Author’s Note: When I inherited the Ch’an Dao Hakka Gongfu Style in 1994, I was 27-years old. Everything prior to that date must now be viewed as nothing but “preparation”. All my myriad of experiences – good, bad, or indifferent – served as streams flowing into the large river and sea of life. Hereford was a vast cauldron of transformation - and this is where I lived and trained between 1984-1989. Master Chan Tin Sang had fought in the New Territories during WWII (1941-1945) – and is known to have killed Imperial Japanese soldiers using our Hakka family gongfu style. Below, I explain the situation and transformation of the Hakka Chinese community as it existed in Sutton in 1994. Many Chinese children attended “Mintak” a Chinese-language Saturday School held at a local State school. Meanwhile, I taught a remedial class for Chinese children who had trouble speaking English. Gongfu teaching, like Chinese dancing for girls, was viewed very much seen as a cultural activity – with non-Chinese lineages ignored as being racist or merely a form of mimicry (as the teachers had not sought “Permission” from the Chinese community to set-up and teach gongfu). This is still the situation today, with many well-established and affluent gongfu schools being viewed as “not Chinese” and therefore not legitimate. Those making money do not care about this contradiction. Indeed, many do not even know that such a judgement has been levelled against them – such is their ignorance. Between 1994-2011 – I participated in around 100 (witnessed) Honour Fights – and won them all. Needless to say, our school was sanctioned by the Chinese community and remains the only legitimate school in the Sutton area – despite hundreds of others. ACW (21.6.2025)

​A number of readers have asked to learn more about my early teaching of gongfu. I am happy to oblique as such an undertaking will serve as a historical statement as I thunder into older-age and to the inevitable “shuffling-off of this mortal coil” – as Shakespeare once said – and Richard Hunn once quoted to me. I took-over teaching gongfu in 1994 – a year after my teacher – Master Chan Tin Sang (1924-1993) passed away. We taught then in a small hall hidden at the back of Highfield Hall in Carshalton Road, Sutton. The main hall was set-up for high-end dancing and ballet – but a friend of a friend new the Caretaker who said that a smaller hall – which was usually used as a Badminton Court – was much cheaper because it was boiling hot in the Summer and freezing cold in the Winter (it had been a small swimming pool which had been filled-in and covered over). Virtually no one would rent it – so this was perfect for a toughened Hakka-Fist gongfa style. Initially, the Sunday morning classes ran from 10am-12pm (gongfu 10am-11am – Taijiquan 11am – 12pm) – with everyone sitting down for a cup of tea and biscuit for around 45 minutes afterwards. One-year was considered the right amount of time for public mourning (Confucius) of Master Chan Tin Sang – whilst the family carried-on privately mourning for two-more years (three in all).

These classes were for ethnic (Hakka) Chinese children (many of whom I taught English to in private education classes held elsewhere in Sutton). We also taught their older siblings (male and female), and their older relatives, such as mothers and fathers, aunts and uncles, etc. This tradition stemmed directly from that as practiced in Banana Village, in the Sai Kung area of the New Territories, Hong Kong. Prior to Highfield Hall, (that is, before 1990), Master Chan taught in the large utility room next to his flat in a Council High-Rise in Sutton – usually late at night or early in the morning when no one else was using the place to wash and dry their clothes. Sometimes, we would practice forms outside on the concreted areas, or head to the nearby local parks. The non-Chinese people in these flats (the vast majority) were excellent human-beings and were always supportive and protective of this small Chinese grouping. There was NEVER any cultural friction and nobody took exception. In return, our heathen group gave out Christmas and Easter cards, respective Devali, and recognised Ramadan and any other important holidays – including the Sikh holidays. 

