Chapter five: Haap Ga Kyuhn and branches of Lama Pai

Wong Yan-Lam, during his later years in Guangdong, also taught a number of students which each went on to head their own variation of the Lion's Roar tradition. Among these students were Wong Hon-Wing, Nhg Yim-Ming, Lei Ying-Chuen, Choi Yit-Gung and Ma Yi-Po.

Wong Hon-Wing was for a very long time considered Master Wong Yan-Lam's number one student and was his sole official representative. It was Wong Hon-Wing who began using the name Haap Ga Kyuhn based upon his teacher's nickname and the recommendation of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen. As Wong Yan-Lam grew older, he also gave Wong Hon-Wing more and more responsibility for running the schools. Eventually, Wong Yan-Lam announced that he had retired and returned to his native village.

In the period immediately following, Wong Hon-Wing opened several more schools exclusively under his own name and developed quite a reputation among the southern martial arts community. Haap Ga Kyuhn became generally associated with Wong Hon-Wing's own version of the style.

However, Wong Yan-Lam's retirement was short lived and soon other students, many of them former students of Wong Hon-Wing, were accepted as disciples. There are numerous stories concerning the reasons for this shift and Wong Hon-Wing's subsequent loss of position. In Hong Kong, it is said there was a dispute over the royalties Wong Han-Wing was supposed to pay his teacher. In Malaysia, it is said that many of Wong Hon-Wing's students had complained to Wong Yan-Lam that their teacher was not passing on his skills. In San Francisco, more than a few teachers from several traditions told the author that the old teacher had simply refused to step aside and let his student make a name for himself. There is probably some truth to all these stories. What is important to realize is that for whatever reason other students were accepted by Wong Yan-Lam and taught the advanced skills.

Nhg Yim-Ming (also known in the United States as Harry Ng) also used the Haap Ga name adopted by Wong Hon-Wong and spread the art by teaching it to the Air Force. However, in 1950 Nhg Yim-Ming visited his family in San Francisco and decided to stay. There he taught a number of students including Chin Dai-Wei (David Chin), Ku Chi-Wai, Jack Hoey and Tony Galvin. Of all the later disciples of Wong Yan-Lam, Nhg Yim-Ming is the most respected and his skills were beyond question. In fact, Nhg Yim-Ming's skills may very well have surpassed those of Wong Hon-Wing.

Lei Ying-Chuen was originally one of Wong Hon-Wing's most senior disciples and helped him administer many of his schools. It was for this very reason that he had direct access to Wong Yan-Lam. Lei Ying-Chuen was the first disciple of Wong Hon-Wing to be accepted as a disciple by Wong Yan-Lam and he opened his own school, using the Haap Ga name, in Si-Gwan, Guangdong almost immediately upon his acceptance. While Lei Ying-Chuen's skills were not in question, many are critical of his fickleness and lack of loyalty.

At the age of eleven years, Choi Yit-Gung arranged an introduction to Wong Yan-Lam and became his last official student. By this time, Wong Yan-Lam was close to ninety years old and had lost his eyesight so Choi Yit-Gung, who was from a wealthy family, took him into his own home and had his servants take care of him. Choi Yit-Gung devoted himself for approximately eight years and became a very well known fighter in southern China. Unlike Nhg Yim-Ming and Lei Ying-Chuen, Choi Yit-Gung continued to use the Lama Pai name. He taught a number of respected students in Hong Kong.

Lama Pai in modern times

Today, there is very few men qualified to teach Lama Pai. This is because Lama Pai has for the most part remained in the Green Cloud monastery and in a select few organizations with restricted membership. It is also because those who are qualified seldom seek recognition or fear commercializing their art. There are however at least a few teachers willing to share their knowledge with the world.

In modern times Lama Pai has been passed down through two distinct lineages. The first begins with the well known instructor and fighter Choi Yit-Gung. In the later years of his life, Choi Yit-Gung moved to Hong Kong and taught quite a number of individuals who helped popularize the Lama Pai style. Among these Hong Kong disciples were Chan Kuen-Nhg, Gung Yit-Gae, and Lo Wai-Keung. Today, a number students of Gung Yit- Gae teach in the Tibetan Lama Pai Association of Vancouver, Canada. Lo Wai-Keung operated a large school in Hong Kong. Lo Wai-Keung has also written the only two books on Lama Pai (one has been translated into English).

The second lineage includes all of Jyu Chyuhn's students.

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