Also known as | Hung Gar, Hung Kuen, Hung Ga Kuen, Hung Gar Kuen |
---|---|
Focus | Striking |
Country of origin | China |
Creator | Hung Hei-gun |
Famous practitioners |
Luk Ah-Choi |
Parenthood | Shaolin Kung Fu, Mok Gar (additional influence for Wong Fei Hung lineage) |
Descendant arts | Choy ga, Fut Gar, Hung Fut, Jow-Ga Kung Fu |
Olympic sport | No |
Luk Ah-Choi
Wong Kei-Ying
Wong Fei Hung (son of Wong Kei-Ying)
Tang Fung (student of Wong Fei Hung)
Lam Sai Wing (student of Wong Fei Hung)
Yao Loon Kwong (instructor of Leung Tin Jiu)
Leung Tin Jiu (founder of Fut Gar)
Lei Jou Fun (founder of Hung Fut)
Jow Hung Hei (uncle and instructor of Jow Lung)
Jow Lung (founder of Jow-Ga Kung Fu)
Hung Ga (洪家), Hung Kuen (洪拳), or Hung Ga Kuen (洪家拳) is a southern Chinese martial art, which belongs to the southern shaolin styles and associated with the Chinese folk hero Wong Fei Hung, who was a master of Hung Ga.
Hung Ga's earliest beginnings have been traced to the 17th century in southern China. More specifically, legend has it that a Shaolin monk by the name of Gee Seen Sim See was at the heart of Hung Ga's emergence. See was alive during a time of fighting in the Qing Dynasty. He practiced the arts during an era when the Shaolin Temple had become a refuge for those that opposed the ruling class (the Manchus), allowing him to practice in semi-secrecy. When the northern temple was burned down many fled to the Southern Shaolin temple in the Fukien Province of Southern China along with him. There it is believed See trained several people, including non-Buddhist monks, also called Shaolin Layman Disciples, in the art of Shaolin Kung Fu.
Of course, Gee Seen Sim See was hardly the only person of significance that had fled to the temple and opposed the Manchus. Along with this, Hung Hei Gun also took refuge there, where he trained under See. Eventually, Hung Hei Gun became See's number one student.
That said, legend has it that Gee Seen Sim See also taught four others, whom in their entirety became the founding fathers of the five southern Shaolin styles: Hung Ga, Choy Ga, Mok Ga, Li Ga and Lau Ga. Luk Ah Choi was one of these students.