​Gongfu was viewed as a Chinese religious practice and given that level of respect. We practiced because it was all we culturally knew. We practiced as an expression of Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism. We practiced because Hakka history is strewn with pogroms aimed at us – and gongfu was a means to protect the group. We were happy in Sutton and just got on with being alive. Sutton had a different feel in those days, a feel that anyone could achieve anything. I had spent four-years in Hereford during the late 1980s – perfecting my education and following Master Chan’s advice of researching the Chinese-roots of Karate-Do – as he felt (quite rightly) that the West was hiding this reality to boost a fascist Japan over a China that had once been a military ally of the West. He had come to the UK in 1956 at the behest of Enoch Powell and Churchill’s Tory government – to clean toilets and sweep-floors – jobs which he quietly did for ten-years, until he earned enough money to bring his wife and two daughters to the UK in 1966. Yes – my Chinese relatives now live in the UK because they were law-abiding citizens of the British colony of Hong Kong. 

​They had a right to be here – as the British invasion of sovereign Chinese territory immediately inflicted upon them the status of “British Subject”. My Chinese family did not break the law in Hong Kong, never participated in any riots, and believed in law and order – unlike the new batch of Hong Kong criminals that now live amongst us and practice a cult-like Christianity. Of course, whilst benefitting from British Imperialism, my family still had to live under the colonial oppression of British rule. We had no choice. The passports issued to my relatives born in Hong Kong had the description “British Subject – Third-Class”. My Chinese relatives and friends born in the UK had on their passports “British Subject – Second-Class” – whereas White British born inside or outside the British Isles had on their passports “British Subject – First-Class”. This is where the idea of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd class citizens come from within Sociology – although today these distinctions have been withdrawn. In the 1980s, the Thatcher Tory government took away every Chinese person’s British Citizenship born after a certain date – with about half of my family and many friends having to return to Hong Kong following the 1997 hand-back of Hong kong. The inner core of my family survived these “racist” British governmental purges.

I took-over the gongfu teaching role in Sutton during 1994, teaching a Chinese-only class on Sunday morning. Although my family has had links with China extending back hundreds of years – I look “White” – and so for people who do not know me, this can be a surreal experience, as I speak Hakka and Cantonese, can read Chinese script, and have been brought up within Chinese culture. It is odd – but perhaps I am something of an Anthropologist – like Captain Blith of the HMS Bounty who he reached the lovely people of Tahiti in 1789. Whatever the situation, when I was teaching one Sunday morning in 1994 in Highfield Hall, an old White man with grey hair and beard came in and sat quietly. I was surprised because this NEVER happened and I did not know what was going on. Anyway, I got talking to him (“Pat”) and he told me how Sutton used to be a Kyokushinkai Karate area – and how he and hundreds of others used to train in this tough style. He suggested opening the class to non-Chinese people – and as this fitted-in with Master Chan’s idea of modernising whilst maintaining the tradition – this is what we decided to do. Of course, it was never about money, which is just as well because we never made a penny. 

Dear O

In the Hakka village, gongfu was for communal defence. The ability for individuals to be able to fight "one-on-one" was not a consideration. The New Territories of Hong Kong lay outside the British economic activity on Hong Kong island - but were inside the British political zone. The New Territories were added in the 1890s during the lasy years of the Qing Dynasty - and possessed no modern economic structure. The Hakka think they are the "original" Chinese - whist also thinking they are "mixed" ethnicity (usually Steppe barbarian and Northern Chinese). This explains the staunch "Confucian" attitude that permeated Hakka culture  brought southward over the last two-thousands years. One of our Chinese Hakka grandmothers has Siberian mDNA (some Hakka clans think they formed the Qin Dynasty - which defined Chinese culture and gave China its name). In Fujian, the Hakka chose to build Western-style (although not directly related) "castles" - but in our (Southern Guangdong) village, the structure was the Confucian square - with each family of the Chan Clan learning to man the part of the wall handed-down to them over the generations. I say "wall" rather enthusiastically - but I think we are talking about a shallow ditch and a "Dad's Army" type barricade (no disrespect to the British Home Guard). Of course, where the clan migrated from (I think Henan) there may well have been a proper wall. Certainly, thousands of years ago, there used to be Steppe ponies. Our spear forms evolved from fighting on pony-back - until we lost our ponies - then the forms changed to being practiced on foot. Although individual fighting is the modern mode of teaching - self-defence and all that - this need seems to have evolved out of "honour fights" - whereby a "foreign" clan (another Chinese person not known to us) would send an individual to "challenge" the clan-style for issues of "face" - or "public recognition and respect". An impressive victory could move a clan (and its style) up the ranking system of the usually inflexible Confucian social order. This is the underlying bases of the old gongfu films - which might come across as a little unhinged to Western audiences. From proficiency in communal self-defence - a student would then be selected for "individualistic" training. In the modern world - including China - this is often turned the other way around, with "individualism" being emphasised over "communal" Of course, the village system evolved out of feudalism - so without feudalism - the old ways must adapt and change. My teacher - Master Chan Tin Sang (1924-1993) - knew this and actually assisted in the adjustments, but I was lucky enough to have first learned within the feudalistic system. The Imperial Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong (1941-1945) allowed our style to used once again on the battlefield and I will not dwell on this matter here, needless to say, as with all war, many suffered. I always found it curious that the British Authorities would not "arm" the local Chinese population at that time - so this led to a reliance on traditional fighting, until guns could be taken from the enemy. I suppose you know the story of "Admiral Chan" - he had a wooden leg and was in-charge of the Hong Kong "Navy" - which consisted of one old speed boat. He ended up on a rock in the middle of Hong Kong Harbour - and used his wooden-leg as a club to beat off the Japanese soldiers trying to catch him. He managed to swim away and I believe made it to Singapore or Malaya, or some such. Still, just a few words. 

