Does anyone recognize this teacher?

[Steve James]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dew02bd-SaM

[wayne hansen]

I don't know who he is but by the way he does certain things I would bet
CMC LINEAGE out of yap Sui ting in Malaysia or thailand

[wayne hansen]

On the site it saya he is Franklin Kwong who taught Mathew Leung and Peter Cheema
As Cheema trained in Taiwan I would now saw he is one of CMC,s Taiwan students

[Steve James]

Well, it's not CMC's form in terms of style. (For ex., note his forward "lean"). The Malaysian CMC style form looks much more derivative, especially in terms of the hand movement. But, I have to say that they have a good fighting reputation in Malaysia.

[Bao]

Professor Kwong was a student of Yang Chen Fu and his eldest son Yang Shou. He also studied with two of Yang's top students, Chen Wai-ming and Dung Ying-chieh and was also a classmate of Cheng Man-Ching. It has also been reported that Kwong had the amazing ability to hold his breath for almost five minutes. One of my other sifus, Peter Chema, was also a student of Professor Kwong.

http://www.kungfumagazine.com/index.php ... ticle=1052

Let me tell you about one such teacher with whom I am very honored to have studied. He, like many Chinese, used an American name- Franklin Y.C. Kwong. His Chinese name was Kwong Yung-cheng.

Master Kwong was a native of Canton, Mainland China, but he later moved to Taiwan. When I met this quiet and unassuming Master he was living in a moderate apartment in the Flushing area of New York. He was my classmate when I was learning Chan Meditation under Master Rev. Shen Yen. I had had previous training under other Chinese teachers in New York's Chinatown, so I was already acquainted with Tai Chi. However, I found Master Kwong's method of instruction to be very complete, covering all aspects of Tai Chi Ch'uan. What I learned from him raised my level of understanding a great deal. Because of Kwong's teachings my skills in the solo form and Tai Chi Sword Form improved greatly. His movement was beautiful to behold. His form, structure and precision were perfect, and he had a storehouse of information on tway shou (pushing hands) techniques.


Kwong was a highly educated man. (see photo to right of Master Kwong and myself) His schooling was very impressive. He went to Sun Yat Sen High School, in Canton, China in 1934. He moved on to Sun Yat Sen University, in Canton, China earning his BS in Electrical Engineering in 1938. He furthered his education by going to New York University, earning his MS in Electrical Engineering in 1941. He graduated and worked at the Taiwan Power Company in 1953. He specialized in planning and designing power generators. In the early 1950's he taught at Chieng Kung University in Taiwan and Hwa Kio University in Macao.

Master Kwong's martial arts background is impressive. He was the disciple of Yang Ch'eng-fu and his oldest son Yang Shou. He also studied with two of Ch'eng's top students, Chen Wai-ming, and Ying-chieh. Because of his extensive knowledge of Tai Chi Ch'uan he was known as the "Professor of Shadow Boxing." Master Kwong's Pa Kua teachers were also very famous, namely Chien Yun who was the daughter of Sun Lu Tang, and Fu Chun Shoong. He studied the classical eight (8) mother form, the Pa Kua Sword, as well as the rare Palm of the Dragon Pa Kua, a form not seen in this country until Kwong came to the United States. Master Kwong's Hsing-I teacher was Sun Tsing Chow, who was the son of the famous Sun Lu Tang. He also knew the Sun style of Tai Chi Ch'uan.

He was instructor to Vice Admiral Doyle, former commander of the U.S. Taiwan Defense Command. He was host instructor for a show on Taiwan Television called "Let's Learn Tai Chi Ch'uan" from Jan. 14th, 1964 to Dec. 27th,1965. He was the teacher of Mr. Houphouet Boigny, the president of the Ivory Coast, Africa. He was sent as a representative of Taiwan to teach the president Tai Chi Ch'uan and Tai Chi Jen (sword) fencing. Although he planned to stay a short time, he spent five years teaching in the Ivory coast.

He has been written about in a number of books. Two in particular are: "The Fundamentals of Tai Chi Ch'uan" by Wen-Shan Huang, printed in 1973, by South Sky Book Company in Hong Kong, and he is mentioned in Robert Smith's book Chinese Boxing. One of Kwong's classmates was the noted Cheng Man-Ch'ing of Taiwan.

Kwong was a small thin man. He was 5' 3", and his body weight never exceeded more then 110 pounds. At first glance you would not suspect that he had Kung Fu skills (see photo to right of Master Kwong, another of my teacher's: Chung Tsai, and myself), but in fact, his skills were superb.

His original reason for studying Tai Chi Ch'uan was to improve his health. Kwong had suffered digestive problems, headaches, and sleepless nights. Kwong taught the practice of postures and forms to enhance chi flow and the control of vital breathing with movement.

