Yip Shui had learnt everything from Lau Soei, he was not famous until an important challenge match, which he could not back down from.
Later Grand master Yip Shui became one of the most respected martial artists in Hong Kong after defeating many famous kung fu masters in bare hand challenges. These were due to the fact that they tried to dislodge him from his position of his inheritance of the Chow Gar Praying Mantis system. He went on to become famous and establish this Southern Mantis art further. He has taught numerous people in Hong Kong as well as far and wide.
Grand master Yip Shui passed away in 2004 at the age of 93.

Even the famous Shek Kin( Han In Enter The Dragon) trained for a small period of 6 months, but found the training too arduous, and not suitable in films because no flashy techniques were used.

The Story goes that Lau Soei was already an accomplished master, and that he had been training in the martial art called ‘ma kuen’ horse fist. He was so good at this martial art that his ponytail that he and the people used to wear in those days was always in flight, due to the fact that there was much jumping and leaping in the system.

Though he was well known in his village called ‘Wai Yearn’ he was not quite famous, until one day he was walking along at night, when he was suddenly set upon by a wolf (some say a wild dog), as he was attack he suddenly turned and kicked the animal in the neck, the wolf fell back in pain, then Lau Soei moved forward and hit the animal again with a stomp of the foot, which killed the animal.

This event that had taken place had made him famous in the village and so many individuals wanted to learn the martial arts from him. Therefore he began teaching at Wai Yearn. He was still very young and was only in his mid twenties at this time.
Sometime later a Buddhist monk was passing through, as it was common for monks to travel from one village to another in China at that time to teach Buddhist philosophy. It so happened that the monk began to watch Lau Soei teaching a group of individuals this form of martial art. After watching this young man Lau Soei demonstration, the monk step forward and said ‘that the martial art that you are teaching merely looks goods, and has very little value”. Lau Soei replied. ‘By the way you speaking, suggests that your kung fu is of a high level’ The Buddhist monks then replied ‘If you like you can try your skill against me’. Lau Soei accepted the monk’s challenge. Both men squared off facing each other. Lau Soei then suddenly attacked the monk.

The monk just moved his shoulder slightly into Lau Soei, and has contact was made Lau Soei was propelled backwards. Lau Soei knew then that this monk’s martial art was extraordinary. (According to the story Lau Soei tried to defeat the monk several times but failed each time. He eventually knelt down on his knees to the monk and became his disciple). When Lau Soei talked to the monk about his power, he had said that it was like being hit by lightening.

The monk explained how he came to achieve such power through special training exercises and breath control methods. He further explained about the little mantis insect, its sharp power and reflex actions to summarize the gen power (shock power). The name of this monk was the famous Wong Fook Go. During this time, it was the end of the Ching Dynasty; the monk Wong Fook Go grew his hair, as not to be noticed by government officials that were cracking down on Buddhist teachings and their followers. Lau Soei had learnt everything from the monk in a short time of three and a half years, which include the herbal fall and hit medicine. Lau Soei had lived along side Wong Fook Go and was the first non-monk to have been taught this system of kung fu. Wong Fook was a lover of nature and a travelling monk, though he had stayed at Wai Yearn for sometime teaching Lau Soei. He decided to part and travel onto different parts of the country. Although Wong Fook go taught only to one student at this time namely Lau Soei, it has now been established that he taught others both prior and after Lau Soei.
Lau Soei teaches in Hong Kong
It is said that Lau Soei was the first to teach Southern Praying Mantis kung fu in Hong Kong, roughly about 4 or 5 years after he arrived in Hong Kong in 1913. He began teaching in a district area of Hong Kong called Hum Hong. Though in the early part of his arrival in Hong Kong he did not teach anyone and kept very quite about his martial arts, but later he started to teach a select few that was due to some people who were pleading to learn from him, this then later expanded to teaching more people.

Of the earliest students and most famous were Chu Gung Wa, Shu Hing, Tam Wa, Yip Shui, Yip Hay, Cheung Chung, Lum Wa. However though he was teaching this art openly in Hum Hong he was never happy being in Hong Kong and he yearned to go back to China to his home village Wai Yearn. During his time in Hong Kong he was very fond of poetry, and in a very small book he wrote down the medicine formulas and poems and his encounters of his life. The writing is so superb that its looks like its been printed artistically. (I have therefore decided to release one of his writings about himself wanting to go back to China).
‘ I have travelled everywhere to make a living, my whole life I did not do what I wanted to do. My home is now here in Hong Kong, but I want to return to China. My family and relatives are all far away and stay away. Even now my homeland (China) has no peace, always there are wars. From this moment I am not thinking of anything else but my return, my mind is empty and just feels like a dream’ Lau Soei was truly homesick, and yearned to return to China, as he was not happy in Hong Kong.

At onetime he was going to return, shortly before the Second World War. But a misfortune happened with his money, and so the trip was cancelled. Lau Soei had no family or children, but he did adopt a young child a few years before he died in the 1942. When he died, Grandmaster Yip Shui and Chu Gung Wa buried him, and on the gravestone it said Lau Soei of Chow Gar Praying Mantis kung fu. In 1952 ten years after the death of Lau Soei, his bones were removed and placed at Diamond Hill graveyard, as space in Hong Kong is limited. For some reason in 1990 the gravestone was removed and was replaced by another with only Lau Soei’s name written on it.
1952 year, the bones were gathered for reburial Lau Soei had trained many individuals, throughout his life and this includes people in China before he came to Hong Kong. The reason why he had come to Hong Kong was because of the political turmoil in China, he himself joined a political party that was against the government of that day. He most noted and famous students are Chu Gung Wa, Yip Shui, Cheung Chung, Yip hay, Tam Wah, Lum Wah, Shu Hing.

* Sarm Bo Jin (3 step arrow)
* Gau Si Mun sau (9 seeking hands)
* Mo Ying Sau Chor Kui (crack the bridge)
* Bo Sim Sau (searching insect hand)
* Gen Tung Gen Sau Lin Wa say (fright power hand)
* Poon loong keok (flying dragon leg)
* Yau Loong Sau (swimming dragon hands)
* say Mun Sau (four gates hand)
* Bic Saan (lifting mountain)

The founder of the Chow Gar Praying Mantis martial art was Chow Ah Naam. He had spent many years in the Shaolin Monastery (Sil Lum Jee) harnessing the bodies hidden powers, through the Shaolin secret training drills. These special skills and methods were bestowed upon individuals that showed tremendous martial skill and intuition, and Chow Ah Naam was one of those rare individuals. Because of his incredible skill, the hall of Shaolin was given to him to teach this elite art.

The short-range power that he had harnessed easily overcame the other Shaolin arts, and the name praying mantis was given to the system, after seeing a praying mantis fight off a blackbird with sudden movements, which was reminiscent of Chow Ah Naam’s shock-like power.