Mr Charles Johnson - a gongfu Master from the US - forwarded this excellent video of a Shaolin martial arts master teaching in a school he single-handedly established in Benin - a country in West Africa. There is a core Shaolin Temple in Henan with a limited population of Buddhist monastics who strictly pursue Caodong Ch'an meditation and strict gongfu practices. Interaction with the general public is limited and strictly regulated. Around the original Shaolin Temple are many Shaolin Temple Colleges - which are designed to teach the laity - some of whom may assume the role of a monk in special circumstances. Perhaps the proper term is "lay-monk" - bearing in mind that all monks are not priests in the Western sense - as all monks within Christianity are "Brothers" or lay-people who reject the norms of lay-life. A lay-person who partially follows the monastic life in the Benedictine tradition is termed an "oblate" - such a person may still live in the lay-world but visit the monastery on a daily basis to assist the monks within. A similar situation exists in the Franciscan tradition - with their (Third Order) lay-brothers. Any layman or woman within Buddhism can voluntarily decide to follow the Monkish rules of the Vinaya Discipline - and where a monastic robe where required (this is a tradition in China arising out of the Confucian tradition) - although within certain Buddhist Orders some type of official permission is required. What we see above is a pure and pristine character whose mindful use of logic and reason can be clearly seen in the physical environment - particularly in the cleanliness of the school and the mind-body discipline of his students. Remember, a Buddhist monastic is a very well-educated and disciplined "Beggar" who venerates the Buddha by cutting-off the greed, hatred, and delusion that dictates the patterns of the ordinary world. The monk is not to be venerated by the public as such - although the laity often do show a considerable degree of respect  Monks should be wise and yet humble - like the dust! From this attitude - a new inner and outer world can be constructed.

Certainly - when I first saw Goju Ryu in the Hereford Leisure Centre - I couldn't believe my eyes! To that point, I had only seen and physically experienced Wado Kai, Shotokan, and Shukokai - all Japanese arts - but never Okinawan styles. My teacher (Master Chan Tin Sang) told me Karate-Do had come from China - but that the Japanese had altered its physical techniques (deliberately removing the distinctly "Chinese" internal aspect) so that the transplanted arts now resembled Japanese sword arts. Bear in mind that this generation of Hakka-Chinese had just fought a brutal war with the Imperial Japanese - so Okinawa was always viewed as "Chinese" (or so I learned later). Remember, I was only in my mid-teens myself and did not understand things that clearly.

​As matters stood, I experienced three Japanese Karate-Do styles - and then I learned the basics of Goju Ryu from your good-self - and my gongfu teacher was astonished! He couldn't believe the integration of hard and soft! He kept asking me who you were and where you had trained! One time (during 1987) Master Chan came to Hereford to see me - and looked in at your class. He was too shy to interfere - as he wasn't sure of the Japanese involvement (if any) - and I didn't really know (for which he told me off). Until he passed away in 1993, he would sit at dinner-time and tell his Hakka friends about Goju Ryu - and get me to show the basic kata. The circular lower block seems to be the most obvious of the "internal". 

