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Sifu Piotr Osuch - Osuch Kwoon (Polland) Today
as in times gone by, Hung
Gar is regarded as having high charisma among Masters and those
training Chinese Martial Arts. It is also one of the purest forms of
Wushu in existence today, which has been handed down from Master to Master.
Due to its traditionalism and conservative approach to the learning process
it has not been affected by commercial expansiveness.
Until very recently Hung Gar was only taught and handed down within families, or to carefully chosen students. For many years it was only taught within secret societies fighting the hated Qing dynasty. The learning and teaching process was done in absolute secrecy and demanded total discretion. Another reason why Hung Kuen was elite for many hundreds of years was because every effective fighting technique was kept secret to increase the surprise in battle. Surprise and effect could make the difference between life and death. Today many people have access to elite fighting techniques, but very few have the opportunity to really get to know and learn Hung Gar's key elements. This is very closely linked to the traditional learning process and loyalty to tradition in accordance with which selected students were taught its secrets. Hung Kuen is one of the few systems handed down by the great Masters to Masters who all hold high the values of honour , bravery , brotherhood as well as Chinese ethics and culture keeping them alive today. Hung Gar first appeared in Poland in the 1980's. The method of training consisted of various elements of various southern Chinese Wushu styles. Although the techniques taught sometimes varied from the original techniques and were not as clear as they are today, the training sessions were carried out with a very strong emphasis on traditionalism. These training sessions demanded a huge amount of self discipline and sacrifice but at the same time built and developed strength, both physically and mentally binding them as one, as well as developing a high sense of moral within the schools where they were taught. These training sessions produced excellent results in a sporting sense, which was to be expected as Kwoon's students from the very beginning won medals in a number of prestigious events both in Poland and abroad. For a considerable length of time more than 200 people took part in training sessions at Si Fu Piotr Osuch's school which clearly showed how popular this system is in Poland.  A
milestone in the development of the school was Piotr Osuch's contact
with Master Lam Cheun Ping . This led to a 3-month stay at The
Barcelona Insitute of Wushu in 1987. From this moment the relationship
between Piotr Osuch and Master Lam Chuen Ping has been very close. Yearly
training visits to Barcelona ended with Piotr Osuch becoming a Master
of Hung Gar by Chao Wing Tak Hung Gar Association and Instructor by the
Spanish Wushu Federation in 1989.
The training programme taught by Master Lam was extremely tiring and contained a huge variety of techniques and elements. Apart from Hung Gar it contained elements of Choy Lee Fut, Pak Mei, Xing Yi, Pak Siu Lum (Bei Shaolin), Shuai Jiao and San Da. The training sessions lasted as long as 8 hours a day, divided into 2 blocks of 4 hours, this was especially tiring bearing in mind the climatic conditions in Spain. But thanks to these conditions Piotr Osuch increased his capabilities dramatically which also had a direct effect on the training sessions at his school in Poland. In 1991 the yearly training sessions in Barcelona were especially attractive thanks to the visit in Barcelona of the great Hung Gar authority - Master Chui Wai . These sessions were unique in that Master Lam teaches Si Gong Tang Fung whereas Master Chiu Wai teaches the Si Gong Lam Sai Wing technique, which allowed Piotr Osuch to learn two techniques simultaneously, unusual to say the least. Years of friendship with Master Lam Chuen Ping led to a deep level of trust cumulating with the passing on and teaching of the most advanced and secret forms of Hung Gar - Tit Sin Kuen - the true essence of the system, " the Iron Wire ", as Tit Sin Kuen is translated, is extremely unusual as it is only taught to trusted students as the climax of their Hung Gar education.  Many
masters decide to teach only one of their students the deepest secrets
of Kwoon. Piotr Osuch with Master Lam Cheun Ping In 1992 during the Shaolin
Wushu Tournament , Piotr Osuch met Master Chong Chin Kong (Victor
Chong) from Singapore. He had learnt Hung Kuen from Song Chau Yuan whose
father Song Shao Puo was personally trained by Si Gong Lam Sai Wing.
The friendship between Piotr Osuch and Chion Chin Kong led to an intensive
exchange of experience and knowledge by both parties regarding Hung Gar
Kuen.
In 1993 members of " Osuch Kwoon " representing Poland at the II Wushu World Championship in Singapore took part in a number of training sessions at Master Chong's school. The friendship between the two Kwoons was built upon by several visits to Poland by Victor during which he took part and lead training sessions in Hung Gar at Si Fu Piotr Osuch's School. Assistants from the school of "The Ten Kwantung Tigers" had the opportunity to get to know and learn little known techniques. During his visits to China Si Fu Piotr Osuch improved even further his Wushu techniques and was constantly able to enrich it with additional elements and systems. He met many great Masters of Hung Gar and other systems of Wushu. This often led to many meetings and training sessions, which in themselves automatically influenced the level of training at his school and led to further and fuller mutual understanding between Chinese Martial Arts. At the Peking Institute of Wushu Piotr Osuch attended a course that increased his knowledge and  understanding
of the sporting side of Chinese Martial Arts and finished with him receiving
his instructors certificate in Nanquan and Sanshou . Largely
due to the great Masters of the Shanghai Athletic Association of Chin
Woo , Piotr Osuch became competent in the technical aspects of the
rules and regulations as set out by the World Chin Woo Federation.
