Eddie Chong
Encyclopedia
Eddie Chong is an internationally recognized kung fu martial artist and instructor. Chong operates from his Sacramento, California
-based school. He has nine affiliated schools and a school in Mexico
. Chong has been viewed by many prominent martial artists worldwide as a preeminent practitioner and instructor of Wing Chun
Kung Fu.
Chong has been involved with Wing Chun
for approximately 40 years. He regularly conducts seminars in and outside the United States. Chong was born and raised in Singapore. He lived in Japan for two years where he became fluent in the Japanese language. He then moved to the United States in 1964 at the age of 24. He trained several years in Tae Kwon Do and was about to test for the black belt, but discovered his passion when he discovered the Wing Chun system. While practicing and teaching Wing Chun, Chong worked as a lithographer for 20 years. He retired from lithography in 1989 to completely dedicate his life and efforts to teaching and promoting Wing Chun.
in 1968. Kenneth Chung is a direct disciple of Leung Sheung
. Leung Sheung was Yip Man
’s first student. It was under the direct tutelage of Kenneth Chung that Eddie Chong mastered the Yip Man style of Wing Chun. Later on, while living in the West, Chong observed that the fighting art taught at many Wing Chun schools varied, sometimes dramatically. Although a highly effective martial art, he believed that the system had been modified, and therefore resolved to trace back and find as original a form of Wing Chun as possible. Obviously, the closer he could get to the system's founder, the more pure the art would become. Eddie Chong realized the possibility existed that a practitioner might still be living who had been trained by one of the early masters. With China now open to travel, Sifu Chong decided to seek him out.
, the traditional home of Wing Chun. While in Foshan, his inquires regarding local Wing Chun instructors brought information about 81 year old Master Pan Nam, the last known disciple on Painted Face Kam's branch of the family tree. Chong learned that Pan Nam had ceased teaching in 1990 and had, in fact, "closed the door" to his school. Unknown to Chong, Pan had delayed officially retiring, which involved certain formal rituals because he had a premonition that someone, his final student, was coming.
In Foshan, Chong met Pan Nam and was accepted by Pan Nam as one of his closed door students and became his last disciple. Mr. Chong went through the traditional Chinese ceremony of kneeling and giving a cup of tea to the old Master, asking to be accepted as his disciple. This was followed by a special meal. After-wards, Pan took out his family tree and entered Eddie Chong's name as his closed-door student, the last he would ever accept.
Having fulfilled his desire to train a successor, Pan Nam officially hung out the scrolls that proclaimed his retirement when Eddie Chong left Foshan in late Spring of 1992. Chong returned to visit Pan Nam every year until Pan Nam's death in 1996.
Aside from Pan Nam teaching Eddie Chong the Foshan branch of Wing Chun, Pan Nam also taught him Five Petal Plum Blossom Qigong
, which Master Pan Nam considered the lost treasure of Shaolin
training. Pan Nam was a direct descendant of Shaolin Kung Fu otherwise known as Shàolínquán. Pan Nam believed that the style of Wing Chun he trained in was the original Shaolin Wing Chun system.
(White Eyebrow) kung fu master. The Bak Mei master sought Pan Nam's expertise in Five Petal Qigong as a method of healing his internal organs damaged as a result of extremely vicious and deadly altercations with other masters. The name of this Bak Mei master is Li Yang Jian, the current head of the Foshan branch of Bak Mei. Li sought the advice of a local physician due to his suffering from chronic hematuria (blood in one's urine). The physician informed the Bak Mei master that he did not have long to live.
Li Yang Jian heard of Pan Nam and the healing ability of Pan Nam's Five Petal Qigong. In almost fifty years of teaching Shaolin Wing Chun, Pan Nam taught fewer than a dozen students Qigong. Li appealed to Pan Nam to save his life. Pan Nam told him that he must abstain from all alcoholic drinks, sexual intercourse and smoking during his Qigong training. Pan Nam required that Li must meet him every morning just before dawn for one hundred days straight. Li was cured after sixty days of Qigong training and vowed to follow Pan Nam wherever he went to protect him with his life.
When Eddie Chong saw Li's Bak Mei, he felt Li's style of Bak Mei complemented his Wing Chun and could take his Wing Chun to new heights of technicality and aggressiveness. Chong asked Master Li if he would teach him Bak Mei. Li decided to take Chong under his tutelage due to Pan Nam accepting Eddie Chong as his disciple and trained him intensely from 1990-1996.