Tony: On Tue, 22 Apr 2025, at 10:29, "morning Adrian. What are your views on this 
Softness as regarding techniques. You can plainly see the Chinese influence. Tony"

Dear Tony

​Our family (Longfist) composite style is Northern (military) - brought into Southern China by Hakka migration. Hakka live in Fujian and Guangdong (Canton), as well as Sichuan, etc. I have met most different Hakka people at various times - all speaking a variant of their Northern (Beijing) dialect mixed with the dialect of the Southern areas they moved into. Hakka are Northern Chinese people who migrated Southward to avoid invaders of China. However, after violently clashing with Southern populations - many (but not all) Hakka families altered the techniques of their gongfu styles (shortening the movements) - so as to disguise it as "Southern" to fit-in with the local populations.

​In Fujian, the Hakka built the now famous "Round-House" forts. Our Hakka (Chin, Chan, Chin - 陳) family moved into the remote South of Guangdong where nodody lived - and so did not have to alter their Northern arts (later, [in the 1890s] this became the British-controlled "New Territories"). They constructed their village in the typical "square" (Confucian) fashion.  My teacher came from the Clan-Leader family and so stood at the front of the four-sided defence formation - in-front of the main-gate. Northern styles, have a certain "taste" to their techniques - regardless of origin. I suspect various Goju Ryu Kata techniques may be "Northern" in origin - inherited through Southern lineages. I liken the Northern techniques to a boulder perched on the edge of a cliff - waiting to effortlessly "drop-off" into empty-space - developing a thunderous force on the way down! Bodyweight and momentum meet at a destructive fine-point! Reloading is achieved through using continuous "big" and "small" circle movement (traversing around the shoulder and pelvic-joints - linked "through the back" - 通背 [Tong Bei] - the defining principle of our Longfist style).

​There is a theory that "Longfist" evolved (and diversified) from the (standardised) "Martial Arts Manual" (recorded as once existing - but now lost) issued by the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE) Authorities. Every village in China was converted into a Military Barracks - with every man, woman, and child required to practice the armed and unarmed Longfist Forms on a daily basis (as individuals - and as "co-ordinated" Groups or "Units"). As for the structure of this "official" gongfu - it appears to have been an integration of the hundreds of styles then existing (Ancient China had been a very violent place during the Warring States Period - 475-221 BCE). Hundreds of people stood in strictly maintained straight-lines - all moving in a co-ordinated fashion to the left and then to the right - so that both sides of the body were exercised equally. As everyone had to be in the Qin Army from birth - virtually everyone learned this military method and took it home with them.

​This would provide the basis of "Family" gongfu practice - regardless of the diversifying of the techniques themselves (changed [or altered] for this or that practical reason). Prior to the Qin, many martial arts possessed ritualised ceremonies premised upon hunting - and opening doors to other (spiritual) dimensions. A practitioner allowed the "animal" spirit of the style to possess his or her own body for the duration of the "dance" (our family style is premised upon the spirit of the "Bear"). The Qin realised that prevailing at war was a material process that had to be firmly fought on this "physical" plane. Focusing the martial practice on this attribute was viewed as a practical innovation - although the "spiritual" dimension was not altogether denied - merely shifted in emphasis to the background of affairs. 

​This is where the idea of a standard "Form" originated - with Companies of a "People's Army" all training together throughout China (Qin Dynasty China did not include the Fujian area - as this was cut-off by dense forests, malarial swamps - and incredibly violent [non-Han] indigenous populations). Fujian became slowly settled between 200-500 CE - when explorers hacked their way in from Mainland China - whilst others risked landing on its coasts. Okinawa was already a distant vassal State of China by this time. Perhaps Okinawans visited Fujian prior to its opening-up? 

