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. "I really want to cry. This is what Lau could have done," Reimer said, after watching a motion capture demonstration. She added that she hopes the project will someday be able to document how to master Lau's three-section whip - a two-metre long, bronze weapon. The project raised around HK$266,000 between last August and March through the assistance of FringeBacker, an online crowdfunding platform. The digital archive aims to record up to 300 sets of kung fu by the end of next year and will be available to the public as an online archive, though there is no timeframe for completion. Meanwhile, the association embarked on a martial arts survey two months ago, interviewing people from different styles with photography and film. Seven masters, mostly from the Hakka style, have taken part in the project so far. Chao, who practises southern-style kung fu, says he hopes for something beyond documentation to preserve the martial art, which is why he is seeking Unesco cultural protection.