CH'AN DAO MARTIAL ARTS ASSOCIATION (禅道武术协会)
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What I Gained from Karate Training

10/23/2019

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Traditional Okinawan Goju Ryu Training
Every genuine martial arts style or system contains a rich mosaic of principles and techniques that at the most brutal assist in the surviving of the combat experience, and at the most sublime provide a psychological and physical pathway of self-development and self-transcendence. The best styles of Okinawan and Japanese karate confirm to his blue-print, and I would say that Wado-Kai, Shukokai and Goju Ryu are prime examples of the best that this genre has to offer. All these styles (two Japanese; Wado-Kai and Shukokai – and one Okinawan; Goju Ryu) have their historical roots within Chinese martial arts which probably are linked to the Fujian province of Southern China. Indeed, Wado-Kai and Shukokai derive from the Okinawan karate of Master Gichin Funakoshi – the Okinawan martial artist accredited with transmitting his style of Chinese martial arts to Mainland Japan.  I practiced these styles only as an accident of fate – they happened to be prevalent in the areas I lived in to pursue my education throughout the 1980s. No one at the time (not even my close friends) knew of my Hakka Chinese gongfu background. I saw no reason to explain this, an they saw my familiarity with certain techniques as me just being talented in these areas (I was viciously fast and very good with kicking and moving, as in the traditional Northern martial arts in China, a student perfects kicking first – whilst due to cultural differences in the West – it is punching that is perfected first with kicking usually appearing uncomfortable). On the other hand, as I entered my late teens, Master Chan Tin Sang (1924-1993) directed me to develop my punching to a very high degree. This is where Wado-Kai (correct alignment) and Shukokai (correct hip and shoulder twist) assisted my development tremendously! Goju Ryu, on the other hand, has a special place in my heart. Its all-round body-conditioning reminded me of our own Hakka Chinese gongfu style which developed tremendous power, endurance and strength! The bones certainly hardened, whilst the mind became calm and broadly aware. Master Chan Tin Sang was an extraordinary teacher as he entrusted me to enter the training halls of other styles, dedicate myself to their ways, learn them fully and then integrate these lessons and skills into the Ch’an Dao System. This could happen as each karate style brought out a particular aspect of our own fighting system. I have the utmost respect for all legitimate styles of martial arts training and see no reason why there cannot be a positive cross-training that enhances rather than diminishes. As the US at the time was emphasising Japanese martial culture throughout the West as a means to side-line and obscure Chinese martial culture (due to the Cold War), European cuntries with no historical connection with Japan suddenly found themselves hosting (usually at their own expense) Japanese ‘ambassadors’ of various karate styles and associations. This arrangement all came crashing down when President Carter established full diplomatic relations with Mainland China in 1979, and Westerners started travelling en masse to China to train in gongfu – and Chinese teachers came to the West to teach – although the effects of this change would take around a decade to fully manifest itself. In the meantime, I trained in Japanese karate at the tail-end of this time period and consider it a very interesting and unique experience.  ​
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Gee Wyles And Master Chan Tin Sang

10/22/2019

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Gee Wyles (nee 'Yau') is the grand-daughter of Master Chan Tin Sang (1924-1993). 
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Published Article Photograph (2006)

10/22/2019

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This is myself and Ch'an Dao student Liz Wan - my friend and one time landlady. I was told by the Editor of this edition of the magazine that Jet Li had read and liked my article. 
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Shukokai Karate – Hereford (1984-1986)