​The Qin people from North-West China were Han mixed with various barbarian (non-Han) tribes (considered "half-wolf" by Han people) - indeed, the "Qin" (秦) are believed linked to our Hakka "Chin" surname - hence the Hakka violent streak. Another, related theory is that some Hakka people are "Caucasians" formed from invading "Hun" tribes (the Hun were multi-ethnic with Europeans and Asians mixing together) - and on it goes. Many Hakka Chinese people seem typically "Chinese" on the surface - but a few possess a "double-eyelid" (a distinct Western trait) and under their jet-black hair is an underlay of "blonde" hair My partner - Gee - possesses both these traits - as does Liz)! Many modern Koreans mixed with White Americans have developed similar (observable) traits. 

​Thanks

​PS: I hear Master Higaonna Morio was "86" on Christmas Day (2024)! 

Thank you, Tony!

I appreciate your continuous input. I was discussing this movement yesterday with a student. Snake Creeps Down (I wrote this sometime ago) is practiced (as you already known) within many Taijiquan Forms - performed at various heights (or "depths") - high, medium, or low. I remember a Wado Ryu Kata using this stance - but with the weight-bearing foot having the heal "lifted" during execution (see picture attached). I see similar stances (at various heights) in Shotokan. For me, Goju stances are similar to Shaolin - box-like, practical and strong (similar to Xingyiquan) - like our gongfu (Longfist) stances. As always, I am ready for correction - and thank you for it!

My teacher (Master Chan Tin Sang) taught Snake Creeps Down in three broad ways - "high", "medium", and "low". Low is always taught first - as it is the hardest to perform. It is also the most impractical to use in combat - so why do it? Well, the Heart Meridian as defined within Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) - is stimulated when the back of the leg is "elongated" and "stretched". This movement increases blood-flow to the tips of the toes from the inner organs, etc, creating a two-way exchange of "qi" (oxygen and bio-electrical) energy. Old qi is expelled - whilst new qi takes its place. I believe this concept has its origins in the "Neijing" [內經] "Internal Classic". 

For combat efficiency (and flow), however, a practitioner must adjust this movement. The stance has to be high or medium (a type of "back-stance") before the elaborate hand application(s) can be effectively deployed. The excellent video-clip you forwarded, for instance, appears to remove the drop-down leg-position completely - and replaces it with a "Horse-Stance" mediated by a number of connecting (natural) stances (varying in height or depth). In our family system a similar approach is applied. When emphasising combat - the drop-stances are performed at a higher-level - as this allows for a more efficient transition between connecting techniques.

Hakka styles tend to be clever but robust - deliberately clashing with strength - when strength is dominant and over-powering. Even placing the weight onto a bent reverse-leg is viewed as "giving ground" - which is okay providing such an action is required. Qinna (擒拿) - "trapping and re-directing" is the principle directing the hand and arm movements. This interpretation will vary from style to style - and even between teachers within the same style.

For every official definition - a student is encouraged to seek-out a hundred more! The lead arm is the leather whip (which "snaps" from the shoulder-joint - although in reality only in the internal sense) - whilst the reverse arm (with its chicken-head-type block) - is the reverse arm. Re-directing, locking enemy joints, and up-rooting the opponent's legs and feet is precisely the applied function of the "Snake Creeps Down" methodology! The medical application is the "internal" - whilst the combat application(s) - is the "external". As I am currently staying in Galmpton (South Devon) - I am exclusively practising my Forms (Katas) whilst on holiday for the Festive Season.

All Best Wishes


Adrian

Dear Tony

I remember watching a documentary about the 8th Dan Grading for modern Kendo in Japan. The World Champion of Kendo - who was in his 50s - was considered "too young" for this grade, and immature. He was driven by ego-achievement and the Panel of Kendo Masters refused to grant him the 8th Dan Grade. He was failed continuously and sent back to his Dojo to continue training. Another example featured an 80-year old Kendo Master who was highly respected - but he was failed for being "too vigorous" ("too youthful") in his approach. The 8th Dan Grading including sparring and a written examination - with both components being equally important. 

