Lau Gar?

[Inquisitor]

I have a friend who found a place in Cambridge (UK) which teaches Lau Gar. Not being very familiar with the style, I wondered if any here could possibly fill me in about it (and the school, if possible).

[eviljungle]

I don't know much, but the Lau Gau Fist is often taught with Hung Gar. It is an absolutely beautiful form.

Does anyone know more? Would there be anything fundamentally wrong with learning this form before other Hung Gar forms? :confused:

[dooder]

Probably not. my teacher teaches it within his southern boxing curriculem. Guess it depends on how uptight you are about tradition.

[Ross]

Lau gar in the UK is not part of Hung ga and does not even include sets such as lau gar kuen. The organisation is very big and there are disputes about the accuracy of the use of this name. This will not be learning part of Hung ga...

Your friend should decide how important it is to learn a specific style..this one may be OK but they often run kick boxing clubs at their clubs. They are noted for fighting alot on the point fighting circuits which seems a bit unusual.

Who knows whether this is good or bad....

Just NOT Hung ga (or the Lau gar system associated with Hung ga).

Cheers R :D

[Inquisitor]

Thank you all for your replies. They were informative and very helpful. Is there a way I can get any more information on the "situation" surrounding the Lau Gar in the UK (and its difference to the Lau Gar that is associated with Hung Gar)?

[PaleDragon]

lau gar was added to hung gar to save it from being lost...i know lau gar kuen and it makes sense for to be a part of hung gar...very low...tiger and crane strikes/blocks...and alot of emphasis on correct stances.

[Ross]

Inquisitor.....there are lots of Hung ga websites about....may I suggest www.hungkuen.org.uk (http://www.hungkuen.org.uk) as a start. There are also lots of Lau gar sites for Sifu Jeremy Yau (spelling??) here in the UK. This group is the biggest kung fu organisation in the UK.

Cheers, R

[lausan]

Ok come on all you Lau Gar People have your say!
I feel like it's Ground Hog Day! Lau Gar as taught in the uk is a traditional Southern Chinese style of Kung Fu.The Lau Gar in Hung Gar was indeed absorbed into the Hung Gar syllabus a long time ago,and was modified to fit in with the Hung style, i.e.lower wider stances etc.
I have trained in traditional Lau Gar Kuen for 16 Years plus,and have always found it to be in keeping with other Southern short range systems.I have found it to be a complete and effective sytle of kung Fu, and I would recomend anyone in the UK to try this style.
We do have a modern competetive side in the Freestyle Kickboxing, but this is only one aspect of our style.Martial Arts must evolve and go forward into the 21st century.The competetive side of our style in my opinion has only strengthened our reputation over the years, not damaged it.
Uk viewers of BBC 2 will have no doubt seen Masters of Combat where Lau Gar(AKA The Death Squad)have made it through to the finals.This just goes to show that we have a strong talent to draw from...The modern and the traditional.This is the way forward.

Lausan ;)

[phoenix-eye]

hi lausan

I study lau gar in Scotland. The system has been around for over 30 years and is not some "fly by night" made up style.

As lausan says it is an effective short to medium range southern style. (By the way I have nothing like lausan's experience in the system - but enough to know when I see a poor style or sifu)

The system has had detractors for its participation in competitions etc. however, this has done a lot to establish the systems reputation and popularity. To my knowledge the kickboxing / competition classes are always taught separately and if someone goes to a Lau Gar school and is taught only kickboxing then they are not at a real Lau Gar school. It may only be that the instructor has studied Lau Gar and moved into freestyl.

As an aside, my organisation has recently had two seminars with Sifu Shi Yanzi of shaolin temple UK. I am sure that Shi Yanzi would not have bothered coming to teach some Lau Gar students if he thought that the system was indeed of doubtful standing.

My advice is - if the sifu is good then lau Gar is as good as any.

Check out the Southern Styles forum at www.hungkuen.org.uk (http://www.hungkuen.org.uk). There is a lau Gar discussion over there with some info. You may have to check back past the last 30 days to find it though.

"We had a thing to settle so I did him"
Tamai, 43, was quoted by Police as saying.