Friday, December 11, 2009

Hung Hei Kwun/Hung Hei Gun, Wong Fei Hung Grand Teacher


Hung is the son of a businessman in Southern China. Already adept in martial arts, he, like Fong Sai Yuk, is also a great brawler, and is often in trouble with the authorities.

When his parents are murdered by a Manchu official, Hung escapes to the Shaolin Temple where he becomes an "outside student". Meaning that he trains under a monk, but he doesn't become one. Hung is just one student among others, and he becomes friends with the likes of Fong Sai Yuk, Luk Ah Choy, and Tung Chin-gan.

They all pass the final test to be able to leave the temple, and like all good Han people, they join in the rebellion with the Red Flower Society to fight the Manchus.

Hung begets a son, Hung Man Ting, who later carries on his father's work to overthrow the government, but Fong and Tung dies early, and Luk goes on to teach others. His most famous students are of course, Wong Kei Ying and his son, Wong Fei Hung.

Abott Jee Sin accepted him into the temple and soon found out how talented and hardworking he was in Southern Shaolin Kung Fu. Jee Sin was impressed by these qualities and soon began to teach Hung the Tiger style that he specialized in. After six years he became number one of the top ten of the laymen followers (they were people who went to the temple to learn only kung fu and not religion). However, afterwards the Qing government destroyed the temple because the temple gave refuge to many rebels who wanted to restore the Ming Dynasty.

Hung escaped and during his wanderings he met Fong Wing Chun (not Yim Wing Chun of the Wing Chun Style) and found out that her father, Fong Sai Yuk (kung fu brother of Hung) was killed by the same person who killed his mentor, Jee Sin. So Fong Wing Chun taught him her crane style to balance out his hard tiger techniques with the evasiness of her crane techniques. Hung then avenged Jee Sin and Fong Sai Yuk by finally destroying the murderer (Bak Mei according to some sources). Hung and Fong Wing Chun soon fell in love and they were soon married. Hung then opened a martial arts school when the banning of martial arts was lifted in China. He called it Hung Gar Kuen in honour of the First emperor of the last true Chinese (Ming) Dynasty and to protect his disciples from harm from the Manchus because the Shaolin arts were still banned. His style soon was ranked the best of the five major family styles in the Province of Kwangtung.

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