A Hung Gar EBook in the works

[Sifu at Large]

Greetings all!

I am putting together an ebook on Hung Gar, History, Philosophy and Technique. Once it is completed, I will make it available free of charge to anyone interested. I already have a good bit of work put into it, and in the interest of my original intent to make it as all inclusive and non-confrontational as humanly possible, I would like to ask for input from any Hung Gar practitioners who may have something they would deem as essential to any such work.

Nothing putting down anyone will be included.

If you would like to contribute something, I will be more than happy to give credit to you for your input.

If you send photos, please make sure that they are not copyrighted, as I do not wish to stir up trouble.

I am especially in need of some in depth information on Southern Shaolin Temple, non Lam Lineages, and modern development/training practices. Information does not need to be posted in this thread, if you want to email it to me, that is perfectly fine. If you simply point me in the direction of good resources, that is fine as well.

Thank you all

[samson818]

Thank you for your efforts to promote traditional Hung Kuen!
I would be very interested in such a book.
Please let us know when you are finished.
I am sure many people here can aid you in your research (unfortunately, I am not one of them). :D

[Golden Arms]

I would be totally interested in this. What kinds of info would you like? Once I know I will contribute what I can and give you contact info for people that can add more as well :)

[lonewolf]

hung gar is one style that i have always been interested in. unfortunatly the only time i ever see it being demonstrated is by a middle aged guy with a pot belly or torso that is belt like a drum. i hope to learn more from your book instead of having this stereo type in the back of my mind. please let me know when it is finished. :)

[Sifu at Large]

I am glad there is interest!

Basically, if it is something which you would think of as important (as in, "it couldn't be complete without this!"), I will include it.

I do not even have myself listed as the author, it currently states, "Compiled and edited by".

I think my biggest challenge may be in people thinking that I am looking for personal gain. But, as I said, it will be free.

Anything which will help to tell the story of this wonderful system is welcome. I had originally planned to put it out by the end of '06, but then I realized that much was missing in the areas listed in my original post. I really want to do justice to those lineages of which I am not a part of, as well as wanting to hear from those who are in a better position of knowledge within my own branch.

If you feel you can contribute anything in the areas of history, philosophy or technique, let me hear it.

I honestly hope to have it available before summer.

[samson818]

I would love to see more information on Tid Sin Kuen aka Iron Wire and its intricacies. Maybe some empricial data to justify its efficacy?
And writing it in terms of sound human physiology as oppossed to hei gong/qi...
The sounds, dynamic tension, reverse breathing, etc. would be great!

Maybe fighting techniques/applications within the system as well?

Thanks again!

[X_plosion]

Kudos to you on your very commendable project. I'll see what I can find to help out on this.

Best wishes.

[The Xia]

For information on non-Lam Sai Wing lineage Hung Gar, you may want to contact Yee's Hung Ga and tell them about your project. They are of the Tang Fong lineage. I'd also suggest that you include information on non-Wong Fei Hung-Hung Gar. There is a poster here called Hasayfu. You may want to PM him about this topic. Please keep us updated!

[D-FENS]

I'd be very interested in this as well. A section on bridge arm tactics, maybe the butterfly daggers would be outstanding.

Please keep us posted on the latest developments! :)

[lonewolf]

why not offer what you have already so that the people offering to contribute and see what they think is left out. that way you can always offer a updated version later. this way you are also saving time and not looking at things that you already have and people don't waste there time finding stuff that you already have.

i thought this might be an easier way of going about it. :)

[Sifu at Large]

Great stuff all!

I will do just that, and post what I have once I finish the section I am currently working on. I will also send out emails to the people listed above for further input. Give me about three weeks tops to put it up, and then we can make this a true Hung Gar community project!

[Laukarbo]

Very nice idea!!!


I could ask my sifu for some infos from his malaysian hung gar lineage (which is non-WFH) and also if needed from the Lau Family....i have tonns of pics etc..

[illusionfist]

Just out of curiousity, how much of this book has material based from discussions from the defunct Southern Fist forum?

Peace :D

[Sifu at Large]

None.

I first started this project back when I was a regular visitor, and sometime poster on Southern Fist. In my original work, I was filling a lot of the gaps in my knowledge of history from the discussions there. But as things progressed, there were too many contradictions, and a lot of what was presented as fact was not verifiable by any means at my disposal.

So, I dropped the whole plan.

Then, as I began to research my own history, notes started to pile up, and I thought to give it another try. What I am relying on this time is verifiable information, and looking to better resources than a kung fu internet forum discussion. There are people in the forums who could offer much to this project, but the actual threads typically cannot offer anything usable.

Now, this is not to say that there won't be terminology which I may have picked up in that, or other forums. I belive that SFO was the first place that I came across the term "four pillars" used to describe the core sets of Hung Gar. (Personally, I always felt there to be three core sets, but to each his own). I use the term often in discussion with other HG practitioners, but do not know who coined it, if it was at SFO first, or maybe here first.

Please believe me, I will not be taking credit for anyone's work or words.

[Asmo]

Awesome idea SaL.

I had some plans to write an article in Dutch for our Hung Gar site, I'll try and finally get that going and write it in English as well. Had it planned for months, but you know... Diapers, bottles and squeezing in time to train as well make it hard to do these kind of projects as well :\

[The Xia]

These sets are the pillars of Wong Fei Hung lineage Hung Gar. Some lineages have other forms and the overall flavor can vary, but the four pillars will always be present.
http://www.hungkuen.net/forms-4pillars.htm

[lonewolf]

so is the gay taylor in kung fu hustle going to be in this book?:D

[TenTigers]

"These sets are the pillars of Wong Fei Hung lineage Hung Gar."
to be more specific, I believe those are the Lam Sai-Wing forms. Tang Fung and other lines use the older, Gung Ji Kuen, and Fook Fu Kuen as separate sets. Some schools call them Dan Gung Fook Fu and Seung Gung Fook Fu, and some call the second set Boc Fu Kuen.
Also, the Ng Ying Kuen is the Five Animal set and Sup Ying Kuen is a again, from Lam Sai-Wing.
-of course, I may be mistaken, this is just from other teachers and practitioners I have spoken with, but I would check it before I put out the definative text.