A clip was shown of an Old Kendo Master who had attained the 10th Dan. He stood naturally dominating his ground, and with little effort always decisively "struck" his much younger opponents. This Master explained that when 60 his legs stopped working properly (as in his younger days), whilst at 70 his arms stopped working properly (as in his younger days). Whilst at 80 his "awareness" expanded to incorporate his body and entire environment - so that he respond internally and outwardly like a mirror reflecting all that is happening. 

I have met many in the West - and the modern East - who see martial arts as a youthful sport which probably should not be participated in much past 30. Of course, for those of use who continue training well beyond this age (Master Higaonna Morio is an impressive 85) - perhaps our "transitional" experiences might be of some help in a culture that focuses on the young and ignores the elderly. About 20 years ago, a Western American man who was still practicing gongfu at 65 said to me it was as if he had "become" the Style - rather than forcibly practicing the Style from without (like putting on a hat). 

Just some thoughts.

Dear Tony (Sensei)

​Following the Hakka-Punti Clan Wars and the Taiping Uprising (both happening during the mid-1800s) - the Hakka Armies were defeated by the Qing dynasty Forces (following the death of millions) and the Hakka people were consigned into very small areas to live. At this time, to hide their ethnic identity (as Northerners living in the South) many gongfu Masters deliberately "shortened" the movements of their Northern gongfu so that it better resembled the Southern gongfu practiced by the Cantonese people. As my Chan family lived in the remote area of South-East Guangdong (not yet under the control of the British - that area would become the "New Territories" in the 1890s) - we felt no need to shorten our gongfu technique and so we still practice the Longfist of the North.

​This is true of only a minority of Hakka Clans - as many now practice Southern Styles - the product of technical adjustment in the mid-1800s. As many Hakka people do not know their past - they think they have always practiced the shortened Southern Styles but this is not the case. I think a similar situation exists in Fujian province regarding the Hakka - but I have no way of knowing whether this is linked to Suparinpei Kata (and other Goju Ryu kata). From my limited view - Suparinpei (and other Goju Ryu kata) looks like how Longfist is used for close-in fighting. As you know, Longfist is taught at long, middle and short range - with the long-range being on display in the standard Forms. 

I suppose many Hakka Clans that practiced Longfist simply ceased openly practicing the middle and long-range Forms - limiting practice to the close-in range - although this would also include middle-range where applicable. Long-range "reaching" with extended limbs (open arms and legs) was replaced with short and concise shuffle-stepping (moving the torso nearer and away from the opponent whilst keeping the bodyweight firmly "rooted" to the ground). Unfolding (whipping) power was replaced with small-circle force (both drawing force up from the ground - regulated by the breath). This is not a moving away from Hakka Longfist - but rather a focusing on one particular and well-known aspect of it. I think I see all this in the various versions of Suparinpei Kata. 

On Fri, 8 Mar 2024, at 11:57, Charles Johnson wrote:

March 8, 1971: My father took me along with him to the Shrine auditorium to see the first fight between Muhammad ali and Joe Frazier. No fight since has captured the magic of that fight. Two men, both undefeated, and each with a claim of the heavyweight title. And the fight was great. 

 One of my fondest memories with my father.

My Reply:

​When I was young, my Dad got me boxing videos (VHS) which went back to bare knuckle days in the UK - and forward to the US Black domination of the art. Jack Johnson landed a single right upper cut on the body of Tommy Burns that lifted him clean off his feet! More remarkably, Burns landed back on his feet and carried on fighting! I encountered 'The Fight' through those videos and remember Fraser's left hook that floored Ali (my Dad called him both Clay and Ali). That single punch changed history - and Ali would continue after this setback and prove he was one of the greatest! My Dad taught me bare knuckle boxing and said 'They can hurt you and they can kill you - don't worry about the second one - don't show the effects of the first one and win in that way!' My Dad understood that Western Boxing specialised in punching and that I needed this to supplement the (Longfist) gongfu kicking I was learning.