10/21/2019

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Hinton Community Centre - Ross Road - Hereford
After spending a year in education in Reigate and Redhill – where I studied Wado-Kai – I then relocated to Hereford to continue my education. Master Chan Tin Sang (1924-1993) - my Hakka Chinese gongfu master (and eventual relative through my marriage to a female relative) - had granted me permission to carefully select a local martial art (but only one at a time) and dedicate myself to its study. As Chinese gongfu was rare in the UK in those days – at least in public (although it had a vibrant presence behind closed doors and within family lineages) - it was generally thought that I would encounter mostly Japanese karate – but with each lineage having its origins within China at some point in its history. This turned-out to be a logical assumption. I had gained an ‘Orange Belt’ (7th Kyu) in Wado Kai. I first attended a Wado Ryu class in the centre of Hereford which had an instructor who wore a black gi top with white trousers whose attitude was superficial and intentions entirely mercenary. This style (and class) lacked the integrity of what I had experienced in Wado-Kai. He would not let me keep my grade and as I did not trust him, I declined his offer of starting again. I then discovered the Shukokai karate class held at Hinton Community Centre, in Ross Road, Hereford. As Sensei Tom Beardsley – the instructor – allowed me to keep my grade, this place would be my training home for the next two years or so. There was then one small (but warm hall) to the left of the main door, and a much bigger (but eternally cold) hall to the right. We trained mostly in the smaller hall, with special training days at weekends attracting far more people from all over the UK being held in the bigger hall (often with the highly ranked Eddie Daniels visiting, I think from Birmingham). In those days, this style was headed by O Sensei Kimura Shigeru (10th Dan) [1941-1995] originally from Japan – whom I trained-under in the late 1980s at a large training symposium held in Poole, Dorset. (If I remember correctly, the karate class travelled from Hereford to Poole on a specially hired coach). Like ‘Wado Ryu’, the Japanese term ‘Shukokai’ is written using the traditional Chinese characters of ‘修交会’. In the Chinese language this is pronounced ‘Xiu Jiao Hui’ and translates into the English language as ‘Cultivation - Gathering to Learn and Exchange – Association'. As Hereford, (at least in those days, was like a smaller version of London), is vibrant and cosmopolitan, the Shukokai classes attracted men and women, old and young and people from many different ethnic backgrounds. Some members were serving or former members of the British Army – including the Special Air Service (SAS). Some young men from Hereford were also members of ‘R’ Squadron (‘R’ standing for ‘Reserve’), of the local 22nd SAS Regiment. I trained alongside a man named ‘Robin’ who had been part of the SAS counter-terrorist raid at the Iranian Embassy in London in 1980, etc. The class was expertly guided by Sensei Tom Beardsley (then a 3rd Dan).
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Shukokai Pinan Yondan Kata - 29 Siddals Gardens, Tiverton, Devon (c. 1986) - Academic Holidays
​The Shukokai style (which has its roots in the Okinawan karate style of Shito Ryu), emphasised the generation of power through correct postural alignment and the robust use of the hip twist. This is not unique to this style, but in the 1980s, Sensei Kimura had developed this principle to a very fine art, whereby a student could be taught to harness their bodyweight and direct it through their hip twist into every conceivable karate technique, be it a punch, kick or a block, etc. Although the basis of many internal and external Chinese gongfu styles, O Sensei Kimura in many ways demystified this process and made it far more accessible to ordinary people. Westerners did not have to commit themselves to the spiritual aspects of the Asian arts, as O Sensei Kimura presented this teaching in a distinctly ‘modern’ and ‘secular’ manner. However, in the two years that I was present, I witnessed the style alter radically as its technique was continuously adjusted (week by week) to make the kata look more likely to ‘win’ competitions. As the style moved away from its traditional underpinnings, inevitably many of its students left. Not long after I left (with a group) in 1986, I was told that the style had left the Hinton Community Centre and had become a totally different entity. If I can locate my old Shukokai karate licence, I will photocopy this document and place it on this blog post. I learned a tremendous amount about ‘politics’ in the martial arts at this time in my life. As a traditional martial artist, I have no interest in grades, competitions or self-advancement. These things were incidental to my learning experience.  ​​
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Full Transmission and Teaching Certificates

10/18/2019

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Transmission Confirmation from Madam Yuet-Tai Cheung - Widow of Master Chan Tin Sang (2001)
Whilst tidying my storage areas I came across an A4 envelop containing the 'Transmision Certificates' presented on this page (filed out of place and believed 'lost' for some years due to house-moving). Master Chan Tin Sang's dates are sometimes given as 1921-1993 - but my research suggests that 1924-1993 is correct (although some people hold to the earlier date). Mrs Chan is Madam Yat-Tai Cheung, or more properly 'Yuet-Tai Cheung' - but this is the transliteration into English of Chinese ideograms pronounced in the Cantonese (and Hakka) dialects, decided by British Immigration Officers with no training in modern pinyin (and with the surname put 'last' in the Western fashion,  instead of 'first' as in the Chinese tradition). Master Chan Tin Sang died in 1993 but had passed-on his family style into my keeping in 1991. This full 'Transmission' was confirmed by 'Por Por' (Chinese Grandmother) Madam Cheung Yat-Tai ten years later at 'Yum Cha' or 'Chinese breakfast' in Purley Way (at the Tai-Tong Restuarant in the Wing Yip Shopping Centre).  I include all the variants of these certificates and one that is older and from 1986.
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A Clearer Copy Authorised by Master Chan Tin Sang
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Master Chan Tin Sang's Original Hand-Written Certificate
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Madam Cheung Yuet-Tai - Hong Kong Immigration Papers (1968) - Coming to the UK!