In the years that followed the best students from the school of "The Ten Kwantung Tigers" trained in Singapore under the watchful eye of the best instructors and Masters of Chin Woo. From 1993, Piotr Osuch worked with the Technical Committee of the International Wushu Federation ( IWUF ) in creating and standardising the basic theories concerning the teaching of Chinese Martial Arts - which enabled the formation of the World Chin Woo Athletic Federation. As one of the founding members, Piotr Osuch unveiled a commemorative plaque at the Federations new headquarters in Shanghai. As of 1994 Si Fu Piotr Osuch is chairman of the Polish Chin Woo Athletic Federation , helping to popularise the traditional Wushu systems as well as Chinese traditions and culture. The Hung Gar system which is renowned for its close ties to tradition, ceremony and its unique elements closely linked to tradition , "the dance of the lion" and the "dance of the dragon" ideally emit these virtues. They are still alive in the old schools of Wushu in Hong Kong, Macao and Southern China. During his many visits in these areas Piotr Osuch visited Kwoons well known for their extraordinary fighting skills and emphasis on tradition. One visit at the school of Si Gong Chao Wing Tak in Hong Kong was particularly valuable as the atmosphere there combined with the personality of its Master showed the true essence of all that is most valuable and highly regarded in Chinese Martial Arts and at the same time showed what is being lost as the old Masters slowly die out. Because of this Piotr Osuch was even more determined to master the technical nuances of Hung Gar under the watchful eye of Chao Wing Tak, both from a ceremonial aspect as well as how a school should function according to the traditional system. Thanks to these and other experiences the school of "The Ten Kwantung Tigers" could try to honourably continue the legacy of the Great Masters. In 1996 the idea to form the European Hung Gar Association (EHGA) arose. From the beginning of its formation, Piotr Osuch was a cornerstone of the EHGA and active within it as one of four founder members and a member of its governing body. During the 1st World Hung Gar Championships held in Karlsruhe in April 2000 this four representatives found EHGA Management Committee. Being part of the European Hung Gar family gives the school of "The Ten Kwantung Tigers" the opportunity to test their abilities and to influence the shaping of Hung Gar in modern day society and how the system is viewed in the world today. Thanks to hard work and respect for the traditional view of the system we can confirm the high position  held
by Hung Gar which has been achieved by centuries of adhering to just
such ethics. In 1999 the Polish Martial Arts Federation, for his overall
work with Chinese Martial arts, awarded Piotr Osuch the 6 Dan (sixth
level Master). Currently, Si Fu Piotr Osuch's school of Hung Gar has
about 100 students who train at three different levels according to capability
and accomplishment. Many students from his school represent Poland in
Wushu.
Thanks to the wide training programme and membership of many organisations both within Poland and abroad students from the school have taken part in many events and competitions, such as: • World Wushu Championship (Beijing 91, Kuala Lumpur 93, Baltimore 95, Rome 97, Hong Kong 99) • European Wushu Champ. (Chieti 90,Stockholm 90,London 92, Munich 94, Rome 96, Athens 98) • World Chin Woo Championship (Shanghai 94, Guangzhou 97) • International Tournament in China (Beijing 90) • Shaolin Wushhu Festival (Zhengzhou 92, 93, 94 and 97, Shanghai 93) • International Wushu Tournament (Karlsruhe 93,94,95,97,99,2000,Wetzlar 98,Mosca 90,Wolfsburg 99) • World Hung Gar Championships (Karlsruhe 2000). Representatives of the Hung Gar School brought back from these events more than 60 medals, mainly  gold.
Taking part in these and other similar events enabled students from the
Hung Gar School to test their skills and to constantly improve their
capabilities against the worlds best. On a wider note it also lessened
the technical differences between Wushu as practised in China and the
rest of the world.
Thus allowing Chinese Martial Arts, including Hung Gar, to become more and more popular. At the annual Polish Wushu Championship and other tournaments a steady increase in the skills and technical adeptness of students can be quite clearly seen. A major role in this plays the school of "The Ten Kwantung Tigers" who often win many medals in a wide variety of competitions and styles. We can but hope that new students who are taught the most inner secrets of Hung Gar as have been handed down from generation to generation by the Great Masters within the school "Osuch Kwoon" will be worthy and will carry this system into the new millennium
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