Kung Fu Stories: The Meaning of Kung Fu by Six Martial Artists
We know it as fast-paced, stunt-filled movie magic. But kung fu—which means “man’s achievement through hard work”—is as much about training the mind as the body. We meet six martial artists who explain what kung fu means to their lives. By Yannie Chan.
Sam Lau is a first-generation disciple of Ip Man, the legendary Wing Chun master and instructor of Bruce Lee.
‘‘When you know kung fu, you can speak louder than other people. They may be better at something else. But when it comes to kung fu, they can only listen to me.’’
I grew up in Mong Kok and when I was a teenager, my neighbors told me there was a new kind of kung fu which you could learn in half a year. I didn’t believe it.
I was getting a haircut in a barbershop one day, and there was a bald man wearing a traditional Tang suit and kung fu shoes. The owner said, “This is Ip Man, the master behind the new kung fu.” Ip spoke with a Foshan accent, and I asked if I could learn from him. It turned out he and I lived at 149 and 192 Tung Choi Street, respectively. He let me learn from his six-foot-tall disciple Moy Yat.
After several months, I wanted to test out my strength—was Wing Chun as amazing as people said? I picked fights with people who looked like they were in street gangs. They couldn’t fight back at all and their faces and noses would be all swollen afterwards. I feel really cruel for bullying them now.
I received a call from Ip Man one day, and he said, “Come and be my disciple.” To this day, I feel grateful that he recognized my talent and potential.