Chan Hon-chung (1909 – March 1991) was a

Hung Ga Hung Ga Kuen (Cantonese) or Hongjiaquan (Mandarin) ( zh, 洪家拳, link=no, meaning "fist of the Hung family") - alternatively shortened as either Hung Ga () or Hung Kuen () - is an ancient southern Chinese martial art, which roots lie in th ...

Grandmaster, former producer, choreographer and actor. He was a student of the Chinese martial artist

Lam Sai-wing Lam Sai-wing (1860 – 1943) was a Hung Gar martial artist. He was a student of the Chinese martial artist, acupuncturist, and folk hero of Cantonese ethnicity, Wong Fei-hung. "Since my young years till now, for 50 years, I have been learnin ...

. He was also the founding chairman of the Hong Kong Chinese Martial Arts Association, the most important Chinese martial arts association in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

Early life

Chan was born in 1909 in Hingning,

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

. At the age of 19, he arrived in Hong Kong to participate in martial arts training under

. After many years of training, Chan has finally established his own school, the Hon Chung Gymnasium in 1938. Before setting up his own school, he has helped the Chinese army in Shun Teh county to train army and swordsmen to fight against Japanese invasion in 1936. Chan entered the entertainment industry in the late 1940s to 1950s and worked as producer, choreographer and actor in the making of his sigung

Wong Fei-hung Wong Fei-hung (born Wong Sek-cheung with the courtesy name Tat-wun; 19 August 1847 – 17 April 1925) was a Chinese martial artist, physician, and folk hero. Though he was considered an expert in the Hung Ga style of Chinese martial arts, his r ...

film series which starred Kwan Tak-hing in the titular role .

Hong Kong Chinese Martial Arts Society

In 1969, a group of Chinese martial artists came to Hong Kong from

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

to discuss holding a Southeast Asia Chinese martial arts competition. The leader of the Singapore group suggested Hong Kong should have an association to coordinate and expand the Chinese martial arts community. Every style and school of Kung Fu agreed it was a good idea and Chan was elected as the chairman of the association. Chan was awarded a medal by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

in 1973 for his leadership and contribution to the Chinese martial arts community. He was the only Chinese martial artist honored by the Queen during colonial Hong Kong.

Incident

The chairman single-handedly fought off four young armed robbers. It was late in the evening on the Chinese New Year's Eve in 1973, Chan and his wife were preparing for the new year's celebration for the next day at his tailor shop. Chan's wife went checking on the doors when they were about to leave the premises and this was when she faced four robbers with knives and then shouted for help. It was a natural instinct for Chan to stand in front of those armed robbers to protect his wife. The young robbers were surprised to see the fast and powerful fighting skills from this elderly man and within minutes they all fled with injuries. Chan got a slight injury on his belly from this battle but those young robbers were surely not in good shape after the incident.

Death

Chan continued to lead the Hong Kong Chinese Martial Arts Association until he died in 1991.

References

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External links

*http://hkmdb.com/db/people/view.mhtml?id=27812&display_set=eng *https://web.archive.org/web/20171011130734/http://hungkuen-jingchung.net/forum/discussion/20/chan-hon-chung-i-demand-perfection *Real Kung fu magazine UK 1 Vol 2 A Kung fu master honored by the Queen 1909 births 1991 deaths Chinese male martial artists Chinese Hung Gar practitioners Martial artists from Guangdong Hong Kong male martial artists Hong Kong Hung Gar practitioners Hong Kong male film actors 20th-century Hong Kong male actors