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Warsaw April 23rd, 2001 - Grandmaster Chiu Wai visits PolandBetween 17-26 April, 2001 Grandmaster Chiu Wai visited Poland. He is considered to be 
one of the greatest authorities on Hung Gar Kuen in the world and China's "living treasure" of martial
arts. He was accompanied by his wife Si Po Law Sui Ling and my master, Si Fu Lam Chuen Ping.At this point, it should be mentioned that the titles which are used in martial arts schools do not reflect the actual level of person's development. Their role is to reflect the relations between different members of a given school. Thus my master's master, Grandmaster Chiu Wai, is Si Gong for me whereas for my students he is Si Tai Gung. On the other hand, for my master he is Si Fu. Similar rules apply to all the students and master's family. Thus, my Si Fu's wife is Si Mo whereas Si Gong's wife is Si Po. However, for my students she is Si Tai Po. The knowledge of these and many other rules is extremely important on each level of advancement in martial arts. It can be compared to diplomatic protocol. However, as far as diplomacy is concerned the inappropriate behaviour may cause surprise or scandal whereas in a traditional kung-fu school such mistakes may result in students being expelled. It is even more important in the case of the old generation of masters such as Si Gong Chiu Wai since they were brought up to respect traditional Chinese values which often differ from the ones promoted by the Western civilisation. The fact that my master had to come to Poland a day before Grandmaster Chiu Wai's arrival to be able to meet him at the airport shows clearly how important these conventions are. Grandmaster Chiu Wai's stay in Poland began with a visit in my school. It should be emphasised that he went there directly from the airport disregarding long journey and jet lag. The 7th International Poland Wushu Championship was the next item on Grandmaster Chiu Wai's agenda. Both Si Gong Chiu Wai and Si Fu Lam Chuen Ping were special guests of this tournament. Grandmaster's liveliness did not allow him to stay still during the performance given by the best Polish competitors. Si Gong Chiu Wai presented his incredible skills in Hung Gar twice. He performed two forms: "Ten Animals" (Sap Ying Kuen) and the most advanced form of Hung Gar Kuen, "The Iron Wire" (Tit Sin Kuen). 
The audience and the competitors were fascinated by Grandmaster's agility and his muscular build. His performance showed the true essence of Wushu and the fact that the old age is not necessarily connected with weakness and poor health. Many times during the training and the Seminars Si Gong Chiu Wai proved that he is fitter and stronger than many of the titled Polish National Wushu Team members. The first seminar with the Grandmaster took place in my Hung Gar school a day after the championships. Si Gong started teaching with Yek Sau Kuen form ("The Form of Keeping Fit and Healthy"). It is extremely similar to 48 - moves Taijiquan form. There are few si fus and even fewer students practising Hung Gar who are aware of the existence of this form. A lot of moves are performed in the same way as it is in the original Taijiquan. However, Yek Sau Kuen includes also techniques which can be found only in Hung Gar such as "A red tiger looks at the sun" or "A wild tiger leaves the cave." These techniques give the form its unique character. When the participants' brows had been already covered with sweat as a result of Yek Sau Kuen practice the Grandmaster proceeded to the teaching of Sap Ying Kuen. Historically the form is divided into two parts. The first part consists of typical Chi Gong (chi circulation exercises). The second part consists of fighting techniques. According to the written sources the first part was created by Fong Wen Chun whereas the second one was formed by Hung Hai Kwun. Thus, the techniques in both parts differ considerably. To make students aware of the importance of stances in Hung Gar, Si Gong Chiu Wai introduced the exercise called Lok Ko Mah (Liu Gou Ma). The aim of this exercise is to practise the six basic stances in Hung Gar. The fact that Grandmaster Chiu Wai is so consistent in executing proper stances stems from the fact that he belongs to the generation of students taught by means of traditional training methods. In the past the training of Lok Ko Mah lasted for three years. Students trained every day for about an hour. It is not difficult to imagine the effect it had on the practitioners. 
To force the practitioners to keep a correct and appropriately low "horse stance" (Say Ping Mah) Si Gong
put various things on students' laps emphasising the fact that they couldn't fall down. The second part of
the seminar was devoted to Grandmaster's favourite weapon, Kwan Dou. The practice was preceded by Si Gong's
lecture concerning historical background of this weapon.It dealt with the technical factors of the weapon created by general Kwan Kung as well as content of the form. Si Gong Chiu Wai stressed the fact that Kwan Dou should be properly balanced. Otherwise, some of the most difficult and almost acrobatic elements will be impossible to be performed. Thus, the broad, heavy blade is counterbalanced by the heavy "cone" located on the other end of the staff. As general Kwan's halberd weighted almost 50 kilograms the "cone" was nailed into the ground when general Kwan mounted and dismounted the horse. Two broad plates also helped to keep balance. The form taught by Si Gong Chiu Wai contains a lot of interesting and even amazing elements. Thus, while the form is performed we can clearly see general Kwan Kung mounting the horse, grabbing the bridle and riding at full gallop with the halberd raised high above his head. We can see him teasing/ encouraging his opponent and performing amazing fits using his weapon. Kwan Dou is one of the weapons that Si Ging Chiu Wai likes the best. 
During the show which was organised by Canadian TV Grandmaster Chiu Wai performed the form using Kwan Dou
made of steel and weighing almost 30 kilograms. This required not only good skills but also enormous strength.
