Kung Fu Galaxy store.

Purchase PDF files of old Kung Fu books and magazines …..click here.

The undisputed authentic Eagle kung fu.

First you wrap your arm around opponent’s neck, pull him down and double-knee his face ….. Muay Thai ???

Nah, this is authentic Eagle Kung Fu, as passed down by Grand Master Eagle himself.

Errh, the bird and not Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, Timothy Schmit, Don Felder, Randy Meisner and Bernie Leadon ……

Congratulations.

That time of the year again – mandarin oranges, sausages, waxed ducks and everything painted in “Red”…..

Chinese New Year folks and for the over one billion Chinese scattered all over the globe, this is the one time of the year that brings it together into one rhythm….. huh? What I am trying to say?????

I guess, the point is that no matter where you are physically, languages that you speak/write and lifestyles you adopt, you can’t never really deny your “Chineseness” – hey I did not coin that terminology, got it out of an anthropology publication…..

Or to quote the lyrics of another song :

Regardless of where you may be ,

Born a Chinese person ,

Die a Chinese ghost…..

Okay okay, no good to talk about dying this time of the year so here’s the 12 Girls Band with their rendition of “Congratulations”.

Yup, congratulations to all …… Chinese or not ……

Gong Xi, Gong Xi !!!

大鸿拳.

Ooops, with the CNY holidays forthcoming, I am trying to tie up as much as possible before the 1 week or so slack-off time; to binge on foods and drinks with relatives and friends ….. hey typical Chinese “family” time.

“To eat is to prosper and to gamble is naught”  … now how many times have I been reminded of this? But then again, to binge on calories and cholesterols laden food is gambling with your health, no???

But once a year, you get to push logic back and just be.

So what have I got to share today?

A Dahongquan clip 大鸿拳 clip that I found and folks, please this is not Shaolin’s Dahong or “Vast Red” or Canton Hong Quan or Hungga.

The Hong here is the Chinese character for a “mythical” bird and you can go to Baidu for some background info.

Here’s a link that you might like - click here.

An article about fading art forms over on the mainland.

Now this rings a bell – oh that’s precisely the same state of affairs that we are facing in SE Asia. The hundreds of styles that got transplanted in the last few hundred years; many are now just nothing but a mention in some old books or archives.

And on that note, I wish you happy weekends.

Hung Gar Umbrella

Something else from my video library, this time, a “Umbrella Form” nicely done by local Hung Gar teacher, Sifu Lam Chee Keong, a personal friend living in Sibu Sarawak.

Trained by his dad, Sifu Lam is one of those still steadfastly keeping to ways passed down unbroken for the last few hundred years; a philosophy that is severely challenged by this modernistic short-attention span generation.

Like your fast-foods, everything is about instant gratification ….. who got time to wait for properly cooked foods? I want my food inside one minute !!!

You know, my other big time craze is watches and folks, not your digital do everything except cook an egg sort.

I love military watches, simple uncluttered easy to read and constructed to take all the punishments thrown at you when you are dodging bullets.

And it’s heartening to know that, at least, in the world of watch aficionados the trend is going back to those qualities that matter….try browsing some watch forums to see what I mean.

Okay okay, before I start talking Panerai, Lemania or Hamilton …here is the clip :-

Back to blog.

Oooookay dokey ……now that I’ve got most of my paperWorks out of the way, it’s time to get down and …..get ready of CNY 2010 …….party- time……..hahahaha…..

Just kidding – I am doing a little housekeeping so-to-speak; going through files that I downloaded from all over mainland sites and putting some of them here for those of you who can’t navigate in Mandarin.

Only thing is, there are so many clips and I am running out of space to store them….really…and burning discs is not really my thing …..the last thing I need now is more books and discs.

So, I am starting with this short little clip of 7 Stars Praying Mantis GM Lee Kam Wing, a personal friend of my Tai Chor Sifu, Ah Teck.

I think most of you in the western world got to know him through the English PM book written by Leong Ting and guess what, it is still available here – Mr. Mancuso’s Plumpub.

Click here.

This is GM Lee’s site :- click here.

And here is the clip.

This is sad……

Even now, super clean and “hyper-regulated”, we still get cases like this in Singapore :- click here.

I don’t know….I used to think that the government was being too high-handed when they stepped in the late 70s to dismantle all the “gangs” and “secret societies” operating under banners of “Hong Men” or “Hung Mun” which, to me personally, is a part of the TCMA legacy; I know of many CKF elders’ connection to these since TCMA first resettled in Singapore.

