“In fact, the author seems to make a very pointed argument that Hung Gar is in its essence not a technical system of physical movements, but is instead an expression of culture. He doubts the ability of anyone who was not born within the Chinese language and society to genuinely master the art, let alone teach it. In fact, one cannot help but escape the impression that for him the Chinese martial arts are “authentic” precisely because they emerge from (and ultimately reduce to) an expression of Chinese culture. Still, reading between the lines it seems that he felt that being immersed within his network of Kung Fu Brothers was enough to give him access to some of the inner aspects of the art, and make up for his own lack of deep cultural background.”
Tag: chinese kung fu
Hung Kuen stances: how to avoid the pollutions
Hung Kuen stances: a correct execution is the most important assumption for the serious student. In every martial art the forms are basically a symbolic (if not “metaphoric”) way to avoid the contaminations, aimed to keep and hand down the set as pure as possible. But every student should know that – albeit in a full respect of the tradition – a significant quantity of realism must be kept in the practice. Master Chan Hon Chung granted a great importance to this realism, that was part of his teaching starting from the stances, the actual pillars of the whole system. The old master always pushed us to keep realism in our practice of the forms, explaining that the Hung style is not about dancing or showing off, but it’s about fighting, for real.
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Tips for a pure “one finger bridge”
A few words about the “one finger bridge” and the “three extensions”. Back in the days in the Hon Chung Gymnasium in Hong Kong this gesture – so peculiar to Hung Kuen and a significant symbol in the Chinese secret societies tradition – was held in great consideration and trained with care.
Hung Ga Story: i miei anni col maestro Chan Hon Chung
“Check out one of the best Hung Ga Kyun books I had pleasure to read in years (and download a free sample here). Hung Ga Story is a memoir of Alberto Biraghi and his martial arts journey. Alberto studied the traditional Hung Ga Kyun in Hong Kong with the late Grand Master Chan Hon Chung, spending with him more than a month per year from 1977 until the closing of his historic gym at 729 of Nathan Road” (Pavel Macek).
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Spazzatura marziale
L’altro giorno su uno dei vari gruppi dello stile Hung che si trovano su Facebook un sedicente “maestro di Hung Gar” ha postato questa foto. Sarà sicuramente un grande atleta e uno spaccamontagne, visto che insegna anche arti specifiche di combattimento, ma una cosa è certa: è tutto, tranne che un maestro (ma neppure un “istruttore”) di Hung Kuen.
Tit Sin Kuen: common errors
I had the honor to learn Tit Sin Kuen, the ultimate form of the Hung Kuen school, 30 years ago from master Chan Hon Chung, in his country house and to refine it with my elder brother Cheung Yee Keung. I kept a daily written trace of what I learned and spent a few hour asking question to master Chan with the help of my elder brother Chan Kwoon Kwok. In my old paper notebook I still have pages of pages of notes, memories, drawings, comments.
Il kungfu cialtrone
Ho scritto un commento in un thread… a rischio (infatti è stato rimosso) su una pagina di appassionati di karate. Lo salvo qui, perché mi piace.
Il problema, Flavio Daniele, sta soprattutto nel verbo che lei usa: “credere”, che nel variegato e pittoresco mondo delle arti marziali cinesi ha troppo spesso una forte connotazione fideistica. Leggi tutto “Il kungfu cialtrone”
La bufala dell’arte marziale “antica”
In questo thread ho postato due commenti che mi piacciono, quindi li edito un po’ per per decontestualizzarli e integrarli tra loro e li salvo come nota. Sostanzialmente rispondo a chi sostiene la superiorità delle arti marziali cosiddette “antiche” nei confronti di quelle cosiddette “moderne”. Smitizzo il fine bellico delle arti marziali cosiddette “antiche” e sostengo che le arti marziali si sono sempre evolute con l’uomo e devono continuare a farlo se vogliono sopravvivere.
Masters, grand masters, great grand masters…
Westerners who follow the Chinese martial arts, especially those who make a life out of them, are in big troubles with the inflation of the definition “master”. The problem: if you accept that any muscled poser who learned three moves on YouTube or has been photographed in front of a dim-sum calls himself “master”, then you have to find new categories and new hyperboles to define the true masters or even the not-so-bad ones.