​Interestingly, part of my background has involved the management of violence and thuggery. The UK has a weird mixture of uplifting Socialism (currently under attack) and crushing capitalist oppression. Yin and yang. I have witnessed lots of violence but never been to a professional boxing match - like that which you describe so touchingly. What you have written touched my heart - and is a clear example of your writing ability. Respect to your father - I feel that I met him in those few, well-chosen lines. My problem when young was that I had learned Chinese martial arts movements - but did not yet possess the understanding (or experience) to make them work in combat (I literally 'bounced-off' opponents who remained more bemused rather than hurt or put-off). I learned quickly that Westerners did not like kicking - so that gave me an edge (and to be weary of Gypsy people - as they are tough). In the old days, Chinese gongfu involved kicking practice for a long time (low, middle and high) before punching was introduced. The opposite to how martial arts are taught today - at least in the West.

​My Dad, instead, took me to two professional football games both involving Leicester City (he used to play for them in his youth) - and a Cricket game (Cricket is an old Celtic game that my Dad got good at in his youth despite it being dominated by the middle class snobs who could afford proper clothing) featuring Leicestershire County Cricket Club that was playing in Glastonbury (possibly against Glamorgan). I was once struck on the head by a Cricket bat and can attest to its efficacy! The boy ran away because I stood looking at him. The lump on my forehead was significant to say the least. The Boxers of old taught me to be strong - whilst Black people taught me 'not to show it'. 

​Still, Ali and Frazer inspired me for different reasons and in different ways. I was surprised to find that Fraser's right shoulder was permanently damaged and he had to throw an Orthodox straight right like a jab - but with no real power behind it (as a range-finder). This is why he put so much effort into his smashing lead-left hook! Fraser was also very humble and a true gentleman (important in the UK). It was the politics of Ali I liked. He just happened to wed this with the beat - all round - boxing skills the world has ever seen. I know that Bruce Lee used to watch videos of Ali dancing around the ring - and copied this movement - integrating it into his Jeet Kune Do. I also know that Ali sparred with a high-ranking US Karate-Do practitioner (after his retirement) and was still too-quick for the younger Karate man!

​When I got older, I got bigger and stronger. I became 'nasty' in my own way - particularly as a teenager. I looked mean and hungry - mostly because I was hungry - literally. My family did the best they could in trying circumstance - and yet when I came to live in London amongst affluent people - I could not believe how much food they had to eat! I used to live on about one-third of what they ate - and still pushed myself physically and mentally to prevail. This is why Tommy Hearns inspired me. I copied his 'punching' ability to augment my kicking ability. In the old Longfist Style - kicking is considered more important than punching due to historical reasons in ancient China. I think many old Masters carried swords or spears in their hands - and so kicking supplemented the use of weapons.

However, Master Chan Tin Sang (1924-1993) - who had fought and killed Imperial Japanese soldiers in Hong Kong during WWII - understood that 'punching' was important in the modern world and helped me devise an internal method for replicating what Tommy Hearns quite naturally did. I think Master Chan had seen how effective Karate-punching was as displayed by the Japanese - and it made him think about improvements. When i left home at 16 to go into further education - I encountered many more Black people and found that being able to fight was a respected ability. After some brutal encounters with my brothers - we became very good friends! They respected the ability 'not to show it' - and diplomatic relations developed from their.

​Our Hakka gongfu training requires the carrying of heavyweights upon our backs. This represents the hilly terrain the Hakka people lived within throughout the New Territories, Hong Kong. Hakka Clan villages, especially by the 20th century, were often re-constructed upon the top of various hills situated in prominent good (feng shui) positions. The bones must be kept strong for building good health and ensuring longevity. Strong bones allow the bodyweight to drop down through the centre of the bone-marrow into the floor (creating a strong 'root') - and facilitates the rebounding force which is distributed (throughout the skeletal-system) to the striking part of the anatomy - be it a hand, foot, elbow, knee, fore-head or torso, etc. The Hakka people moved into the Guangdong area (that became the 'New Territories' under the British in the 1890s) in the mid-1600s - following the Manchurian invasion of China (which established the foreign 'Qing Dynasty' during 1644 CE). 

