by Jim Roselando

One of the most well known names in Master Leung Jan’s Side Body Boxing family was Fung Sang Sifu! The late Fung Sang Sifu was the first member of the Fung family to openly teach his families art in Hong Kong. In our family it is said; before Chun Suk (Fung Chun) and Fung Chiu, there was Fung Sang! Fung Sang Sifu was interviewed (by the Sun Mo Hop magazine) many years ago but to this day not much is known about this talented man. So, I contacted Fung Sang SiBok’s family and we organized an interview! Respect to Fung Sang!

Family History

Fung Sang was born in 1940 and passed away in 2006. His father, Fung Lim was a practitioner of Fuzhou (Fujian) Nam Kuen “southern fist” {not White Crane} for over eighteen years. When Fung Lim returned home to Kulo village he experienced the art of Side Body Boxing and discovered that nothing he had trained was as effective as the Kung Fu King’s teaching! Fung Lim then discarded his previous art and started training with Master Wong Wah Sam!

Master Wong Wah Sam had eight disciples. Of the eight it is said that Fung Lim, Fung Min and Fung Chun were the most active. Fung Lim taught his son from an early age but wanted his son to learn as much as possible so he sent his son to train with his Kung Fu brother, Gu Siu Lung. Gu Siu Lung was one of Master Wong Wah Sam’s eight disciples. Fung Sung Sifu trained with Gu Siu Lung for the last three years of his life. Today the Gu lineage is no longer active.

The Teaching

Fung Sang Sifu began teaching when he was only thirty years old. He taught in three districts of Hong Kong. {Tai Hing, Yau Ma Tei and Tuen Mun} Fung Sang’s teaching was public but it was mostly friends and family who trained with him. They were fishermen and would meet in the park after work every day to practice and socialize. Fung Sang’s closest and senior disciple is Mr. Fung Ho Chiu. Fung Ho Chiu trained with Fung Sang since 1968 and when we called on Fung Sang’s family for the interview it would be Fung Sang’s son (Tim Fung) and Fung Ho Chiu who would answer all our questions.

The art of Side Body Boxing is rooted in the Twelve Fists of Master Leung Jan but there is much more to the systems curriculum to be studied, which, lead to different expressions of the art. One element of Kulo history that was confirmed from this interview was; Who developed the Yee Sup Yee or Twenty Two Point Kulo system? It was Fang Sang’s father, Fung Lim, who developed, and taught, this system to the public! The system that Fung Sang taught consisted of Eighteen Points (12/6), Dummy, Pole & Dbl Knives. Fung Ho Chiu said this about his sifu’s teaching, “Ging power comes from “yao yun” soft power from the waist. In the early training the horse is emphasized along with the 18 basics single man followed by the Chi Sao two man training.”

Today & Tomorrow

Fung Sang Sifu was extremely active his entire life with his Pin Sun Wing Chun. Today there are only a few close students preserving Fung Sang’s art and boxing in the world. There are no schools or active public teachers in Hong Kong. Yet, men like Fung Ho Chiu Sifu are still going strong and training daily with a few! This is how the art is passed on today and unless we continue to actively search for the roots our art we will have no chance for a strong tomorrow. Thanks to Fung Sang Sifu’s diligent training, research and teaching throughout his entire life, this obvious love for his art would later allow him to become one of the most well known and respected figures in the history of our Pin Sun Wing Chun family! I leave you with some words from Fung Ho Chiu Sifu to give you a good idea as to how the art is taught and preserved in 2010; “There are no teachers in Hong Kong today. I work as a textile worker with cloth. I train most every day for my health. There is no school but I do have a few students and my son who train.”