But reading story like this one here, I think the government did right – jeeze, can you imagine the scale of the problem if left unrestrained on a highly crowded island.

Fighting for tufts would be rampant…….and I am sure you’ll read more of such tragedy.

Stay on course.

So, here is the Chinese kuen kuit (fist poem) that I spoke about in my “Kung Fu Riddle” entry……

一出 三打 六发力

眼要对手 手要对心 手从心发

一伸一缩 柔中带刚 刚中带柔

来留去送 以快制动

脱手直打 以密打松

三阴三阳 力由腰马变

For those of you who are conversant in Mandarin, maybe now you would know which style of TCMA is being referred to.

Just as a word of advice, if you are thinking of quoting this or reusing it in any other form, be sure you don’t stray from the substance.

This kuit is one of the oldest versions (in my knowledge) of this notable style.

Don’t dilute before use.

Proof of life.

Arh,arh arh …. That is the sound of me gasping for air …. I am up to my nose with work after my trip to Penang.

2 full scale proposals to be submitted by end of this week …… arrrrrggghhhhh!!!

Annnyway, I got a bunch of DVDs that I am converting and hopefully extract bits to be youtubed for sharing, which reminds me; I am out of Carlsberg….hahahaha….

I did receive a mail today from one of my youtube subscribers; don’t really know anything about this subscriber …. Nothing but a username you understand?

He sent me a link of “Butterfly Palm” a Hakka style that I spoke about briefly in one of my earlier posts.

Yes, this style of boxing is still practiced in Sarawak but around here, it’s taught within the Henghua community. Henghua or XinHua is another southern dialect group.

The thing is that they are found mainly in Sibu and not where I am at now, Kuching Sarawak. Sibu is about half an hour away by air.

So the next time I visit I’ll try and make contact with them and perhaps capture their renditions on videos…..

Here’s the clip sent to me.

More pearls.

Well here we go – 3 pics from this Penang trip.

Top pic : when they say Penang is at the crossroad of East/West for the last few hundred years and that today you’ll see a exotic mix of East and West cultures, I think this pic represents that succinctly. It is not everyday that you see a Coke disc displayed right next to a “Guan Kong” altar. I took this during lunch at one of the many  coffee shops along Gurney Drive.

Middle pic : So you think you know everything about “Yong Chun” or “Ever Spring” hah! But did you know that in Penang, Yong Chun is also into trading??? What did I tell you, the more you think you know the lesser you really know ….. duh huh ?????

Bottom pic : Errrh, from the film set of “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon” or maybe you’ll see Wong Fei Hung stepping out of that door? Actually, this is a part of “Khoo Kongsi” and if you don’t know what I am talking about, click here.

Pearly sound bites.

Here is an extract from a Malaysian Tourism site :-

Penang, often referred to as the Pearl of the Orient, is one of the most picturesque and romantic cities in all of Asia. This tropical island-city lies in the Indian Ocean, just off the north-west coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

Penang received its name from the Pinang, or Betel Nut tree, once commonly found on the island.

Established as the first British trading post in the Far East in 1776, Penang today is a bustling metropolis reflecting a unique, exotic blend of East and West.

On Penang Island sits the capital, Georgetown, a city steeped in history and tradition, yet sparkling with progress and modern development.

The island also boasts some of the best food in the region, ranging from Nyonya Cuisine to foodstall favourites like nasi kandar, char kway teow and penang laksa, all of which are cooked in a uniquely ‘Penang’ way.

You know, I have been in and out of Penang so many times that I have lost count.

And I thought I have seen and tasted enough but this is no where near true, every time I visit, I would spot something that I missed before … from foods, old buildings with quaint façade to martial arts … what can I say???

The more I know, the more I realize how much I don’t …. And Penang is one place that you really need to savor patiently.

So, any misgiving why my boss want to invest there?

This trip is to scout for a good venues for our plans and you know how it is always location, location and location.

Plus, I met up with 2 crucial persons who are going to be instrumental in moving our projects forward so this trip is really all work and almost no “play” hahahaha….

Still I found time to move around a little to shoot  more pics and before I left, a short Carlsberg session with Saolim Sifu we all call “Ah boy” shown in the pic below sledge hammering a stone slab on his student’s head.

I will upload more pics later …….