​Our 'Chan' (陳) Clan (pronounced 'Chin' in the Hakka language and 'Chan' in the Cantonese language) originally settled at the base of a hill near the coast in the Sai Kung area. I think we probably originated somewhere in Henan province (like many other Hakka Clans that I have investigated). Younger people often carried older relatives on their backs (as part of the required filial piety) up and down the hills - to and from various areas. Chinese families reflect the government and vice versa. One reflects the other whilst the notion of Confucian 'respect' permeates the entire structure. This is true regardless of political system, era, religion or cultural orientation. Many Daoists and Buddhists are Vegetarian - because they respect animals and the environment. 

When working as farmers - Hakka people carried tools, goods and the products of harvests on their backs between long hours working in the rice fields with the Water Buffalos. The continuous repetition of hand and foot movements - and the standing postures for long hours in the wind and rain - condition the mind and body for genuine Hakka gongfu training. Although there is an 'Iron Ox' gongfu Style (different to our own) - the spirit of the Ox pervades all aspects of the Hakka gongfu styles! Even so, our Hakka Style embodies the spirit of the Bear! We can fighting crouching low - or stand high giving the impression that we are bigger than we actually are! Our developed musculature is like the Ox and the Bear in that it is large, rounded and tough! We can take a beating and still manifest our gongfu Style with ease! We do not go quietly into that dark night! 

The above video shows Hakka people de-husking rise - with the standing person practicing 'Free Stance, rootedness and knee-striking, etc, and the crouching person showing a low Horse Stance and position for 'Squat-Kicking', etc, whilst demonstrating dextrous hand movements often found in gongfu Forms.  Of course, not all Hakka Styles are the same and there is much diversity throughout the Name Clans. Our Chan gongfu is Military-related and can be traced to the Qin Dynasty (221–206 BCE). I think there used to be a State Gongfu Manual (since lost) issued by the Qin Dynasty as part of the process of turning every village, town and city into a 'Barracks'.

​​Guiding the ploughs through the water and mud at the back of the Water Buffalos reflected the leg, arm and torso positions found within the Hakka gongfu. How the Hakka farmers stood still, stepped forward and back - side to side, tensed and relaxed their muscles, used their eyes and ears, and produced power and learned to give-way - all manifested in the various Hakka gongfu Styles. On Occasion, the Ox is given the day-off and the local people take to 'pulling the plough'!

​Our Hakka Gongfu is 'Longfist' based. Whereas many Hakka Clans - following our defeat at the end of the Punti-Hakka Clan Wars (1854-1867 CE) - Hakka people were ethnically cleansed into small areas of Guangdong province. Around 20 million people had died in this terrible war (which included the separate but related Taiping Rebellion - a Hakka-led war - fought for different reasons). The original 'Northern' Hakka Styles were persecuted and viewed as the vehicle through which the Hakka people had made war in the South of China (the area they had migrated into). The Hakka are patriotic Han Chinese migrants who fled the foreign invasion of Northern China - but who were not wanted or welcome within Southern China. Since the 1949 Revolution - things are very different today in China - as Hakka and non-Hakka now live side by side in harmony.

​When the various Hakka Clans 'shortened' the arm and leg movements of their gongfu Styles - to make these arts seem 'Cantonese' in origin - our Hakka Clan lived in a relatively remote area of South East Guangdong province and refused to do this. We practiced our 'Northern' Longfist martial arts in isolation and hid our gongfu in Temples grounds, behind walls and by practicing at night. Master Chan Tin Sang (1924-1993) fought and killed Imperial Japanese soldiers in the New Territories between 1941-1945 using our Hakka gongfu. Around 10,000 Hakka men, women and children were killed in this war fighting the modern Japanese soldiers using bare-hands and feet - and traditional weaponry. Many of our relatives were killed during this time. 

Master Chan Tin Sang came to the UK in 1956 - as a British Subject - to work for a better life, not because China is a bad place (it is not), but because life in the New Territories under British rule was continuously impoverished. Master Chan Tin Sang worked hard for 10-years before he earned enough money to bring his wife and two daughters to the UK (in 1966) - also as British Subjects. My Chinese relatives were NOT economic migrants, Asylum Seekers, or Refugees. My Chinese relatives do not follow Cults and are free-thinking individuals who are proud to be 'British' whilst supporting Mainland China's right to self-determinate - just like any Western country.