Biography of Sigung Wong Kiew Kit

[martialartsmarj]

Sage advice

This is a beautiful piece, thank you Sigung for showing us how humility can bring such richness into our lives.

Speaking of Kung Fu traditions, as your Sifu, Joan, is my Sije (senior sister), I would be your Sisook (junior uncle), not your Sipak (senior uncle.) When I am in doubt I usually click on the person's user profile to find out when and from whom they learned.

Thank you Sisook Charles for taking the time to explain this to me. I am very appreciative.

Warm regards

Maria

[Charles David]

I must agree with Andy and Maria here. This excerpt also struck a deep chord with me. It reminds me of some wisdom that my grandfather, passed along: "If you want to succeed in society, make yourself useful." He himself was a medical doctor.

I also reflect on how our son, Julian, aged 10, started doing the dishes at about the same time as he started kung fu. I always impressed on him that it was a chore to be enjoyed, and that he is lucky to be able to help his parents in this way. His sister is still too young to do the dishes.

For my own self, I used to hate doing the dishes. for some reason, my back would always start to hurt as I stood in front of the sink. This would always make me want to get away as soon as possible.

Then I read a book by the famous Vietnamese Zen master,Thich Nhat Hahn, in which he spoke about the necessity of enjoying all of life's moments; washing the dishes was his special example. At the time I vowed to be able to enjoy doing the dishes. In fact it took me many years to learn to do so. Can you guess what the turning point was? Of course, it was learning Chi Kung and Kung Fu from our dear Sifu. And now, of course, I am able to stand at the sink without my back hurting, enjoying the warm soapy water, the bubbles, the precision of dishes. Cold water? No problem. No soap? Use sand! Our kung fu trains us to enjoy life, whatever chores we may face.

And now, I am able to pass along the genuine joy I feel for this humble household task to my son, who now takes pride in being able to help out his hardworking mother at home.

I am very grateful that our arts have such a strong foundation of duty and service, and this latest post by our Sifu highlights these very characteristics.

Inspired by this post, last night, I taught Julian to make the tea before our practice.

Life gets better and better. Thank you, Sifu.



Still,


Charles

[Claire]

Yes, very inspiring indeed. I really felt those words. Thank you Sigung, thank you Sisook.

My mother also always told me 'Never be afraid of hard work. There will always be a job for someone who is willing to work hard'. She also showed me by example that no job is too big or too small and that being a Jack of All Trades does not necessarily mean being a Master of None So thanks to my mum too

More thanks still to Omar, I really loved what you wrote. I think your previous teacher also sounds like a very wise man. To my mind, experience should be used to help, not to oppress; to aid in growth, not arrogance. We are all students of our lives afterall, and we all also have something to share.

They say giving is its own reward, how lucky are we to understand this in our practice.

Combine that with the practice of chores and life really is just one big smile

xxx

[Neil Kelson]

Hi Robin - fantastic stuff that's got us all on the edge of our seats!

That last post on sweeping especially is a great tonic for laziness.

Reminds me of the old Zen saying that sometimes runs through my head: Before enlightenment, chop wood carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood carry water :-)

[Jeffrey Segal]

Wonderful!!!
Thanks you, Sifu. Thank you, Robin.

[Martin Do]

.

[Mark A]

Amazing

Amazing simply amazing

Mark

[HB Yeang]

tip of the iceberg

Amazing is the right word. Sifu really an accomplished grandmaster, perform wonders like "moving clouds" so many many years ago!!!

[Robin]

Kung-fu brothers

Hi guy's,

really glad to see you are still enjoying the post's.

now you can hear about some of Sifu's early Kung-Fu brothers and some of the fun they got up to. Also we can see that our Si-Gung Lai Chin Wah was a very open minded and liberal Master, you will remember I mentioned this in earlier posts

enjoy.....



The Hokkien Boy and the Thin Buffalo

Later there were three other students about my age, namely Ah Guan, Ah Ngao, and Ah Weng . Many Chinese, apart from adding the word "Chye", also like to prefix the word "Ah" to children's names. These three boys were put under my charge. Much of their initial kungfu was taught by me. Ah Guan and Ah Ngao often came early for kungfu ses¬sions. So, besides doing the necessary odd jobs, we also played, joked and made a lot of noise before our master and other disciples arrived.

