Chan Kowk Wai

Chan Kowk-wai (; 1936-2022) was born on 3 April 1936, in Taishan in the province of Guangdong, China. He introduced traditional Shaolin kung fu to Brazil through the China-Brazil Kung Fu Academy. His disciples have spread as far as the USA, Canada, Spain, Argentina, Chile and the Czech Republic.

In September 2004, Chan was awarded the 10th degree of the World Organization of Wu Shu & Kung Fu Masters at Vancouver, BC, Canada, in five styles: Northern Shaolin, Yang-style Taiji, Baguazhang, Xingyiquan and Hungsing Choileifat.

Chan has authored books, such as ''Kung Fu Shaolin do Norte - Técnicas Básicas'' (1995) and ''Tai Chi Chuan - Estilo Yang Tradicional'' (2014).

Kung fu styles

Chan taught a broad curriculum of old-school kung fu styles. Most of them are external styles (外家, Wàijiā):

* Northern Shaolin Boxing School (), from the Buddhist Shaolin Monastery of Henan, in Northern China, received from the Yan clan.
* Deep Legs (), from the Islamic Hui people's tradition.
* Fist of (Master) Cha (), also from Hui tradition.
* Fist of (Masters) Choi, Lei & Buddha (), including both the original Southern Shaolin Exalted Victory () style, and the Northern Victory () style.
* Seven Stars Praying Mantis Fist (), where Seven Stars refers to the northern asterism called the Big Dipper.
* Tumbling Eagle Claw ().
* Fist of the Arhat (), from the Buddhist concept of Arhat ("worthy of Nirvana" in Sanskrit).
* Fist of the Six Harmonies (), a Shaolin style based on leveraging power by synchronizing joints and stances.

The internal styles (内家, Nèijiā) taught by Chan are:

* Yang Clan Fist of the Extreme Polarities (), from the Taoist concept of the Taiji or Yin and Yang.
* Fist of the Eight Directions (), from the Chinese concept of Baji, everything within the eight ends (directions or corners) of the world, the Infinity; also from Hui tradition.
* Palm of the Eight Trigrams (), from the Taoist concept of Bagua, the 8 combinations of three proportions of Yin and Yang.
* Fist of Form and Intent ().
* Natural School ().

Kung fu heritage

Chan initiated his kung fu by the age of four with Chan Cheoksing, who taught him Choileifat until he was 14. In 1949, in the context of the Chinese Revolution, Chan moved with his family to Hong Kong, where he trained Shaolin Luohan with his uncle Ma Gimfung ().

When Yim Seungmou () too left the People's Republic of China, he stayed in Hong Kong with Chan's family and taught him Gu Yujeung's Northern Shaolin Style, along with many other systems: Gu's martial qigong (), healing massage techniques, Taijiquan, Xingyiquan, Bajiquan and Tantui; and Baksing Choileifat, which Yim learned directly from its founder Taam Saam, a colleague of Gu. Other students under Yim have also achieved international renown, such as Wong Jack-man and Wing Lam.

Yim Seungmou also introduced the young Chan to reputable teachers of other styles, many from the Chin Woo Athletic Association: Wong Honfan () of Seven Stars Mantis; Jeung Jimman () of Eagle Claw; Wan Laisheng () of Ziranmen and Liuhequan; Fu Wingfai (), son of Fu Jansung, of Baguazhang; and Doctor Yan Yiuchiu () of Hungsing Choileifat, with whom he learned everything he could for roughly ten years. Aforementioned masters Gu Yujeung, Fu Jansung, and Wan Laisheng, alongside Li Xianwu () and Wan's cousin Wan Laiping, are renowned by being sent by the Central Guoshu Institute of Nanjing to teach northern styles to the South, specifically Guangzhou, around 1929, where their prowess's reputation earned them the nickname "Five Northern Tigers".

