Kwan Tak Hing--movie legend gung fu master

[hskwarrior]

Hey folks,

was just wondering how many of you remember the original Wong Fei Hong movie actor Kwan Tak Hing?

The late Kwan Tak Hing is my sifu's hero, and had the blessed opportunity to meet this man and even be the lions tail for Kwan Tak Hing.

i bet many didn't know this and assume he was buried in hong kong or china somewhere. but my sifu was good friends with Sifu Kwan's daughter, and was even in the same street gang as his son ( who incidentally was shot in the head--but i think lived).

but Sifu Kwan is buried in the city i live in, here in Northern Cali. so after paying respect at Professor Lau Bun cemetary, i went a paid respects to Sifu Kwan who is buried right along side his wife.

can't say hope you like the photo because it is of his gravestone, but he is in a good area.

check it out.

[hskwarrior]

here is a close up shot of his face on the gravestone........

[hskwarrior]

here is a close up shot of his face on the gravestone........

[GeneChing]

Which graveyard is that exactly? Good ol' Gum Shan, eh?

One of the pictures that got away was a shot of me and Kwan Tak Hing. It was years ago. It wasn't my camera. Someone took the shot of us together, but I was told later that it didn't come out. What a disappointment.

Here's an archive e-zine article (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=478) I did about Wong Fei Hung and the movies, which of course, discusses Kwan.

[hskwarrior]

Thanks gene,

thats a nice little piece after posting the pictures of where he is buried.

if you remember back in texas i told you he was buried here, but may not remember.

Kwan Tak Hing and his wife are buried at WOODLAWN cemetary in Colma, next to daly city.

i only got to meet him once at a tournament and we had to find a translater cuz he had little english. but it was at least a few months prior to his passing, and when i met him he was in his 90's and still wearing leather pants, leather jacket and cowboy hat, and cowboy boots. man he was pimipin at an old age.

my sifu said he wouldn't sleep much and late night would be up practicing his breathing. probably something that made him live as long as he had.

once again Gene, thanks that was very fitting for this thread.


frank

[brothernumber9]

I met Kwan Tek Hing at Sifu Lily Lau's shool grand opening in Concord. I had went with my Sifu and some classmates to help celebrate and support. I too had a picture taken with him and has since been lost. When Sifu Lau was younger she had done several movies with Kwan Tek Hing and he was treated as the utmost VIP at the school opening.

It sucks losing cool pictures, especially of noted people who pass. Come to think of it, I think I even lost my copy of The Dreadnaught.

[hskwarrior]

does anyone (including Sifu Gene CHing) have access to any of the old black and white wong fei hong---kwan tak hing----gung fu movies? my sifu would like to get a hold of some.

tonite i will take a photo of the photos of my sifu doing the lion head with Kwan tak Hing and post it.

but i also have some very old footage of the late Kwan doing a lion dance.

from what i understand is that the lion dance is pretty important to him.

[CLFNole]

I have one on VCD can't remember the name though. Shek Kin is in it along with a very young Lau Kar Leung. Overall its is a bit boring.

[hskwarrior]

what can i do to get a copy of that clfnole? its for my sifu, and he always recalls that kwan tak hing would kill or defeat SHek Kin in the movies.

if you send me a copy of that, i will go and have the original Hung SIng Movie with LKH after i transfer it over to dvd.

[CLFNole]

I'll see if I can copy it for you otherwise I will just send it to you. Just give me some time. Don't worry about sifus movie I have a copy but if yours is in chinese and a reasonably good quality I'll take it.

Drop me a PM with your mailing address but like I said just give me some time I have a lot of sheet on my plate right now.

Peace.

[GeneChing]

You told me a lot of stuff in Texas. I don't remember that comment, but I will say it's a good thing you don't type as fast as you talk or we'd have to rename this forum Frank's place (and I mean that in a good way ;) ). Nevertheless, I do know Woodlawn - I lived in Daly City for a spell. I'll have to go pay some respects there someday. What part of the cemetary is it in?

