Kung fu archivist in Hong Kong seeks Unesco listing for Hakka style of the martial art

An archivist who is preserving kung fu in Hong Kong is hoping to get the Hakka style onto Unesco's intangible cultural heritage list - with the ultimate goal being the protection of every style of the martial art.

"[Martial arts] is becoming lost at a more alarming rate than most people realise," said Hing Chao, chief executive of the International Guoshu Association, which is part of a joint project with City University, that uses 3D motion capture technology to preserve kung fu styles for future generations.

Using technology developed at the university, kung fu styles can be captured as animation.

More than 120 sets of kung fu styles and forms have already been documented in the Hong Kong Martial Arts Living Archive project since 2013. More than 40 kung fu masters have participated to preserve 19 styles, including Wing Chun and Lam Family Hung Kuen, so far.

Mary Jean Reimer, wife of the late kung fu master Lau Kar-leung, said she had mixed feelings about the archive, as it fulfilled a dream she had always had.

"I couldn't complete the archive [of Lau's kung fu] before he passed away two years ago … his illness held us [back]," said Reimer, whose Lau Kar-leung Film Boxing Director Charitable Foundation donated HK$130,000 - the largest single amount - to the archive.