These are strange days, especially in how news travels nowadays. On October 8, I saw a curious post from a friend. It roused my suspicions enough to direct message him immediately and he told me the sad news. Our mutual friend Master Peter Chan had suffered a brain aneurism just like Bruce Lee. He was on life support in ICU. They were waiting for some of his family to show up for their final farewell. He passed the next day. It was sudden and shocking.

Master Chan was a proponent of Hung Gar, claiming Lam Tsai Wing as his great grand master. He was a good friend and assistant to Grandmaster Chiu Chi Ling, and often respectfully chauffeuring him to events and gatherings. Peter was a stalwart supporter of our Tiger Claw Elite Championships. He tirelessly volunteered as a judge and led many of our opening Lion Dance ceremonies. Beyond out event, Peter was a presence at all San Francisco Bay Area gatherings of the Wulin, whether they be tournaments, demonstrations, or celebrations. He generously gave his time and energy to help support and promote Wulin gatherings.

“Peter Chan was one of the good ones,” reflects Tiger Claw President Jonny Oh. “He was always there for us, volunteering countless times for our events.  He loved being apart of the Chinese Martial Arts community and did whatever he could to give back to the community.  No job was too small, he would time/score keep all the way up to being the HEAD Judge of a ring. He just wanted to make sure the participants got the best of what he could give.  He will be sorely missed and my thoughts go out to his family and friends.”

Gigi Oh, Kung Fu Tai Chi Publisher Emeritus, echoes her son Jonny’s sentiments. “I remembered Amy (Peter’s wife) and Peter both have a big heart for the community. Once Amy told me they trained the lion dance team kids for free. I’ve met them doing lion dance demos in many community celebrations especially in the Oakland areas.  Also many thanks for their assistant to our event.”

Coincidentally, I was just thinking about Peter along with many of his comrades who stalwartly volunteer for the Tiger Claw Elite Championships. I was pondering what might happen in 2022. Next year is the Year of the Tiger, a very auspicious year for Tiger Claw given our company mascot.

Unfortunately, it’s highly unlikely that we’ll hold an in-person TCEC for 2022. Ordinarily, we would start planning now, but we just don’t have the bandwidth. The impact of the global supply chain crisis is challenging and usurping all the company’s resources. What’s more, even though we’ve made great headway with the pandemic, we can’t say how things will look next year. While a few other tournaments have already begun running in-person events, we care too much for our community to take that risk. I was formulating a way to gently break the news to our supportive volunteers because people are starting to ask me. By strangehappenstance, Master Chan has become that harbinger. There’s some poetry in this. As the master who led many of our opening lion dance ceremonies, his spirit is still at the forefront.

I know Peter would have been saddened to bear this news, but not nearly as saddened we are to hear of his passing. Whenever we return to in-person Wulin gatherings again, Peter’s absence will surely be felt. Peter’s funeral was held on October 16, 2021, at the Alameda Funeral & Cremation Services.