As for the original WFH movies - the first 75 or so on my filmography in that e-zine article posted above - to the best of my knowledge, they were never shown in the states. They're quite fascinating, not so much for their martial arts (in B&W, they are incredible dated and slow moving) but for their effect on martial arts movies. Just like reading OUtlaws of the Marsh (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=234), those movies are like a cipher. You begin to understand some of the quirkiness of Hong Kong cinema by knowing its history.

I've seen a few of the original WFH films on video, part of a friend's private collection allegedly taped of late night Hong Kong TV. I've heard that some are also available on VCD now. I was once told that some Sacramento library has them all on archive, but I've never heard anymore than hearsay about that, and I did make an effort to chase that lead down to no avail.

The only Kwan Tak Hing WFH role movies that are still readily available are these:
- The Skyhawk (1974)- this was done a few years after the series was done, sort of an afterthought trying to capitalize on the market. It's like a bad sequel, but not totally uninteresting from that point of view.
- Magnificent Butcher (1979) (http://www.martialartsmart.net/dvd60188.html) with Sammo Hung as Lam Tsai Wing, Yuen Woo Ping (Matrix, Crouching Tiger) and Wong Jing (New Legend of Shaolin (http://www.martialartsmart.net/dvd40014.html), High Risk, My Father is a Hero)
- Dreadnaught with Yuan Biao and Yuen Woo Ping again.
The latter two are more cameos than anything, but they are good classic kung fu films.

And don't call me 'Sifu'. Gene will do.

[hskwarrior]

ok sifu:rolleyes:

[CLFNole]

Frank:

I got the hook up for you. I was able to copy the disk no problem just I forgot is was a 2-disc movie so I will bring another disk home from the office tomorrow and copy the other one. I will get it in the mail for you by the end of the week. I hope your sifu likes it.

Lance

[hskwarrior]

thanks troy.

here are a few more pictures of my sifu and kwan tak hing.

in some of the photo's Kwan Tak Hing signs them and calls my sifu Hing Di.

hope you like these photo's.

[South Paw]

Good to see Kwan Tak Hing. Did not know he was burried in the USA.
I have met him in 1980. He was still very strong and flexibel.

http://home.planet.nl/~padbe017/plaatjes/album/klaas_KP01.jpg

[hskwarrior]

whatsup,

is that you in the photo? and thanks for posting it up.

[green_willow]

thanks troy.

here are a few more pictures of my sifu and kwan tak hing.

in some of the photo's Kwan Tak Hing signs them and calls my sifu Hing Di.

hope you like these photo's.

Is that what you guys dress up for your gatherings. Cool costume party outfits do you rent them from Shaw Bros?

Wasn't kwan tak hing a moivie star in the old days when there was less action than Bruce Lee?

[hskwarrior]

you just can't shut the fock up can you?

all you know how to do is talk shet, you have no gung fu.

[green_willow]

you just can't shut the fock up can you?

all you know how to do is talk shet, you have no gung fu.

I swear, I've seen him in exactly the same cloths in his movies. Isn't he a pak hok pai instructor?

[Ou Ji]

Frank, it's obvious he's the MMA type and will never give an inch to CMA.

I know it's hard but we should probably just ignore him until he leaves or becomes civilized.

[green_willow]

Frank, it's obvious he's the MMA type and will never give an inch to CMA.

I know it's hard but we should probably just ignore him until he leaves or becomes civilized.

I think of TCMA as an MMA at some point in time. Some one put the system together from a compilation of other systems. ppl dressed that way in the past because that's what ppl wore in the past. I don't mean anything bad with what I said earlier. I don't mind costumes from a movie set - like Halley Berry in the cat woman suit. If someone likes the former - hey different strokes for different folks :D

As for the second question, I thought Kwan Tek Hing was Pak Hok Pai trained? Maybe there is very close similarities between CLF & PHP? someone wiser than me can shed more light on this IMO