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HISTORY

Wah Lum Kung Fu Athletic Club of Boston
17 Edinboro Street
Boston, MA 02111
617-350-7530

While Wah Lum Kung Fu is a traditional Chinese form of martial arts,
there are over 300 styles of Kung Fu in China. Kung Fu goes
back thousands of years. Click a topic to learn more.
NOTE: Articles are taken from the Wah Lum Kung Fu Members Handbook.
Compiled and Edited by Sifu Harry W.C. Lo, ©1994

History of Chinese Kung Fu
History of Praying Mantis Kung Fu
History of Wah Lum System
Lee Kwan Shan
Chan Wan Ching
Pui Chan

History of Chinese Kung Fu

The development of Chinese Kung Eu was influenced by the three
main institutions of Chinese tradition: the militaxy, religion, and the family.

The origins of Kung Fu were attributed to the legendary emperor -
Huang Ti, who in 2600 B.C. taught his troops a form of self-defense
and organized them into effective military formations. Throughout
the history of China the military, from palace guards to district
warlords, were in the forefront of developing and utilizing the
practical aspects of Kung Fu.

Religion, on the other hand, had the greatest influence on the
ideological development of Kung Eu. Concepts of human psychology,
physiology, and philosophy were infused into Kung Eu to make it
more than just a physical art. Taoism and Buddhism were the two
main religious influences in the philosophies of the Kung Pu systems,
however most Kung Eu today is taught without eastern religious connotations.

The unit of Chinese life, the family, was to characterize the propagation
of certain systems of Kung Eu. In China, certain villages are known
under a family surname, and most of the members learned a style
taught only to them by a master of that village. The style is then
passed on from father to son. Exceptional masters have styles named
after them such as Yang's Tai Chi, Choy Li Fut, Hung Ga, Lau Gar,
Choy Gar, Li Gar, and Mok Gar.

Kung Eu exercises may be classified as internal or external. All styles
have some aspects of both types of exercises; some having tendencies
toward external (hard) or internal ( soft). Internal exercises can be
hard or soft; as in the dynamic tension exercises or the free flowing
Tai Chi exercises.

Various mechanical devices were devised to supplement the exercises,
and depending on the style, the degree of sophistication ranges from
simple weights to complex wooden dummies.

Weapons are used in advanced training as an extension of the human
body. These weapons range from fann implements to fancy halberds.
Popular tradition has 18 classical weapons attributed to Shaolin Kung Fu.
The exact 18 weapons varied according to the style or the region of
the Kung Eu system. (see page 26 of this text for a visual depiction of
some Chinese weapons)

The practice of repetitive exercises and weapon applications were
incorporated into forms -prearranged sequences of combat movements
against imaginary opponents. Some systems have as few as three
forms while others have more than 50.

Of the styles of Kung Eu, a general classification is used in calling
it either a Northern style or a Southern style. Generally, Northern
styles are more acrobatic - using a variety of high and low kicks from
many positions. The Southern styles are more stable, relying on a
strong horse stance and using more hand techniques, making the
practitioner less susceptible to loss of balance. The total number of
different Kung Pu styles is estimated to be over 300.

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History of Praying Mantis Kung Fu

According to records the Praying Mantis styles of kung fu originated
at the Shaolin Temple in China about 350 years ago, between the Ming
and Ching Dynasties. As the legend has it a young monk by the name
of Wong Long was the first to conceptualize this radical new fighting
system which has endured to this day.

Wong Long began his studies at the famed Shaolin Temple at an early
age. Being both gifted and hardworking he soon developed a mastery
of the Shaolin skills but found them lacking in some respects. One day
during practice he chanced upon a battle between a praying mantis,
through speed, strategic counter-attacks, and pure aggression, was able
to defeat the cicada. This so impressed Wong Long that he captured the
mantis, studied its fighting skills against other insects, and successfully
fashioned a modem fighting system, Praying Mantis Kung Eu, after its
movements. Subsequently Wong Long introduced a more sophisticated
footwork, inspired by the monkey, to refine his system further.

