He's allowed to ask.
Here's a link on Chin Woo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chin_Wo...ic_Association
Here's one on the Central Guoshu Institute: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Guoshu_Institute
That's wikipedia, so take it with a grain of salt, but it should at least get you started and help you with finding more info if you so desire.
It is better to have less thunder in the mouth and more lightning in the hand. - Apache Proverb
Ok, more digging turned up more info, and I've pretty much distilled my findings into a few points:
* Jimmy Woo and Ark Wong's "five families" are one and the same.
* Jimmy and Ark may have actually been related - cousins
* Jimmy had probably around 6-14 years of formal kung fu training (some in Choy Li Fut), but was a poor student and discarded those elements he didn't find useful for actual fighting, namely forms. He also learned some other style(s) related to the Chin family.
* Jimmy was a well known troublemaker and brawler, and was only interested in teaching what he felt really worked in real fights, and arranged his style accordingly when he named it San Soo.
* Later, when his American students craved a more "Chinese" connection and a "complete art," he went to his buddy/relative Ark Wong and picked up empty hand and weapons forms and added it to what he already knew from his early years. That would also explain why the San Soo weapons forms are clumsy, and hand forms can be done with both a weapon or empty handed. That doesn't really make sense, and while that can work with small weapons such as knives or sticks, looks nothing like most weapons sets from any other kung fu style. I should point out that this theory is completely mine alone, and I haven't seen anybody else suggest it directly, but I'm going to take the leap and wait for the smackdown.
My conclusion is Jimmy's San Soo is based 100% on CMA he learned in China, and was a great fighter in his own right, and essentially did with Kung-Fu what Bruce Lee tried to do later - distill down what actually works in a real fight to defend your life.
I have a question, though: Ark wong taught Five element fist and Hop Gar Lama in addition to his Five Family and Five Animals styles. Where did he pick those up, and after watching Hop Gar Lama on YouTube, doesn't some of the movements look kind of like what Jimmy Woo was doing in early San Soo videos? Just a little?
It's funny, the ONLY people I have ever heard make claim that Ark Wong did Hop gar are the SAN SOO PEOPLE
No offense to Ark Wong (who is respected) but no one in the Lion's Roar/Lama/Pak HOk/Hop Ga community has ever heard of him doing our tradition
Might I add, there has NEVER been a single SHRED of evidence that Jimmy Woo ever trained under Chan Siu Hung
David the same goes for Wong Shifu relationship with huhng kyuhn, but if you look closely he immigrated to the states in the 1920’s, making unlikely he practiced Wong Fei Hung version of Huhng Fist or Lama.
Well - grasshopper101, you never answered my question !
Who are you ?
Identify yourself to all of us here on the forum and include verification.
Visit the past in order to discover something new.
[url]http://wahquekungfu.proboards100.com
I am not a troll, and I'm not sure who you want me to identify myself as to you, as I'm not anybody of note or particular importance. Nor am I sure how to verify who I am in any particular sense that will mean anything to anybody.
I Pm'd you with my email address, so if you would like to contact me I am more than willing to provide you with whatever you are looking for - otherwise, I hesitate to post my personal information on a web forum for the general public to see.
I didn't intend to troll if thats what you think I was doing - I had questions, asked for feed back, received a little, and pretty much just drew my own conclusions on what I could find on the internet and youtube. I realize that my conclusions may be wrong, and I would welcome to point out the errors of my leaps to judgement.
I got the Lion's Roar/Lama/Pak Hok/Hop Ga info off Ark Yuey Wong's wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ark_Yuey_Wong
Just to appease the tin foil hat alliance, I did not edit that wikipedia page!
I agree. those were the first three set of masters to begin teaching in america. all were good friends too.Originally Posted by Mulong View Post
It is interesting, how Art Wong, Lau Bun, and Wong Tim Yuen influenced so many individuals directly or indirectly.
Hung Sing Boyz, we gottit on lock down
when he's around quick to ground and pound a clown
Bruh we thought you knew better
when it comes to head huntin, ain't no one can do it better