the rum soaked fist: internal martial arts forum

Posted: **Sat Apr 18, 2015 2:23 am**

Found on the web by accident. Impressive stuff.

Posted: **Sat Apr 18, 2015 7:25 pm**

.Q. wrote:

Found on the web by accident. Impressive stuff.

Your not wrong, good stuff thanks for posting.

Posted: **Sat Apr 18, 2015 10:30 pm**

Very nice applications from this teacher, showing that the "flavour" of traditional kungfu is very different to kickboxing, any more info on the background of this teacher? From the accent I'd guess is somewhere in the Midlands?

Posted: **Sun Apr 19, 2015 12:21 am**

His name is Steve Richards . I have posted few of his clips here before..

http://rumsoakedfist.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=21989

Posted: **Sun Apr 19, 2015 10:20 am**

So Steve Richards is from Liverpool now in the Wirral. I've meet him the once, though spoke online several times. I think his martial arts is excellent and rather special. His Hop Gar, now Lion's Roar as he started on the return to its Tibetan tantra roots. By way of diversion, Liverpool as one of the oldest Chinese communities in the U.K has an excellent history of CMA, its first Chin Woo association starting in the 70s. Along with this its got an excellent history of martial artists; Alfie Lewis, Kevin O'Neil etc, etc. It really is a great place to study martial arts of any sort IMHO.

Posted: **Sun Apr 19, 2015 5:51 pm**

Sifu Richards. He is one of my teacher's sifus. The teaches SPM, Lion's Roar. and Hung Gar. Very knowledgeable.

Posted: **Sun Apr 19, 2015 10:41 pm**

Hot diggety, that was impressive on two fronts:
The sophistication of his applications; and
(More impressively) his relaxed fajing.

You don't often see that kind of power generation in southern CMA. The Hakka styles have their own specific engines, while long-arm styles like Hung Ga and Choy Lei Fa tend to work off basic hip torque (albeit powered up with some dynamic tension work).

But this material - the hyper-relaxed hips, center/dantien movement and open-close of the upper torso - remind me of Northern CMA: Chen Taiji, Baji, and some HsingI and Bagua.

I had never heard of this bloke and had had no idea that Lion's Roar was taught in the UK, particularly to this standard. Cheers for posting.

What a gem!

Posted: **Sun Apr 19, 2015 10:48 pm**

Superb full-bod coordination:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60_APg3WefA

His students need to work on their stance, though.

Posted: **Mon Apr 20, 2015 8:38 am**

Andy_S wrote:You don't often see that kind of power generation in southern CMA. The Hakka styles have their own specific engines, while long-arm styles like Hung Ga and Choy Lei Fa tend to work off basic hip torque (albeit powered up with some dynamic tension work).

But this material - the hyper-relaxed hips, center/dantien movement and open-close of the upper torso - remind me of Northern CMA: Chen Taiji, Baji, and some HsingI and Bagua.

The issue of Northern styles having more refined power generation is a common refrain, but almost all the people I've met who actually can and have demonstrated the type of superlative body mechanics commonly associated with Northern styles in actual fights have been Southern stylists or non-CMA guys practicing a Southern CMA derivative art (i.e. Kuntao from Southeast Asia, Okinawan karate styles with a strong CMA flavor, Feeding Crane guys, etc.) It's a small sample, of course, but it's been consistent enough that I've pretty much disregarded much of what I've been told about Northern vs. Southern.

Agreed that this guy is great and thanks for all who posted clips.

Posted: **Mon Apr 20, 2015 10:42 am**

Andy_S wrote:Superb full-bod coordination:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60_APg3WefA

His students need to work on their stance, though.

<<shrug>> Full body? Not even close. Too much emphasis on the lead hand, and not what should be going on with the opposite hand. ((equal/opposite, and all)) Footwork is horrible by the teacher so how can the student pick up un the correct footwork? Qua is left open, and the leg are left out of the techniques so a considerable amount of power is left out of the strikes. The gent has all the techniques, but not the refinement(s). What he knows, he knows, but the finer points are beyond him. <<shrug>> Lama, Tibetan White Crane, and Hop Gar are all a *part* of Lion's Roar. No one teaches Lion's Roar, or even knows the complete system any longer, as far as I know. What he's showing are Hop Gar techniques ((which, in all fairness, are pretty similar in all three)). Still, pretty fun to see.

