Pearls of Wisdom

Wong Gong was born in 1928 and has been practicing and teaching Choy Li Fut Kung Fu for nearly 70 years.  Not only is Wong Gong an expert in traditional Southern Chinese Lion Dancing, he has also learned all of Choy Li Fut’s rare animal forms, and the founder’s special weapon the Nine Dragon Trident.  Wong Gong is also a highly respected Chinese herbalist and acupuncturist: he has practiced Chinese medicine as a full time profession since 1997.

With 6 generations underneath him and over 50,000 students worldwide, the Jiangmen Branch of Choy Li Fut under Wong Gong has become one of the most successful branches of Choy Li Fut in the world.

Here are Grandmaster Wong Gong’s principles for leading a long and productive life (with a little bit of modern science to go along with the ancient wisdom).

1.  Laugh a Lot Recent scientific studies show that laughter has the ability to increase blood supply to the brain.  Laughter also has shown to decrease the levels of the stress hormones cortisol and epinephrine and increase the level of immune boosting hormones beta-endorphins and human growth hormone.

2.  Practice Your Marital Arts Regularly The benefits of being engaged in a regular exercise regimen are well documented.  Exercise helps with weight management and the prevention of chronic disease like diabetes, improves cardiovascular function and even elevates mood.

3.  Avoid Alcohol and Tobacco Alcohol and tobacco abuse leads to a wide variety of chronic illness that include cancer, diabetes, and arteriosclerosis.

4.  Eat a Healthy Diet A healthy diet that includes lots of fresh vegetables reduces the risk of coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke and cancer.  A healthy diet has many, many other benefits too.

5.  Get Plenty of Rest Your body produces more protein while you sleep.  This helps to mend the body at the cellular level.  Getting plenty of sleep will also reduce stress levels and improve memory.  A good night’s rest can also help to control body weight!  That’s right, sleep helps to regulate hormones that are associated with appetite control.

Discover the benefits of Kung Fu and Tai Chi training in San Diego County: whitedragonmartialarts.com

Inside Kung Fu Magazine July 1996

There are as many different ways to train in martial arts as there are martial arts instructors. Some schools advocate forms training to develop form and power by fighting the air. Others stress the value of sparring freestyle. Some prefer self-defense techniques.

There is another option available - multiple person fighting forms. These are patterned forms, usually performed by two people, each one well-versed in his side of the form. One person usually attacks, while the other defends, turning the tables to make the match an even fight. Although the fight is a well-thought out pattern, two-person forms look like the real thing - a hard-fought, fast fight, done either with empty hands or weapons.

Superior Fighting

In Chinese martial arts, two-person forms or sets had their origins in ancient China, when martial arts schools needed to enhance their reputations and raise extra funds. At such times, schools put on demonstrations to illustrate the capabilities of their students. Along with the usual individual hand and weapons forms, kung fu schools presented fast moving, exciting multiple person fighting forms designed to heighten the audience’s interest.

Today, multiple person forms still exist in some kung fu schools, such as Nathan Fisher’s White Dragon Martial Arts in San Diego, Calif. Fisher, who teaches Choy Li Fut Kung Fu, is a product of traditional Chinese martial arts, through his own teacher, Doc Fai Wong, back to Choy Li Fut’s founder’s family.

“It’s probably more correct to refer to multiple person sets as two-person sets or forms, since, even though there may be three or four people in a form, seldom are more than two people fighting at one time,” explains Fisher.

“The sets are done at full speed and usually with full contact. Each person has to know his side well or he may get injured, especially in the weapons forms,” he adds.
(more…)