10/10/2019

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Cheung Yuet-Tai (Left), Diane Wyles (Centre), Winnifred Gibson (right) & Baby Sue-Ling (c. 1998)
The British Nationality Act of 1948 granted the right of all people born within British colonies to be 'British Subjects', or 'British Citizens'  and therefore entitled to settle in the Mainland UK. Master Chan Tin Sang came to the UK in 1956 and the story was hat he worked hard at all kinds of jobs in and around Sutton, and eventually saved enough money to send for his wife and two young daughters. I was told this took about ten years and always assumed that 'Por Por' (i.e. our Chinese grandmother Cheung Yuet-Tai - known in the UK and Cheung Yat-Tai) came to the UK in 1966 - but these Immigration Papers record that she was granted permission to leave Hong Kong and fly to Britain in late 1968. From what her daughters have told me, the air-tickets Master Chan sent from the UK arrived two-weeks late due to a postal delay. In fact, the air-tickets arrived on the morning of the day of the flight - and Por Por had to quickly pack a few small cases, and rush to the local school to extract her children! This she did, and they eventually made their way to Sutton in South London. Master Chan Tin Sang went on to open one of the first Chinese Restaurants in Sutton - the King Wah - situated on the opposite side of the road from the Masonic Lodge and the Post Office in Grove Road. We have never managed to find a photograph of the King Wah. 
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​ Madam Cheung Yuet-Tai was born in the New Territories (Hong Kong) in 1924, and passed away in Sutton during January, 2011. She was 86 years old, and in her 87th year (her 87th birthday would have been on  the 3rd of September, 2011). She had been suffering from kidney problems for quite sometime prior to her passing. In 2001, Madam Cheung Yuet-Tai 'confirmed' Master Chan Tin Sang's 1991 'Transmission' to me - and also passed on to me one of his jade rings, a gold and jade clan-leader's ring, and gold wristwatch. 
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Master Chan Tin Sang's Wristwatch, Jade Ring & Clan-Leader Ring Passed to Me in 2001
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Ch'an Dao Transmission Certificate (1991) Master Chan Tin Sang to Adrian Chan-Wyles (Hand-Written Copy)

10/9/2019

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My ordinary Chinese name of 'Chan Hung-Yu' is used above - with 'Chan Tin Sang' as the deciding authority. This ritual took ten years to complete, with myself ritually accepted as a 'son' of Master Chan Tin Sang. This is a typical (non-commercial) Hakka Chinese arrangement.  There is another version of this document but it is safely secured away. I know of individuals who received only 'verbal' transmision and this has been suitably witnessed and acknowledged by the broader Chinese community. I place this here, for my descendents to find and hereby 'transmit' this style to their safe-keeping. 
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Okinawan Lions Presented to the Ch'an Dao School by Mr Tony Smith 5th Dan

10/9/2019

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Probably around 2008, Tony Smith 5th Dan (of Hereford Goju-Ryu Karate-Do) returned from an extended visit to Japan and Okinawa. When I eventually met-up with him, he presented me with these two clay lions from Okinawa, which appear based upon a Chinese design.Although there is no pearl or ball - one lion has his mouth open and looks to the left - whilst the other has her mouth closed and looks to the right. Both lions keep all four paws firmly upon the ground:
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Tony Smith 5th Dan - Hereford Goju Ryu Karate-Do - Defending My 8th Kyu White Belt!

