MAN FONG PAK MEI LINEAGE
PAK MEI: 1st Generation. Founder of the System.
Founder of the system, the Taoist Monk, Pak Mei ("White Eyebrow” - named for his long white eyebrows) was one of the famed Shaolin Five Ancestors: comprised of Pak Mei, Gee Sim, Ng Mui, Fong Do Duk and Mew Hing. Each went on to create and pass on their own unique systems.
Having trained at Shaolin temple, the Five Ancestors had to disperse and relocate under the weight of Ching oppression. Pak Mei left Shaolin (Siu Lam in Cantonese) temple and relocated to Mount Ngor Mei, where he spent the remainder of his life creating and perfecting his own fighting art. Modelled after the power and ferocity of the tiger and the agility and accuracy of the leopard, this art was simply known as "Ngor Mei Siu Lum", as it combined elements from both Siu Lam (external power) and Taoist/Ngor Mei (internal power).
GWONG WEI: 2nd Generation
Very little is known or documented concerning Gwong Wei other than he was, at one point Chief Abbot of a Taoist temple on Mount Ngor Mei and the 2nd generation successor of Pak Mei.
No picture representations have surfaced over the years either. He is responsible for renaming the art after his sifu’s namesake; from “Ngor Mei Siu Lam” to “Pak Mei Kung Fu”.
JOK FAT WAN: 3rd Generation
Third generation inheritor of the Pak Mei system; Monk Jok Fat Wan initially had only one disciple, Lin Sang. Lin Sang would come to be challenged to a friendly test of skill by Master Cheung Lai Chun, a seasoned fighter and expert in three other systems. However it wasn't much of a test at all. Master Cheung was easily defeated by the skills Jok Fat Wan passed down to Lin Sang. Cheung then began his pursuit of learning this unfamiliar art. Upon Lin Sang's refusal to teach Cheung, he cleverly found a way to introduce himself to Master Jok Fat Wan - who in turn also refused Cheung's request. However persistence prevailed and he was eventually accepted as Jok Fat Wan's second disciple.
GRANDMASTER CHEUNG LAI CHUN: 4th Generation
Prior to his Pak Mei training, Cheung Lai Chun was already a sifu and well-versed in three kung fu systems: Lung Ying (Dragon) 龍形, Lee Ga (Lee Family) 李家 and Lo Man Pai (Wanderers)流民派. As previously stated, he was a seasoned fighter - his only defeat was to Monk Lin Sang prior to his Pak Mei training. He later earned the title of Seven Southern States Champion and was well-known as one of the Three Tigers of the East River Region. Master Cheung also trained Chinese Nationalist forces at the famous Whampoa Military Academy.
Amidst his reputation and numerous challenge matches from various masters, he acquired a great many students and at one time ran eighteen schools.
He is often referred to as the founder of modern Pak Mei, as he broke free from the strictly monastic teaching tradition and introduced the art of Pak Mei to the secular world. He also greatly expanded its curriculum by adding the most valuable techniques from the three styles he’d mastered prior to Pak Mei.
MASTER KWONG MAN FONG: 5th Generation
K.M. Fong's intitial requests to learn from Cheung Lai Chun were waved off. Master Cheung was officially retired and wasn't interested in taking any new students. He gave Fong a task to finish within a set amount of time; a task he didn't think Fong would accomplish. However Fong passed Cheung's test and later became a regular student of Cheung.
K.M. Fong was Cheung’s last and youngest disciple. He trained tirelessly under the instruction of Cheung Lai Chun and his third son, Cheung Bing Fatt in Hong Kong and went on to learn the system in its entirety.
Fong moved to the United States in the late 1960’s and opened his first school in New York City's Chinatown in 1974. New York City in the 1970's was a very volatile atmosphere to live in. Needless to say, Fong had multiple opportunities to test his Pak Mei skills; successfully each time.
Master K.M.Fong is a strict traditionalist that fully adheres to the purity of the system.
6th Generation Association Directors
Above are the current 6th Generation disciples of Master Kwong Man Fong that have been chosen
to carry on the lineage.
From left to right, Sifus: Chuck Chan, Chung Kwan, Edgar Wong, Kwok Kwong, Chi Cheung, Ben Tam, Matt Martin.