[The Xia]

I'm not clear on what you are saying TenTigers. I thought that the Taming the Tiger, Tiger Crane Duet, and Iron Wire sets are in Tang Fong Hung Gar but with a different flavor then Lam Sai Wing's. I also thought that Sup Ying Kuen was Lam Sai Wing's re-choreographed version of Ng Ying Kuen. Basically, the four pillars of Tang Fong Hung Gar being the Taming the Tiger, Tiger Crane Duet, Five Animals, and Iron Wire sets whereas the Lam Sai Wing four pillars would be what was on the hungkuen.net link. Is that not right?

[The Xia]

so is the gay taylor in kung fu hustle going to be in this book?:D
http://www.chiuchiling.com/

[TenTigers]

yes. this is correct. Simply clarifying it to insure no one gets their feathers ruffled. In this day and age, it's like walking on eggshells.

[Subitai]

yes. this is correct. Simply clarifying it to insure no one gets their feathers ruffled. In this day and age, it's like walking on eggshells.


Oh Yeah, TT........Oh Yeah???

What Kind , Brown Eggs or White???

and for that matter...Did they come from Free Range Chickens or Corn Fed Stock????

Huh? Huh? HuH?








LOL, Sorry couldn't resist

[TenTigers]

ROTFLMFAO! Thanks,"O"-I needed that!

does anyone have any info on NON-WFH lineages? Not simply "Village Hung Kuen" but Guangzhao lines, Luk Ah-Choy lines, etc? ('there once was a man from Guangzhao, whose wife was as big as a cow..."-oh, nevermind)

[Sifu at Large]

I am embarassed that this has been so long in coming. I said a couple of months? It has been over a year.

To let you know where things stand, I rewrote the history section. As it stands right now, there are about forty pages on history (China, Shaolin, and Hung Gar together). I like the section I did on Hung Gar the art and people, but it feels really weak in the section on Tang Fong, and if anyone has some good reliable info that can help keep this section looking like I am trying to slight this very important man, I would appreciate it.

The section on the Hung Gar/Secret Society connection is so weak I may end up dropping it. I really had high hopes for that section when the research first began, but I have been unable to pull together all of the loose ends. This is the part that made the entire project take this much longer than I had initially anticipated.

I am probably going to drop the section detailing the "how to" on the forms, as I really only have a deep knowledge on how I do the forms.

I am not going to give an actual time estimate on how long the wait is from here this time, but will only say "soon" and "still free".

[Golden Arms]

Still sounds like a good read. Don't forget to update when it is done :D

[PM]

Sifu at Large: sounds interesting.

just one Q - can you read/speak Chinese?

all the best

[Sifu at Large]

just one Q - can you read/speak Chinese?

I can speak a little and read a little more, but I am nowhere near fluent or literate. I have someone I go to when the translations get to be too much for me though.

[Asmo]

If you take this time to get things right it must become something you're proud of SaL. Keep up the good work :)

IMHO, a 'How To' from your perspective alone would not be a bad thing, if you share and give details about the lineage and why its done that way.

[PM]

great, i am looking forward to see the book

[SiMui]

Hi! I am very interested in seeing your EBook too. If you are keeping a list of people to share it with, please consider this my "expression of interest."

Thanks!!
SiMui

[Satori Science]

Hi! I am very interested in seeing your EBook too. If you are keeping a list of people to share it with, please consider this my "expression of interest."

Thanks!!
SiMui

sounds like some one has worked for the provincial government for to long;)

[sanjuro_ronin]

I am embarassed that this has been so long in coming. I said a couple of months? It has been over a year.

To let you know where things stand, I rewrote the history section. As it stands right now, there are about forty pages on history (China, Shaolin, and Hung Gar together). I like the section I did on Hung Gar the art and people, but it feels really weak in the section on Tang Fong, and if anyone has some good reliable info that can help keep this section looking like I am trying to slight this very important man, I would appreciate it.

The section on the Hung Gar/Secret Society connection is so weak I may end up dropping it. I really had high hopes for that section when the research first began, but I have been unable to pull together all of the loose ends. This is the part that made the entire project take this much longer than I had initially anticipated.

I am probably going to drop the section detailing the "how to" on the forms, as I really only have a deep knowledge on how I do the forms.

I am not going to give an actual time estimate on how long the wait is from here this time, but will only say "soon" and "still free".

I wouldn't worry too much on the "how to" about the forms, there is plenty of stuff out there.
You might wanna focus on the why's, why this form is taught first or last, why this form is recommended, why this move in this form is different in one linegage compared to another, things like that.

[Sifu at Large]

You might wanna focus on the why's, why this form is taught first or last, why this form is recommended, why this move in this form is different in one linegage compared to another, things like that.

I would love to include information on why one form is taught first and so on, but I know that these things idffer from school to school, so there lies a difficulty there. As for the differences between lineages, I would if I could. I do not know a lot of the "whys" to things like that. Great suggestions, but I am afraid I am not the person who knows some of these things.

[sanjuro_ronin]

I would love to include information on why one form is taught first and so on, but I know that these things idffer from school to school, so there lies a difficulty there. As for the differences between lineages, I would if I could. I do not know a lot of the "whys" to things like that. Great suggestions, but I am afraid I am not the person who knows some of these things.

That's why you ask ;)
Its a huge undertaking, this is true, but it could be worth your while.