RIP Grandmaster Yu Chenghui (于承惠)

I was in Chicago last weekend when I heard. Such a loss to the wulin.

Read our July+August 2012 cover story: The Two-Handed Sword Reborn By Gigi Oh and Gene Ching

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Holy Smokes!

I was just thinking about this guy last week. I loved his performance in the Shaolin Temple.

Condolences to his students, friends, and family.

mickey

Sad news indeed, Rest in Peace, SwordMaster Yu.

I also want to acknowledge Maofei's thread here: Yu-Chenghui-Hao-Family-Plum-Blossom-Mantis-and-the-Double-Handed-Straight-Sword. I was tempted to merge that with this one, but Maofei posted it with a slightly different tone, and GM Yu definitely deserves a separate thread on the NPM forum.

Quote:

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Yu Chenghui Dies at 76; Stars Mourn Death of Martial Arts Master
By Althea Serad | Jul 06, 2015 04:33 AM EDT

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(Photo : Orlando /Three Lions/Getty Images) circa 1955: The Karate primary defence posture against attack.

Sometimes credited as Cheng-Hui Yu or Yue Sing-wai, Chinese martial arts master Yu Chenghui died in Beijing on July 5. He was 76.

Yu Chenghui has worked in the Chinese entertainment industry both as an actor and an action director, and most popularly as a martial artist, according to Wikipedia.

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He had been one of China's most recognized faces when it came to martial arts films and dramas.

With his death, many of his fans and former coworkers expressed their grief and condolences on social media, reported China Daily.

"My master and teacher in 'The Legend of Bruce Lee,' Yu Chenghui, passed away today. R.I.P.," said actor Danny Chan, who played the lead role in "The Legend of Bruce Lee."

"His dedication, his performances, and his devotion to martial arts are still vivid in my mind. Master, rest in peace," said actor and director Deng Chao of Yu Chenghui's death on his Sina Weibo account.

Chao worked with Yu in the films "The New Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre" and "The Four."

In addition, Yu Chenghui's long list of well-known action films include "The Shaolin Temple" and "Martial Arts of Shaolin."

Some action dramas adapted from Louis Cha's novels that Yu Chenghui has starred in include "The Legendary Swordsman" and "The Cordor Heroes."

Yu Chenghui's last film was "The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom" in 2014. He starred in the film with A-list stars including actor Huang Xiaoming as well as actress Fan Bingbing, according to China Entertainment News.

Yu Chenghui was born on August 16, 1939, in Penglai, Shandong province in East China. In 1951, he went to the Qingdao Amateur Sports School and studied Chinese martial arts. By 21, he won a martial arts championship in Qingdao and later enrolled as a martial arts student at Shandong Sports University.

In 1963, Yu Chenghui won a martial arts competition with his "Drunken Sword" performance. He had a leg injury in the same year, forcing him to leave the university and work in a manufacturing factory. Yu Chenghui, however, continued with his training.

He has been a disciple of the "mantis sector" of martial arts after gaining inspiration from the "mantis sword," a sword art using two swords. After being appointed as a martial arts coach by Ningxia Wushu Team in 1979, Yu Chenghui started to gain recognition in martial arts.

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Thank you Gene. I agree with you and feel the same way. The loss of master Yu is deep indeed. For those of you wondering it was due to cancer 癌症 (aizheng). He undoubtedly will be missed by many, myself included. He was a great man and we should celebrate his life.

As Master Sun Deyao and Master Yu Chenghui were friends I had asked if Master Yu could come over for a visit in 2014. Master Sun had arranged for Master Yu to come visit the United States for Master Tony Yang's 2014 tournament in Ohio. At the last minute however he had to cancel because of his movie production schedule. He was in Jinan at the time. We were going to try to meet him as a surprise for everyone for our 2015 China trip if we could work out our schedules together. Unfortunately now that will not happen.

As Gene mentioned, if you are interested in reading about or having a discussion on Mantis boxing and the double-handed straight sword please feel free to visit the link Gene posted.

Warm regards,
Darin / Maofei

Grandmaster Yu Chenghui 1939–2015 by Gene Ching and Gigi Oh

There will be another obituary in our next issue, the NOV+DEC 2015.

R.I.P. He was a good friend of my teachers'. Respect.