Hung Kyun Saam Bou, “Three Treasures of Hung Kyun”: „Taming of the Tiger in Gung Pattern“ (Gung Ji Fuk Fu Kyun), „Tiger and Crane Double Form“ (Fu Hok Seung Ying) and „Iron Thread Set“ (Tit Sin Kyun).

Core sets of modern Hung Ga, “Seeds” of the whole system.

Why are they so important? We will examine them closely, one by one, and give you 3 special hints, based on the wisdom of the old Grand Masters.

Here is the first hint: .

“When you Enter the Gate, You Must First Tame the Tiger”

(Yap Mun Sin Fuk Fu)

Mun means literally “door” or “gate”. „Entering the gate“ is an important period of your training – the beginning, the proverbial first step oon the thousand miles journey. Mun also means „school“ or „system“ – Hung Kyun is often called Hung Mun or Fu Hok Mun as well.

Gung Ji Fuk Fu Kyun – especially the first part, Gung Ji Kyun – is about developing solid basics: stances, „bridges“, hip rotation, footwork, basic structure and mechanics, movement in general. When you start to train Hung Kyun, mastering the fundamentals is a must (see a detailed step by step progression in out PHK Intro Kit: A Beginner’s Guide to Chinese Martial Arts).

“Entering the Gate” and “Taming the Tiger“ can be also interpreted literally – whenever you enter the gym or practice on your own, you must always practice Gung Ji Fuk Fu Kyun, at least once. Well…Do you?

Why „Taming the Tiger“? Our art supposedly comes from the Siu Lam Monastery – true or not, doesn’t realy matter, truth is that it was developer and practiced in various Buddhist monasteries.

According to „Brief History of Taming of the Tiger in Gung Pattern“, Luk A Choi has learned this set from Ji Sin Sim Si in Hoi Tung Monastery in Canton.

Let us examine a Buddhist lore:

Pindola was a Brahmin and a general. Because he was devoted to Buddhism, which forbids killing, he was ordered by the king to become a monk. He joined a monastery in the mountains where he could hear a tiger howling every day. He said that the tiger was probably hungry and should be fed some vegetarian food. Otherwise the tiger might become a man-eater. So Pindola collected food from the monks and put it in a bucket which he left outside the monastery. The tiger did come for the food every night. After a period of time, the tiger was tamed. Thus Pindola was referred to as the Taming Tiger Lohan [Lo Hon Fuk Fu, note PM].

Buddhist Studies

Well, this is the peaceful version of the story – various depictions of „Taming Tiger Lo Hon“ clearly show that the task was not that easy.

What does the „Taming the Tiger“ means?

Respect the Way, respect the parents, respect the Master.

Follow the method, build your basics first, don’t be impatient, don’t give up and train hard.

Practice Gung Ji Fuk Fu and “subdue” your inner wild tiger. The higher you grow, the lower you bow.

To learn more about the traditional Hung Ga Kyun concepts and principles, as well as technique and application drills, please download Lam Sai Wing’s Taming the Tiger manual available HERE!

Pavel Macek Sifu, Practical Hung Kyun

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