Risk Management / Longevity

[jdhowland]

White Crane master Kwong Bun Fu made it to at least 95.

My teachers are still fairly active in their late 70s despite being heavy smokers. I heard that 70 is the new 50.

I'm 56 and not feeling so well, myself.

jd

[Faruq]

PaK Mei Grandmaster Cheung Lai Cheun 1880-1964

That puts him at 84.

Any idea how long Pak Mei masters have been living after Cheung Lai Chun?

[diego]

I am interested in health and longevity for whatever reason,

So...I did some research on the lifespans of the founders / grandmasters / famous practitioners, etc...if you only care about fighting with people and dying young, this won't interest you. However, please look, read comment, contribute, etc. This is obviously not a scientific study, so please no-one get their hair in a knot. I am obviously lacking in all kinds of info - especially internal / Northern arts - so let's get this started and see where it goes - there must be some benefit to living a long, healthy, and productive life, even if the practioner doesn't engage in UFC competitions to "prove" how tough they are (Dragon motto; "It's not when you start to count, but when you finish - making the difference").

Sort of a "risk management" question - what would the insurance people rate you on based on the art you practice?


Dragon Style:

Lam Yiu Kwai (1876-1968); 93 years old
Chow Fook (1910-1999); 89 years old
Lam Woon Kwong (1902-1982); 80 years old

Average retirement age: 87.3 years old

Hung Gar:

Wong Fei Hung (1850-1933); 83
Lam Sai Wing (1861-1942); 81
Tang Fung (1874-1955); 80
Yuen Ling (1910-1967); 57

Average retirement age: 75.25

Choy Lee Fut:

Chan Heung (1806-1875); 69
Chan Goon Bak (1847-1920); 73
Lee Koon Hung (1943-1996); 53
Chan Yiu Chi (1888-1965); 77

Average retirement age: 68

Others:

Lum Tai Yong (Fut Gar) 1895-1957; 62
Lee Siong Pheow (Jook Lum) 1886-1960; 74
Dean Chin (Jow Gar) 1950-1985; 35
Yip Man (Wing Chun) 1895-1973; 78
Bruce Lee (Wing Chun) 1940-1973; 33
Wang Shu Chin (Pa Kua) 1905-1981; 76
Sun Lu Tang (Tai Chi) 1859-1933; 74
Yin Fu (Hsing-I, Ba Gua) 1840-1909; 69
Ueshiba Morihei (Aikido) 1883-1969; 86
Gichin Funakoshi (Shotokan) 1868-1957; 88
Chojun Miyagi (Goju) 1889-1953; 6

Looking forward to responses!

AQ

Grandmaster Yip Chi Sum from Bak Mei retired around the age of 80...he had to get stomach surgery and he said as soon as they put the scalpel to his belly all of his fighting chi was gone a month later his full head of hair turned white. in a hurry

[Asmo]

Any reason you leave out Hung Kuen masters like Chiu Kao and his wife Shiu Ying, or even living ones like Lam Cho?

Making a list like that is very very subjective...

PS: How you determine when someone retired? Where you found all this info?

[Lee Chiang Po]

I am interested in health and longevity for whatever reason,

So...I did some research on the lifespans of the founders / grandmasters / famous practitioners, etc...if you only care about fighting with people and dying young, this won't interest you. However, please look, read comment, contribute, etc. This is obviously not a scientific study, so please no-one get their hair in a knot. I am obviously lacking in all kinds of info - especially internal / Northern arts - so let's get this started and see where it goes - there must be some benefit to living a long, healthy, and productive life, even if the practioner doesn't engage in UFC competitions to "prove" how tough they are (Dragon motto; "It's not when you start to count, but when you finish - making the difference").

Sort of a "risk management" question - what would the insurance people rate you on based on the art you practice?


Dragon Style:

Lam Yiu Kwai (1876-1968); 93 years old
Chow Fook (1910-1999); 89 years old
Lam Woon Kwong (1902-1982); 80 years old

Average retirement age: 87.3 years old

Hung Gar:

Wong Fei Hung (1850-1933); 83
Lam Sai Wing (1861-1942); 81
Tang Fung (1874-1955); 80
Yuen Ling (1910-1967); 57

Average retirement age: 75.25

Choy Lee Fut:

Chan Heung (1806-1875); 69
Chan Goon Bak (1847-1920); 73
Lee Koon Hung (1943-1996); 53
Chan Yiu Chi (1888-1965); 77

Average retirement age: 68

Others:

Lum Tai Yong (Fut Gar) 1895-1957; 62
Lee Siong Pheow (Jook Lum) 1886-1960; 74
Dean Chin (Jow Gar) 1950-1985; 35
Yip Man (Wing Chun) 1895-1973; 78
Bruce Lee (Wing Chun) 1940-1973; 33
Wang Shu Chin (Pa Kua) 1905-1981; 76
Sun Lu Tang (Tai Chi) 1859-1933; 74
Yin Fu (Hsing-I, Ba Gua) 1840-1909; 69
Ueshiba Morihei (Aikido) 1883-1969; 86
Gichin Funakoshi (Shotokan) 1868-1957; 88
Chojun Miyagi (Goju) 1889-1953; 6

Looking forward to responses!

AQ

Actually, you might should not mention the martial arts. Most people view you as a particular type of person that is prone to violence or whatever. Most people watch the TV fighting you know. Besides, none of it will assure you longivity or health. Your personal lifestyle will usually dictate that. Diet, exercise, personal hygene, habits, like smoking and drinking or doing drugs, unprotected sex, and the type of people you hang with. All these things can effect longivity. Genetics will only have a small effect if you are aware of that aspect and remove the factors that apply. Life is tough. No one survives it. It is 100% fatal.

[taai gihk yahn]

I also remember talking to some adult guy who practiced Taiji who told me, "You would probably beat me in a fight right now, but because I practice internal martial arts, 30 years from now I'll be able to beat you very easily, because my internal training will make me more youthful and stronger than I am now, but your external training won't help you stay youthful."

I would have said, "So, basically, I should beat your asz and break your legs now, so that in 30 years you'll be a cripple when we meet again..."

[Jimbo]

I would have said, "So, basically, I should beat your asz and break your legs now, so that in 30 years you'll be a cripple when we meet again..."

I remember thinking something like that at the time, but only gave him a poker face. I wonder whatever became of the guy.

[chusauli]

With China longevity now being 61.2 for men, 63.3 for women (WHO 2000 - perhaps a bit dated), I would say that the standard of health is not as good perhaps in the 19th century.

You can refer to http://www.who.int/inf-pr-2000/en/pr2000-life.html for more info.

Lately China has a lot of pollution, additives and preservatives in foods, smoking, obesity, diabetes and modern diseases like heart disease and cancer.

Your list might be exceptional, with outstanding examples of past ancestors, but clean water, food, air pollution, and the medical system have a lot more to do with longevity. Even more so than martial arts practice which may be considered a luxury, or supplement to daily lifestyle habits.

Please also refer to:

http://www.who.int/whr/2000/media_ce.../en/index.html

and also look up countries ranked by health system here:

http://www.photius.com/rankings/healthranks.html

You'll see China as number 144, and the USA at number 37 of 190 countries. That's pretty bad. And the USA, why aren't we number 1, or top 10? That's glaringly problematic considering how much we spend.

Best regards,