Bak Mei is characterized by its emphasis on powerful close range hand strikes. Within Bak Mei can be found the four principles of Fou (Float), Chum (Sink), Tun (Swallow), and Tou (Spit) common in the Southern Chinese martial arts. Unique to Bak Mei is it’s classification of the following six powers: biu (thrusting), chum (sinking), tan (springing), fa (neutralizing), tung, and chuk. Bak Mei emphasizes the movements of the Tiger
, but Bak Mei also uses the other four animal styles associated with the Henan Shaolin Temple as well such as the Tiger
, the Crane
, the Leopard
, the Snake
and the Dragon
. Together they are known as the Five Animals. One other animal style used in Bak Mei is called the Phoenix
.
Chong is fulfilling his lifelong desire to master all aspects of Chinese martial arts, including the health benefits of Five Petal Qigong and meditation. Five Petal Qigong channels one's life energy to enhance the body’s ability for self-healing, regeneration and internal power.
Chong has been the subject of feature articles in several martial arts magazines including BLACKBELT MAGAZINE (May 1982 issue) and featured in INSIDE KUNG FU magazine on many different occasions throughout the 1980s to our present time in the twentyfirst century. Sifu Chong has also been featured in newspapers in the cities where his schools are located.
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
-based school. He has nine affiliated schools and a school in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. Chong has been viewed by many prominent martial artists worldwide as a preeminent practitioner and instructor of Wing Chun
Wing Chun
Wing Chun , also romanised as Ving Tsun or Wing Tsun, ; ; is a concept-based Chinese martial art and form of self-defense utilizing both striking and grappling while specializing in close-range combat.The alternative characters 永春 "eternal spring" are also...
Kung Fu.
Chong has been involved with Wing Chun
Wing Chun
Wing Chun , also romanised as Ving Tsun or Wing Tsun, ; ; is a concept-based Chinese martial art and form of self-defense utilizing both striking and grappling while specializing in close-range combat.The alternative characters 永春 "eternal spring" are also...
for approximately 40 years. He regularly conducts seminars in and outside the United States. Chong was born and raised in Singapore. He lived in Japan for two years where he became fluent in the Japanese language. He then moved to the United States in 1964 at the age of 24. He trained several years in Tae Kwon Do and was about to test for the black belt, but discovered his passion when he discovered the Wing Chun system. While practicing and teaching Wing Chun, Chong worked as a lithographer for 20 years. He retired from lithography in 1989 to completely dedicate his life and efforts to teaching and promoting Wing Chun.
Earlier career
Chong began Wing Chun training under the tutelage of Kenneth ChungKenneth Chung
Kenneth Chung is a premiere student of the late Leung Sheung, one of the top 3 students of Yip Man. His wing chun emphasizes structure and relaxation over speed and strength, resulting in a soft yet powerful force....
in 1968. Kenneth Chung is a direct disciple of Leung Sheung
Leung Sheung
Leung Sheung was a Chinese martial artist who studied Wing Chun Kung Fu who is known as the senior-most student of Yip Man in Hong Kong...
. Leung Sheung was Yip Man
Yip Man
Yip Man , also spelled as Ip Man, and also known as Yip Kai-Man, was a Chinese martial artist. He had several students who later became martial arts teachers in their own right, including Bruce Lee.-Early life:...
’s first student. It was under the direct tutelage of Kenneth Chung that Eddie Chong mastered the Yip Man style of Wing Chun. Later on, while living in the West, Chong observed that the fighting art taught at many Wing Chun schools varied, sometimes dramatically. Although a highly effective martial art, he believed that the system had been modified, and therefore resolved to trace back and find as original a form of Wing Chun as possible. Obviously, the closer he could get to the system's founder, the more pure the art would become. Eddie Chong realized the possibility existed that a practitioner might still be living who had been trained by one of the early masters. With China now open to travel, Sifu Chong decided to seek him out.
Chong and Pan Nam
On a trip to his Singapore school, Chong took an excursion to FoshanFoshan
Foshan is a city in central Guangdong province in southern China. The prefectural area under the city's jurisdiction over an area of about 3,840 km² and a population of 5.4 million of which 1.1 million reside in the city proper ....
, the traditional home of Wing Chun. While in Foshan, his inquires regarding local Wing Chun instructors brought information about 81 year old Master Pan Nam, the last known disciple on Painted Face Kam's branch of the family tree. Chong learned that Pan Nam had ceased teaching in 1990 and had, in fact, "closed the door" to his school. Unknown to Chong, Pan had delayed officially retiring, which involved certain formal rituals because he had a premonition that someone, his final student, was coming.
In Foshan, Chong met Pan Nam and was accepted by Pan Nam as one of his closed door students and became his last disciple. Mr. Chong went through the traditional Chinese ceremony of kneeling and giving a cup of tea to the old Master, asking to be accepted as his disciple. This was followed by a special meal. After-wards, Pan took out his family tree and entered Eddie Chong's name as his closed-door student, the last he would ever accept.