In fact, Kwong had the ability to hold his breath for as long as five minutes, longer than most trained skin divers. Dr. Fang Huai-shih, chief of the physiological department of the National Taiwan University Hospital, said it was a very rare phenomenon which had much to do with one's physical well-being. It was written in the China News in Dec. 31, 1964 that Dr. Fang tested 157 Chinese Air Force fliers in 1942 and the average time they could hold their breath was 65 seconds. An ordinary man could hold for about 45 seconds. Master Kwong's ability to hold his breath for five minutes is considered to be a world record.

Kwong was also trained in nurturing his psychic center and various nerve centers of the body. He could sit in meditation for hours without moving a muscle.


Master Kwong practiced Tai Chi Ch'uan, Tai Chi Jyan, Pa Kua, and Hsing-I. He also taught various forms of Shao-lin, such as Flying Dragon Jyan. He was a master of Taoist longevity and Meditation exercises. He had been teaching for well over thirty years when I first met him.

Kwong was not a purist when it came to teaching Chinese Kung Fu. He felt you could never make a living by only teaching, so he worked. He enjoyed working and was paid well for his knowledge. He would teach his martial arts every day after his work was over. Because he did not rely on his martial arts for a living, he kept his teaching prices very low, so people could afford to learn. It cost about $20.00 per month to learn in a group class. I always considered that private lessons were the best way for me to learn. Although the cost was higher, the quality of training was excellent, and I always received the type of training I sought.

At the time that we met, I needed Kwong's teachings. Without his direction, I never could have fully appreciated the methods of Master Ch'ang Tung Sheng later, nor been able to learn Ch'ang's methods without Master Kwong's teachings. Master Ch'ang did not teach the way Kwong taught. Ch'ang expected you to learn quickly without going into explanation of details of basics. He expected you to know something before he taught you anything. He had little patience with beginners, but Kwong had a totally different approach. He was careful and thorough, and had a world of patience for the beginner.

His teaching was technical and precise. He taught slowly and methodically, regardless of what the student knew already. Each move was carefully studied and practiced until the student fully understood. Basics always came first, and he reviewed each step to assure that you could do it properly. If you could not do the move to his specifications, he would patiently review it, and have you practice it all over again. In order to advance with Kwong you had to display what he showed perfectly. If he saw no errors he would move you ahead in training.

Because of my background, I went through his teachings quickly, without much need for explanations or numerous corrections. For this reason Kwong showed a great deal of his skill to me. I would follow him everywhere to pursue his teachings. One time he went on a vacation in upstate New York. Little did he know that I had followed him and checked into the same motel. In the morning, I knocked on his door and said, "Hello, Master, I am ready for class." He was shocked that I had followed him, but was impressed by the interest shown in his teaching. We pushed all the furniture aside and had a class right there. Had Kwong been of a different nature nothing would have persuaded him to teach as much as he did.

Kwong was not concerned with amplifying his fame. He had already attained a good reputation, through the teachings he had received, and through the high quality methods he used to teach others. He was not interested in running a Kwoon. He liked to be free to teach where he pleased and not be committed to any one group of students. He was deeply religious - a devout Buddhist and Taoist. He practiced both, as many Chinese do, taking parts of both worlds of thought. He had little social life that I know of. He simply taught quietly and practiced his beliefs. When he died his remains were laid to rest in a Buddhist Temple in Kent, New York.

As for Kwong's Tai Chi Ch'uan, he always claimed he taught the original style that his Master taught, unchanged or modified in any way. He was one of the few Masters who taught the full complement of the one hundred and eight (108) push hand methods. He began with single hand methods and progressed to two hand methods with fixed steps, active steps and, finally, moving steps. Even today it is hard to find a teacher as thorough as Kwong, who taught so many techniques. Many teachers today concentrate on only a handful of methods. Kwong's approach was a complete system.

http://www.kungfu.org/messagegm5.shtml

Article about his bagua:
http://spectatorarchive.library.columbi ... txIN------

[Steve James]

Thanks for the research Bao.

[edededed]

This part:

I would follow him everywhere to pursue his teachings. One time he went on a vacation in upstate New York. Little did he know that I had followed him and checked into the same motel. In the morning, I knocked on his door and said, "Hello, Master, I am ready for class." He was shocked that I had followed him, but was impressed by the interest shown in his teaching. We pushed all the furniture aside and had a class right there. Had Kwong been of a different nature nothing would have persuaded him to teach as much as he did.

Er... This type of stalking behavior would be a red flag for me!

