Lau Gar Kuen Kung Fu
There are many schools of kung fu and Lau Gar Kuen is one of the oldest being one of the original 5 ancestor styles. Lau Gar Kuen translated means 'Lau Family Fist'.
There are many schools of kung fu and Lau Gar Kuen is one of the oldest being one of the original 5 ancestor styles. Lau Gar Kuen translated means 'Lau Family Fist'.
Lau Gar Kuen is derived from a form of boxing practiced at
Kuei Ling Temple situated in Kong Sai (Guangxi) Province in west China. It was
learned from a monk on retreat from that temple by Master Lau Sam Ngan,
"Three Eyed Lau", a tiger hunter, whom we honour as founder of our
style. He is reputed to have earned his name because of a deep scar in the
middle of his forehead which resembled a third eye. The style subsequently
became popular over a large part of south west China. In fact all of the
southern systems of kung fu are derived from 5 major styles. In Cantonese,
these are:- Lau, Hung, Choy, Li and Mok.
After escaping the burning of the Shaolin Temple, one of the monks, travelled south to the Kuei Ling Temple in Guangxi province.
During his time there, he discovered and saved a hunter, who had been attacked by a tiger. This hunter was known as Lau Sam Ngan (3 eyes Lau). Lau Sam Ngan studied Kung fu from the monk and went on to develop the Style we now know as Lau Gar Kuen (Lau Family Fist). He was also known for redesigning the tiger fork as an effective weapon for hunting tigers.
Our Lau Gar Wales logo shows a man with a tiger fork to represent and honour Lau Sam Ngan, the founder of our style.In the late 1800's, a 13 year old boy, Yau Luk Sau, travelled Kong Sai province to study Lau Gar Kuen. He studied there for 9 years with Master Tang Hoi Ching. At the end of this time, he was given the right to teach the style independently.
He then found another Lau Gar master, Wan Goon Wing, who he trained with for a further 6 years, living with him as like a son.
On his return to his native Kowloon, Yau Luk Sau taught Lau Gar Kuen to family and close friends before opening up to the public.
The Lau Gar Kuen Kung Fu style has been brought to the UK and Ireland by Grandmaster Yau, who is the grandson of Yau Luk Sau
Master Yau
Master Yau started training when he was around 6 years old. He was trained by his grandfather, Yau Luk Sau. He trained for about 3 hours every day and only had a few days off each year for national holidays, such as the Chinese New Year. He has told me that the training was hard and unforgiving.
Master Jeremy Yau came to the UK in 1961 but it wasn't until 1973 that he publicly taught Kung fu to all races,. Before this Kung fu masters only taught their art to Chinese students. This shows Master Yau as open-minded and forward thinking.
GrandMaster Yau is the head of the British Kung Fu Association (BKFA), which was founded in 1973.
In my 45 years training in Lau Gar Kuen, GrandMaster Yau has continued to impress me with his level of skill. He is humble and very approachable to all his students regardless of Kung fu rank.