Over time Wong Long's original style evolved into twelve separate
and distinct praying mantis systems, including Plum Flower Mantis,
Seven Star Mantis, and the now famous Wah Lum Tam Tui Praying Mantis.
The Wah Lum Mantis style includes the Jut Sow (Wrestling Hands)
Style in its technique. (Note: the well known Southern Praying Mantis
system is said to have been developed in the 19th century by a monk from
the Jook Lum Monastery in Kwang Si Province who observed a similar
battle between mantis and a bird).

Noted propagators of this system include masters like Lee Kwan Shan
(responsible for the introduction of the Tam Tui Style into this system)
and Chan Pui (currently the Grandmaster of the Wah Lum Kung Eu of U.S.A.),
who introduced the Wah Lum System into this country. Masters like
these and their eventual heirs insure the continued growth of Praying
Mantis Kung Fu both as a constructive influence on modern society
and as a powerful force within the martial arts world.

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History of Wah Lum System

In the early 1900's an already accomplished martial artist by the name
of Lee Kwan Shan sought refuge in the Wah Lum Monastery of Ping
To district in Shangtung province. There he committed himself to an
arduous ten year discipleship in the Praying Mantis system. His teacher,
Abbot Ching Yeung, was the fourth generation of the original Praying Mantis
system. When Master Lee left the temple he traveled widely, eventually
settling down at Sha Cheng village in Shantung province. It was here that
he combined his Praying Mantis style with his own family system,
the Tam Tui (seeking leg) style. Lee Kwan Shan's style was noted for
his long fist forms, its spear and pole techniques, and particularly its
whirling broadsword skills.

Before his death in 1948, Lee accepted his youngest and last disciple.
This child came to Lee at age six, and when Lee died, the young student
continued to learn with the elder students until he mastered the
Wah Lum Praying Mantis system that had been combined with
Lee's Tam Tui family style. The child's name was Pui Chan.

These events are linked to the development of Kung Fu in America
by the fact that Pui Chan grew up to be a very knowledgeable and
accomplished martial artist who later, with much difficulty and great
courage, made his way to the United States. He accomplished this by
moving southward in China to the Hong Kong area. When he got there,
he swam from the mainland to the city of Hong Kong. Once there, he
got a job on a boat as a seaman, and when the boat arrived in
New York harbor, he again swam ashore at night.

Arriving in New York, alone and penniless, he found his way to
Boston, where he took a job as a cook. At this time, he had no
particular intention to teach Kung Fu. But later on, when Chan could
no longer pretend he was nothing more than a cook, he joined a Kung Fu
school, began working out and teaching, and eventually opened his
own school in Boston, Massachusetts in the late 1960's. Chan soon
became recognized as a legitimate master practitioner, and his
knowledge and classical teaching has contributed greatly to the transfer
of real Kung Fu to the United States.

In 1980, Pui Chan chose to pass on his knowledge in a way that is
very different from most Kung Fu schools. He decided to move his
family to Orlando, Florida, and actually build a Kung Fu Temple in the
Wah Lum tradition, calling it the Wah Lum Temple. He allows instructors
from all over the country to live there and undertake intensive Kung Fu
training in an atmosphere free of distractions. Chan has done this in
order to preserve the traditional ways of Kung Fu training, and to
provide an atmosphere of serenity and sincerity in the modem world.

Chan is proud of his students and his modem Wah Lum Temple.
But he would like to be known, more than anything else, as a man
who spent his lifetime promoting and teaching Kung Fu.

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Lee Kwan Shan
Fifth Generation Successor of the Northern Praying Mantis System
1867-1948

Lee Kwan Shan was the originator of the Wah Lum System. His real name is Yuk Tong, meaning "Jade Mountain". He learned the Northern Praying Mantis System from Ching Yeung, the Abbott of the Wah Lum Temple in Shangtung Province in China. He took in young Pui Chan as his last disciple of the system. Top

Chan Wan Ching
Sixth Generation Successor of the Northern Praying Mantis System
Deceased - August 1975

Mr. Chan Wan Ching was Master Pui Chan's older Kung Fu brother, who continued to teach him the Wah Lum System after Lee Kwan Shan died. He was the first president of the Hong Kong Wah Lum Kung Fu Association.     Top

Master Pui Chan
Sixth Generation Successor of the Northern Praying Mantis System
Thirty-third Generation Successor of the Shaolin Temple, China