Having fulfilled his desire to train a successor, Pan Nam officially hung out the scrolls that proclaimed his retirement when Eddie Chong left Foshan in late Spring of 1992. Chong returned to visit Pan Nam every year until Pan Nam's death in 1996.
Aside from Pan Nam teaching Eddie Chong the Foshan branch of Wing Chun, Pan Nam also taught him Five Petal Plum Blossom Qigong
Qigong
Qigong or chi kung is a practice of aligning breath, movement, and awareness for exercise, healing, and meditation...
, which Master Pan Nam considered the lost treasure of Shaolin
Shaolin kung fu
Shaolin Kung Fu refers to a collection of Chinese martial arts that claim affiliation with the Shaolin Monastery.Of the multitude styles of kung fu and wushu, only some are actually related to Shaolin...
training. Pan Nam was a direct descendant of Shaolin Kung Fu otherwise known as Shàolínquán. Pan Nam believed that the style of Wing Chun he trained in was the original Shaolin Wing Chun system.
Chong and Bak Mei
While training in Foshan with Pan Nam, Chong also met an aquantance of Pan Nam's, a Bak MeiBak Mei
Bak Mei is said to have been one of the legendary Five Elders — survivors of the destruction of the Shaolin Temple by the Qing Dynasty imperial regime — who, according to some accounts, betrayed Shaolin to the imperial government...
(White Eyebrow) kung fu master. The Bak Mei master sought Pan Nam's expertise in Five Petal Qigong as a method of healing his internal organs damaged as a result of extremely vicious and deadly altercations with other masters. The name of this Bak Mei master is Li Yang Jian, the current head of the Foshan branch of Bak Mei. Li sought the advice of a local physician due to his suffering from chronic hematuria (blood in one's urine). The physician informed the Bak Mei master that he did not have long to live.
Li Yang Jian heard of Pan Nam and the healing ability of Pan Nam's Five Petal Qigong. In almost fifty years of teaching Shaolin Wing Chun, Pan Nam taught fewer than a dozen students Qigong. Li appealed to Pan Nam to save his life. Pan Nam told him that he must abstain from all alcoholic drinks, sexual intercourse and smoking during his Qigong training. Pan Nam required that Li must meet him every morning just before dawn for one hundred days straight. Li was cured after sixty days of Qigong training and vowed to follow Pan Nam wherever he went to protect him with his life.
When Eddie Chong saw Li's Bak Mei, he felt Li's style of Bak Mei complemented his Wing Chun and could take his Wing Chun to new heights of technicality and aggressiveness. Chong asked Master Li if he would teach him Bak Mei. Li decided to take Chong under his tutelage due to Pan Nam accepting Eddie Chong as his disciple and trained him intensely from 1990-1996.
Bak Mei is characterized by its emphasis on powerful close range hand strikes. Within Bak Mei can be found the four principles of Fou (Float), Chum (Sink), Tun (Swallow), and Tou (Spit) common in the Southern Chinese martial arts. Unique to Bak Mei is it’s classification of the following six powers: biu (thrusting), chum (sinking), tan (springing), fa (neutralizing), tung, and chuk. Bak Mei emphasizes the movements of the Tiger
Tiger
The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
, but Bak Mei also uses the other four animal styles associated with the Henan Shaolin Temple as well such as the Tiger
Tiger
The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
, the Crane
Crane (bird)
Cranes are a family, Gruidae, of large, long-legged and long-necked birds in the order Gruiformes. There are fifteen species of crane in four genera. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back...
, the Leopard
Leopard
The leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...
, the Snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
and the Dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
. Together they are known as the Five Animals. One other animal style used in Bak Mei is called the Phoenix
Phoenix (mythology)
The phoenix or phenix is a mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Arabian, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, Indian and Phoenicians....
.
Currently
Today, Chong teaches the Yip Man style of Wing Chun, the Pan Nam style of Wing Chun and Foshan Bak Mei as well. Only Chong's closed door students are taught Bak Mei and only by his invitation. There are three treasure forms in Foshan Bak Mei, only the most dedicated of his closed door students may learn those forms and their applications.Chong is fulfilling his lifelong desire to master all aspects of Chinese martial arts, including the health benefits of Five Petal Qigong and meditation. Five Petal Qigong channels one's life energy to enhance the body’s ability for self-healing, regeneration and internal power.
Chong has been the subject of feature articles in several martial arts magazines including BLACKBELT MAGAZINE (May 1982 issue) and featured in INSIDE KUNG FU magazine on many different occasions throughout the 1980s to our present time in the twentyfirst century. Sifu Chong has also been featured in newspapers in the cities where his schools are located.