During the part of the seminar devoted to Kwan Dou we could see ourselves Si Gong's superior skills.It should be stressed that during the seminar Si Gong Chiu Wai performed all the elements along with the student. As the seminar was coming to an end a lot of young and strong participants looked exhausted whereas Si Gong looked as if he had just been warming up. "When he starts teaching he forgets about the world and seminar's time limit" explained Si Po Law Sui Ling. After another hour had passed I asked her if she wasn't bored. She answered that she had spent in the gyms over 45 years. During their stay in Hong Kong students practised in their house and that was why there was always someone training in her house. This was a typical situation in China. A lot of masters did not possess enough money to rent or buy a gym. Other masters taught at home because they were often afraid that too many untrustworthy people may learn their secrets and they preferred to teach a small group of trustworthy students. It was also common to teach the techniques of a given style only to the members of master's family and the techniques were treated as "family's treasure". The reason for that was that in the past people's lives often depended on the knowledge of these techniques. At the same time it was important that the enemies did not know them. It was always to defeat the adversary using the technique he did not know. However, it often happened that the whole systems (such as Lau Gar Kuen or Mizhongquan) were lost when the master could not find a worth heir. In the case of Hong Kong the lack of parks was another reason for teaching at home. Moreover, it was typical of Si Fus to run both martial arts school and the Dit Da (old Chinese medicine) health centres. Because these clinics were usually located at Si Fus' houses it was more convenient to link these two activities. During the course of the seminar Si Ging Chiu Wai was assisted by his student and at the same time my master, Si Fu Lam Chuen Ping.
There were times when he forgot about serious spine operation he had had the last year. That is why my main task was to remind him about this fact. The first day of the seminar ended with students' cheering at Si Gong Chiu Wai's performance of Kwan Dou form. The second day of the seminar was almost exclusively devoted to the practice of Sap Ying Kuen. Grandmaster Chiu Wai showed the moves the form consisted of and at the same time he explained how given elements should be used in fight ("sang sau"). This way students were able to understand the essence of the form. After many hours of learning and repeating it students were asked to perform the form in front of the Si Gong Chiu Wai. They presented both Sap Ying Kuen and Kwan Dou. At the end, Grandmaster Chiu Wai answered the questions concerning Hung Gar systems, the application of given techniques and training methods. After the seminar had finished Si Gong Chiu Wai said that he was pleased with the participants. He also added that they acquired new elements quickly and at the same time the level of their performance was quite good. At the same time he recommended devoting more time to the basic techniques at each level of students' development. The seminar ended with students taking pictures and Si Gong Chiu Wai giving autographs. The seminar was also attended by special guests. Brothers Luigi and Sergio Martone and Pierfrancesco Girolami from Italy represented EHGA (European Hung Gar Association). Dirk Crokaert represented Belgium. Si Gong Chiu Wai and Si Fu Lam prepared a special attraction and they organised seminar on "Lion's Dance" for the most advanced students in my school.My concern for Si Fu Lam's spine reached its apogee when he tried to follow the rhythm of the drums with the quick moves of his head. The participants were enchanted with the elements performed by Si Gung. Sometimes we could almost see a living animal and understand the meaning of its behaviour. The most exciting part of the seminar was the "Lion's Dance" performed by both Si Gong and Si Fu in which Si Gong led the "lion's head". The show made us aware of the fact that there is still a lot to do before we will be able to perform "Lion's Dance" perfectly. SI Gong Chiu Wai made a point that in Hung Gar Kuen the "Lion's Dance" reflects the level of the school and its martial character. All the techniques are based on Lok Kok Mah and they are performed swiftly and with a lot of strength. The upper body movements should also be energetic and reflect the power of Hung Gar Kuen. Si Gong Chiu Wai did not limit his teaching to the seminar. We also trained in my house during the dinner or the evening break for a cup of tea, during our walk through the city and even in the car. While we were visiting Botanical Garden in Powsin me and my Si Fu were asked to perform Sap Ying Kuen, what we had to do despite heavy rain (at the same time Si Gong held his umbrella with enormous power). It should be stressed that Si Gong Chiu Wai is a man of great heart as far as teaching is concerned. I could sense his stamina during the performance of two-men staff form called Ng Long Ba Gwa Kwan. We spent several hour- long sessions improving the form. During the session we took only a few- second breaks to come back to the place we had started in. It was then when Si Gong learnt Polish phrase "od poczatku" which means "once again". However, he pronounced it in a way which sounded very similar to Chinese phrase "A grandmother is taking her trousers off." His method of training was based on very quick and strong performance of the form disregarding the slow acquiring of each technique. The fact that the techniques were very quick made me concentrate more as I was forced to block the strong blows and follow the Grandmaster. However, the efficiency of this method is very high. At the end of Si Gong's stay the gifts were exchanged. I was nicely surprised when I got a silver plate which read that my Si Gong appreciated my contribution to the development of Hung Gar Kuen. It meant something really special to me because I had been recognised by such great authorities as Si Gong Chiu Wai and Si Fu Lam Chuen Ping. The most advanced group of my students presented both Si Gong and Si Fu with beautiful, richly engraved hussar sabres. Si Po and Si Mo were presented with jewellery. Si Gong's visit to Poland provided us with a lot of new techniques and new applications of the techniques familiar to us and at the same time it made us aware of the necessity of devotion and regularity in our training. We could see the effects which are possible to achieve by working hard. Moreover, the old age stopped to be the problem for us once we had seen Grandmaster Chiu Wai and his incredible agility. Piotr Osuch
Group Photo Warsaw April 23rd, 2001 Visit our Photo Gallery dedicated to this Seminar... Visit Grandmaster Chiu Wai personal page.... ----------------------- |
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