Posted: **Mon Apr 20, 2015 12:36 pm**

Lama, Tibetan White Crane, and Hop Gar are all a *part* of Lion's Roar. No one teaches Lion's Roar, or even knows the complete system any longer, as far as I know.

one of my teachers wrote a book on the style long ago.

the line came down from Gorge Long, and David Chin.
What I noticed among other things was that the way in which the long arm and foot work or lack of, seemed to be quite different.
not having the same flavor, maybe due to the influence of other styles.

The Lama System makes Hop Gar Kung Fu unique. A few distinctions in this fighting art:

1. There is No Blocking - You must develop a new skill set that allows you to intercept and penetrate.
2. Physically unique - literally add inches to your striking reach as you move. Learn to make an unnatural mindset and physical skills, natural. Use angles and non-stationary strategy.
3. Philosophy - Mind Set - Absolutely clarifies purpose and reason
4. Footwork (Kay Men Bo) - Emphasis on stances and stepping, so you can deliver strikes without being in the same place.
5. Body Space Elimination

http://www.tibetankungfu.net/Hopgar.htm

couple of points worth noting is the "no blocking" and "footwork" this coupled with the long arm makes the style very unique.
Some have commented about how CMA looks when used, and that fighting looks like fighting.

hop gar looks like how its practiced, there's not much change between usage and practice.

Posted: **Mon Apr 20, 2015 1:25 pm**

I've always been interested in HG/TWC/LP. It seems to me like one of those things that not many people know and hasn't been diluted by those who do.

Nice stuff.

Best,

S

Posted: **Tue Apr 21, 2015 6:16 am**

Learned my Lama Pai through Wai Lun Choi. His teacher was Chan Keun Ng. Pretty unorthodox, pared down, and more "thug-ish". David Chin who teaches Hop Ga, and now teaches/trains in a taiji style? Next time you see him ask about my teacher.

Posted: **Tue Apr 21, 2015 6:35 am**

Drake wrote:Learned my Lama Pai through Wai Lun Choi. His teacher was Chan Keun Ng. Pretty unorthodox, pared down, and more "thug-ish". David Chin who teaches Hop Ga, and now teaches/trains in a taiji style? Next time you see him ask about my teacher.

Havent seen him, nor practiced the style for many, many yrs.
I always felt out of most CMA styles hop gar, was pretty straight forward in training and application.
Really focused on distance and timing. We used to use home made cement post to practice the plum flower
stepping on.

In this sense, it was very similar IMO to boxing in using and controlling the space.
The central ideas crane, and ape style, covered a wide verity of tool sets to deal with different types of opponents while offering
a way of training based on ones outlook and physical nature, again very similar to what some might call boxers, and brawler styles.

david chin, while known for hop gar also studied

Guang Ping Tai Chi and the Stable Boy
Prior to Chin's discipleship under Ng, he studied under another great pioneer of American kung fu, Grandmaster Kuo Lien Ying. Kuo arrived in San Francisco a few years after Chin. He was the bearer of Guang Ping Tai Chi, another style that emerged from Qing insurgents. Guang Ping was the product of Yang Ban Hou (1837-1892 CE楊班侯), the son of Yang Tai Chi founder Yang Lu Chan (1799-1872 CE楊露禪).

By imperial Qing decree, Yang Ban Hou was commanded to serve as teacher for the royal court. No one could defy the emperor and live, so despite his anti-Qing sentiments, Yang cooperated; but he protested by covertly withholding the true kung fu from his Manchurian students. A stable boy named Wang Jiao Yu (王矯宇) spied on the private lessons and stole the teachings. Yang caught Wang, but realized that the boy was bonded to the Qing just as he was. In fact, they were both from the same place, Guang Ping City. So after testing his dedication, Yang took Wang on as a secret disciple, transmitting to him the true teachings

http://www.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/ ... rticle=661
It would make sense that his focus has turned more to taiji, then hop gar.

Hop gar, was / is what is called a fighting style. what this means is that it was not something necessarily good for ones health. It wasnt as I remember very popular as some of the other styles of the day.

Posted: **Tue Apr 21, 2015 12:17 pm**

David Chin who teaches Hop Ga, and now teaches/trains in a taiji style?

Mr Chin's taiji is the Guang Ping Yang of Kuo Lien Ying if which I know like half the form. As taiji goes I think it's top notch.

Best,

S

the rum soaked fist: internal martial arts forum

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