10/9/2019

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Mr Tony Smith 5th Dan
For educational purposes, I lived in Hereford from September, 1984 – July 1988. Prior to this I had spent a year living in Reigate and Redhill. Master Chan Tin Sang (1924-1993) had suggested that whilst travelling for education, I should attend whatever local martial arts training was available, and in the case of the karate styles, try to discern the Chinese gongfu roots. I spent a year training in Wado-Kai Karate-Do under Sensei Alan Bound in Reigate, but when I arrived in Hereford, I was swept along into the local Shukokai class taught by Sensei Tom Beardsley 4th Dan (I will write about this separately). However, in 1986 I was informed about a traditional Goju Ryu class in Hereford – I think from am advert in the magazine entitled ‘Karate and Oriental Arts’ - taught by Mr Tony Smith. This was in Hereford Leisure Centre (I think on Wednesday and Friday nights), with a Sunday training in the countryside. These classes were extraordinary and reminded me of our traditional Hakka Chinese gongfu style. The emphasis upon heavy (muscle and bone) body-conditioning was so familiar to me that it felt like a ‘returning home’. This Okinawan approach was obviously ‘Chinese’ in manifestation – just as Wado-Kai and Shukokai were typically ’Japanese’. The grading system of coloured-belts was similar (with some differences), but the gradings were so hard and infrequent that those that focused on Goju training had to psychologically and physically commit themselves to levels of dedication I had not seen in any other Karate Training Hall (or ‘Dojo’). Practitioners, led by Tony Smith and his assistants, trained to the point of utter exhaustion – and then moved into new dimensions of existence! As a 10th Kyu white-belt, I had to undergo a three-hour grading session (under ‘Sensei Bill’ 3rd Dan and his equally highly graded partner - whom I met again many years later, by accident at a dinner party) to earn my 9th kyu – a white belt with one black tag.  As matters transpired, I was granted two grades in one examination (together with a friend named Ashwin Bulsara) and left with an 8th kyu grade – a white belt with two black tags which I still possess today, and am very proud of. I was living a double martial arts life at the time, being a practitioner of Hakka gongfu since a young child. I managed to train for about 18 months solid in Goju Ryu in Hereford, but trained for much longer when back home in Devon (between my required but secretive gongfu lessons). I made contact again in 2000 with Tony Smith via telephone and the internet and we became good friends. Since my formulative days in Hereford, I had married British Chinese woman born in Hong Kong, had inherited our family gongfu style and was teaching classes of my own. For about two months in 2005, I had a friend who was driving near to Cardiff once a week and she agreed to visit Hereford en route and we trained with Tony Smith in a different hall (somewhere near the centre of Hereford). Tony also stayed a few times in our home in South London and I was happy (and honoured) to meet his partner and sons. As an author, I wrote an article about Tony Smith and it was published (in two parts) in the ‘Traditional Karate’ magazine in 2007 (please see below). Around 2007 Tony introduced me to Mr George Andrews 8th Dan at his training hall in the Elephant and Castle part of London.  ​
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From Fujian White Crane To Okinawan Goju Ryu.pdf
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Hakka Pheonix Eye Fist (凤凰眼拳)

10/4/2019

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Sue-Ling (Left) & Gee (Right) Malden Road, Cheam
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Gee (Right) & Sue-Ling (Right) - Club Constellation, Cheam (2206)
Within the Hakka Chinese villages of the New Territories, and regsrdless of clan family name or differing village martial arts styles, from young, Hakka Chinese children were taught to make the peculiar 'Pheonix Eye Fist' (凤凰眼拳 - Feng Huang Yan Quan) whilst learning how to strike anatomical pressure-points in self-defence drills. In the local Hakka-Cantonese dialects, this is known as 'Fung Ngan Kune', with the wrists, hands and knuckles starting off being weak and slowly being strengthened through shadow-boxing, light striking and then heavy striking. Broken skin and brusing would be treated with locally brewed 'Iron fighting wine' (铁斗酒 - Tie Da Jiu) - referred to as 'Dit Da Jow'. Within our Ch'an Dao System practiced within Banana Village in Sai Kung, learning medicine and martial arts was a dual activity - with one subject never learned without the other. It was known that although small in stature, a child could knockout an adult using a Pheonix Eye Fist if the village was ever attacked. This is a highly effective technique that is difficult to learn properly with many people damaging their own knuckles when making contact. I have also seen the 'Pheonix Eye Fist' in a kata of Okinawan Goju Ryu Karate-Do as practiced in Hereford. Below, I demonstrate how to make the 'Pheonix Eye Fist:
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    Shifu Adrian Chan-Wyles (b. 1967) - Lineage (Generational) Inheritor of the Ch'an Dao Hakka Gongfu System.

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