Ah Guan was one of the very few disciples at Soon Tuck Wooi Koon who originated from the Hokkien (spelt and pronounced "Fujian" in Mandarin) Province of China. Most of the disciples were Cantonese, who originated from the Kwangtung ("Guangdong" in Mandarin) Province. Many, many years ago, there was a big fight between fishmongers who were mainly Hokkien, and pork-sellers who were mainly Soon Tuck (a tribe of CAntonese) at the Campbell Street Market not far from Soon Tuck Wooi Koon. Because of this, Hokkien people were barred from Soon Tuck Wooi Koon.

But Sifu Lai was too liberal-minded to harbour grudges of a tribal quarrel. He emphasized that one could not blame all Hokkien people just because some Hokkien people were involved in the fight. Moreover, the hostility between the Hokkien fish-mongers and the Cantonese pork-sellers had long been healed. Since Sifu Lai's term of service as kungfu instructor at Soon Tuck Wooi Koon, Hokkien students were accepted. Today, at the Chin Wah Kungfu Gymnasium, a school founded by Sifu Lai's disciples in honour of the master, there are more Hokkiens than Cantonese learning kungfu. Ah Guan, however, is no longer practising kungfu at Soon Tuck Wooi Koon nor Chin Wah Kungfu Gymnasium; he dropped out rather early along this long, sometimes duelling, road of kungfu training.



Below is another great picture of Si-Gung Lai Chin Wah, with the 'iron whip'.

[Martin Do]

Thank you for that post Robin Sisuk,

Awesome . I would love to have the priviledge of owning this book some day and having spare copies so that I can pass it on to my children (along with other precious books from Sigung) when the time is right for them, and then for them to have the opportunity to pass it on to subsequent generations .

Ah Guan, however, is no longer practising kungfu at Soon Tuck Wooi Koon nor Chin Wah Kungfu Gymnasium; he dropped out rather early along this long, sometimes duelling, road of kungfu training.

This reminds me of something I had said very recently to a kung fu brother of mine. I had said that from my own experience, raising childrens can be quite challenging physically and emotionally and no doubt the journey will be a long one. However, if you are ready to take the road then the reward and experience is absolutely priceless .....very similar to traditional Shaolin Kung Fu training I also mentioned at the time .

Kindest regards

Martin

[Jimbeaux]

Wow,

Back then they opened up their school to another province. Now, Wahnam is open to absolutely anyone in the world. That's progress!!

Thank you Sigung and Si Sook Robin

[Robin]

The Hokkien Boy and the Thin Buffalo-continued

Hello all!!!

I know it has been a while, but don't worry you will be richly rewarded fo the wait.

Personally, I find this next section (which is an continuation of the last post) most amusing. It contains a precious lesson to keep your 'jewels' well guarded or to pay the painful price


I hope you all enjoy it too.




The Hokkien Boy and the Thin Buffalo-continued




Ah Ngao, whose name means "Buffalo", but whose body is actually like a scarecrow, stayed on longer. Later, because of his work, he left Penang for Kuala Lumpur (the capital city of Malaysia) to look for greener pasture. There he took up karate, the Japanese art of attack and defence. At that time karate was experiencing a boom, and karate schools sprouted everywhere.

Ah Weng graphically reported to me an amusing incident concerning Ah Ngao's karate lessons in Kuala Lumpur. Thinking that the karate instructor might not accept him if he knew Ah Ngao had practised kungfu -- a type of reasoning I personally disagree, though many people subscribe to it -- Ah Ngao pretended that he had not learnt any martial arts before. On the first two days of his karate training, he was made a human sandbag, being punched and kicked by the instructor during sparring practice. Ah Ngao was very angry that the instructor made no attempt to control his punches and kicks. To add salt to injury, he seemed to enjoy hitting Ah Ngao, presumably demonstrating his superior skill to his other students.

So, on the third day when the karate instructor pulled up Ah Ngao for target training, the Buffalo showed his true colours. As the instructor moved in to execute a side kick, Ah Ngao lowered his body onto the ground, and kicked up unreservedly at the instructor's groin, which was then glaringly exposed. The instru¬ctor fell to the ground groaning, holding that part of his body which he would normally not like other people see him holding. Ah Ngao left the karate class after that.


Below is a picture of Karate high kick

[Mahmood]

Touching!

Lessons and wisdom are two words I can think of when enjoying this biography.

Thanks a lot Sifu.

Waiting for more sifu Robin


Mahmood

[Charles David]

Unforgetable!

[Jonny Say]

Another great instalment! Im hooked to this thread!!