In 1960, Chan moved to Brazil, where he co-founded the Chinese Social Center (Portuguese: Centro Social Chinês), where he taught kung fu classes for twelve years. He also taught classes at the renowned Universidade de São Paulo (USP) for seven years. In 1973, Chan founded the Academia Sino-Brasileira de Kung-Fu, for which he is largely known today; this school remains active today, managed by his family, and has trained hundreds of students and dozens of teachers.

The heritage tree given below details the main characters of all kung fu styles taught by Chan. Many of these characters are renowned; see section "See Also".

Personal approach

Chan taught the core Northern Shaolin hand sets in a different order than Gu Yujeung. The core ten sets are preceded by an introductory set and 12 Roads Tantui, as inherited by the Central Guoshu Institute. His methodology is propagated throughout the whole Sinobrasileira family.

Romanized names below are given Pinyin (Mandarin) first, then Jyupting (Cantonese).

Introductory set:
* 練步拳 iànbùquán / Lin-bou-kyunTraining of Stances and Fists

The five shorter sets:
* 短打 uǎndǎ / Dyun-daShort Strikes (Gu's 6th), 34 patterns
* 梅花 éihuā / Mui-faPlum Blossom (Gu's 7th), 34 patterns
* 穿心 huānxīn / Cyun-samPierce the Heart (Gu's 4th), 41 patterns
* 武藝 ǔyì / Mo-ngaiMartial Skills (Gu's 5th), 41 patterns
* 拔步 ábù / Bat-bouPull Out the Step (Gu's 8th), 38 patterns

The five longer sets:
* 坐馬 uòmǎ / Jo-maSit on the Horse (Gu's 3rd), 78 patterns
* 領路 ǐnglù / Ling-loLead the Way (Gu's 2nd), 76 patterns
* 開門 āimén / Hoi-munOpen the Gate (Gu's 1st), 63 patterns
* 連環 iánhuán / Lin-waanInterlinked Repetitions (Gu's 9th), 69 patterns
* 式法 hìfǎ / Sik-faatPatterns Techniques (Gu's 10th), 70 patterns

Trivia

On April 11, 2005, the city of São Paulo paid homage to several pioneers of martial arts teaching in Brazil, including Chan, and instituted that date as the city's official Kung Fu Day. Although the date choice refers to the foundation of the São Paulo Kung Fu Federation(Portuguese: Federação Paulista de Kung Fu)
in 1989, incidentally it also coincides with the date of Chan's first arrival in Brazil in 1960.

See also

* Bodhidharma
* Cao Jiwu
* Chan Heung
* Chen Changxing
* Chen Wangting
* Cheng Tinghua
* Dai Longbang
* Daoji
* Dong Haichuan
* Du Xinwu
* Guo Yunshen
* Jeong Yim
* Ji Jike
* Li Jinglin
* Li Luoneng
* Li Shuwen
* List of Chinese martial arts
* Ma Liang (general)
* Sung Wei-I
* Sun Lu-t'ang
* Wang Zongyue
* Xu Xuanping
* Yang Chien-hou
* Yang Jianhou
* Yang Luchan
* Yang Pan-hou
* Yue Fei
* Zhang Sanfeng

References

External links

Academia Sino-Brasileira de Kung Fu
(Brazil)

Associação de Wushu/Kung Fu e Tai Chi Chuan
(Brazil)

Associação Pak Shao Lin de Kung Fu
(Brazil)

Academia Sino-Brasileira de Kungfu (Prof. Rodrigo Martins)
(Brazil)

Associação de Kung Fu Shaolin Norte
(Brazil)

Académie Sino Canadienne de Kung Fu
(Canada)

Asociación Kai Men Kung Fu
(Argentina)

Česko-Čínská Akademie Kungfu
(Czech Republic)

Chan Kowk Wai International Association

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chan, Kwok-wai
1934 births
2022 deaths
Chinese male martial artists
Chinese Choy Li Fut practitioners
Chinese tai chi practitioners
Chinese baguazhang practitioners
Chinese xingyiquan practitioners
Chinese Shaolinquan practitioners
Martial artists from Guangdong
People from Taishan, Guangdong