[Steve James]

Here's another link that mentions him, fwiw.
http://chuckrowtaichi.com/CMCvsYang.html

[wayne hansen]

The reason I sumised a CMC connection was various things
The 2 brush knees in the first road instead of 5 as in Yangs form
The diagonal single whip after the first cross hands Yangs form does not have this
His method of needle covering the right hand with the left at the wrist joint also not in Yangs form
I do not doubt his history but think he may have made some modifications to his form in Taiwan
There are several other things he does that I have not seen outside of our school
As for the CMC way of movement there are plenty of people who trained with Cheng who do not move in that manner
Yes the martial tradition is strong in malaysid

[Steve James]

Well, he was a contemporary of CMC, but probably not a student. Afa modifications to the Yang form, almost every form one sees in Yang style is a modification. I know that people will argue that they study the "old" Yang style or the "michuan" Yang style. I'm not refuting that. My point is that Kwong's form, like the Dong/Tung style, or Tian Zhaolin's style, is somewhere in between YCF and CMC.

Anyway, technically, CMC emphasized the "fair lady" hand. Kwong sinks his wrist. And, there are other little things --such as how he shifts and steps that aren't traditionally CMC style. That said, you're right that everyone that CMC taught does the form differently. William CC Chen's differs from his teacher's.

[Trick]

This part:

I would follow him everywhere to pursue his teachings. One time he went on a vacation in upstate New York. Little did he know that I had followed him and checked into the same motel. In the morning, I knocked on his door and said, "Hello, Master, I am ready for class." He was shocked that I had followed him, but was impressed by the interest shown in his teaching. We pushed all the furniture aside and had a class right there. Had Kwong been of a different nature nothing would have persuaded him to teach as much as he did.

Er... This type of stalking behavior would be a red flag for me!

Stick adhere and follow in a creepy way

[Trick]

This topic about TJQ grandmaster of NY made me think about another teacher named DaLiu who also was an contemporary of ZMQ who's form have a ZMQ feeling to it but more sequences. Remember this from a book I have somewhere.

[wayne hansen]

All of da lu,s books are gems except maybe the tai chi /I Ching book
It was a bridge too far
I like his form like many of his contemporaries he added in the 18 moves that Cheng took out

[Trip]

Hey Wayne,

this is not a challenge to your reasoning for your CMC connection.
Just adding some info.

The reason I sumised a CMC connection was various things
The 2 brush knees in the first road instead of 5 as in Yangs form

The way Yang Chengfu presently practices the solo set is slightly different from the way you wrote it in your book. Why is this?

The way he presently practices the solo set, the only differences are that after the second PLAY THE LUTE there is another BRUSH KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE added, and after WHITE SNAKE FLICKS ITS TONGUE, he withdraws his body the same way as in the PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH that follows TORSO-FLUNG PUNCH. This is not really a big deal.
If you find yourself in a spacious environment, LEFT & RIGHT BRUSH KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE can be performed many times, and not only can a LEFT BRUSH KNEE be added, but a RIGHT BRUSH KNEE can be added too. PLAY THE LUTE changes to PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH or BRUSH KNEE changes to PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH – either way is fine.
https://brennantranslation.wordpress.co ... ji-da-wen/

The diagonal single whip after the first cross hands Yangs form does not have this

In Yang Style there is Single Whip in the transition from push to Fist Under Elbow. It is done without the hook. But Li Ya Xuan & Tian Zhaolin both use Single Whip with hook in their transition into Fist Under Elbow.
Heres Li Ya Xuan's transition:

His method of needle covering the right hand with the left at the wrist joint also not in Yangs form
I do not doubt his history but think he may have made some modifications to his form in Taiwan

（21）海底針
NEEDLING “UNDER THE SEA”
（動作）有二、（一）提步摟手、（二）海底針刺、
Two movements:
1. Lift your [left] foot, brushing with your [left] hand.
2. Stab the “needle” to “Under the Sea”.
（圖解）（一）左手摟膝。同時收左足。足尖點地。（二）右腿下屈。坐身。右臂沿左膝內向下直伸。指尖下指。此時左手或拊右肱。或沿胯後撤均可。
Explanation for the drawing:
1. With your left hand brushing your knee, withdraw your left foot, toes touching down.
2. Your right leg squatting down, sit your torso, your right arm extending straight down along the inner side of your left knee, fingertips pointing down. At the same time, your left hand may either touch your right forearm or withdraw behind your hip.
https://brennantranslation.wordpress.com/2012/08/27/the-taiji-manual-of-xu-yusheng/

Here is Tian Zhaolin's Needle at Sea Bottom with Left hand at Right wrist:

[Bao]

What I like with Kwong’s form is his very even continuous movement. He doesn’t stop up between postures. There are other small things one could question, like that he doesn’t keep his head leveled and there is also something in the coordination that I have hard to put my finger on. I suspect there is a bagua influence...

This topic about TJQ grandmaster of NY made me think about another teacher named DaLiu who also was an contemporary of ZMQ who's form have a ZMQ feeling to it but more sequences. Remember this from a book I have somewhere.

Liu Da practiced together with ZMQ, and briefly as a student to CMC though he had other teachers as well. They got along well as they had similar views on TCM and the health/Qigong aspects of the art. Liu Da though had a greater interest in philosophy and especially in the I Ching. Liu Da adopted CMCs form and much of the way he performed it.