As my Master Ho Choek Wah says in this text, his father, Ho Cheung, is no longer with us but his spirit still lives at the Hung Sing Kwoon today.
Ho Cheung was much more than a teacher, much more than the headmaster of the temple, throughout his life he placed the Hung Sing Kwoon ahead of himself, he tried to transmit the teachings that his masters and the masters of his masters had imparted. During tough times he worked so that all this knowledge wasn´t lost, so that the temple would reopen, so that all the teachers who were scattered throughout China would once again have a place where they belonged.
He did all this by placing the name of Hung Sing Choy Lee Fut ahead of his own, he didn´t care that his students trained with other masters of the same style if he thought hence they could contribute with something valuable and he always believed that the union of all members would make the Hung Sing Kwoon great again one day.
These values are still felt in the temple today, both my Sifu and Master Wong Zan Gong, current headmaster of the Hung Sing Kwoon, as the rest of Sifu who walk there every day consider that the most important thing is to transmit the martial arts and the ethical and moral values of the ancestor masters. This can be seen in every championship and exhibition, pupils do not represent this or that Sifu, but they represent the Hung Sing Kwoon and there is a constant mixing and transfer of students from different teachers who go from one group to another when necessary, for both the Hung Sing Kwoon and the Hung Sing Leung Kwoon. This mixture is so extent that when someone comes from outside it is rather confusing to distinguish who is who´s master and it is essential to explain them that, above all, we are all students of the temple.
What’s more, after a few months people immediately have a feeling of belonging to the place, and each one helps in the way the can, everyone is involved, masters, instructors, adults, children and parents. There are sifu who love to teach but do not usually appear in the media, others teach and organize, there are fathers and mothers who take care of the material, clothes and that nothing is missing, other masters are the visible face in championships and exhibitions, there are students who do not miss any performance and others who, despite having new occupations and jobs, come whenever they can, there are students who, as they gain experience, begin to teach their younger siblings at the expense of their own training time, there are those who are skillful taking photos and videos, there are masters focused on lion dance, others take care of teenagers, others do the same with children.
In the Hung Sing Kwoon I have seen three generations training together, I have seen the headmaster of the temple spending an hour teaching horse stance to a child who had been there for only two days. I have seen many masters working long hours to organize events for no money at all, just for the love for a style and a place.
Nowadays, more than ten masters students from Ho Cheung, Ho Yi, Tsui Kong Yuan and students of the next generation are in charge of making sure that everything works and they sum up strength and knowledge so that the Hung Sing Kwoon is a reference within the martial arts of China today, so that the place is always full of life, renewing itself with new students, welcoming people from other countries, so that the story of sacrifice and love for this style kept alive by so many ancestor masters is taught there and not forgotten.
Thereby, every time a child or an adult approaches the Jeong Hung Sing altar for the first time, with the photos of the ancestor teachers watching, Ho Cheung’s legacy is present, together with the values for which he fought all his life. The martial art, medicine and the values of the Hung Sing Kwoon will not fall into oblivion, on the contrary, they will become stronger every day.
Many were the students who passed through the hands of Ho Cheung throughout his life, among them I would like to highlight those who have in some way continued to be linked to the Hung Sing Kwoon contributing to make his great his legacy.
He is also an excellent teacher when it comes to transmitting his knowledge, as he says, to teach each student in the right way and to treat each one according to his characteristics as his father did.
Sifu Yeung eas Ho Cheung’s first student, the Da Shi Hing, he kept all his life the contact with the Hung Sing Kwoon.
Lok Sifu is one of the most outstanding disciples of Master Ho Cheung.
Sifu Leung Wai Wing
Master Leung Wai Wing was a Ho Cheung’s disciple and today he continues carrying his legacy on by teachig martial arts, history and martial values to his students.
In 2011 he founded the Hung Sing Leung Kwoon of which he is the Headmaster. This Kwoon has its own presence in both exhibitions and championships and is, at the same time, a main part of the Futsan Hung Sing Kwoon.
Sifu Leung, with the help of his many disciples, is currently in charge of classes in at least three different places, the Kwoon dedicated to Ho Cheung, the Kwoon dedicated to Tsui Gwong Yun and the Leung Kwoon itself. By this means he reaches hundreds of students at the same time to whom he teaches as he was taught, taking special care to transmit both the forms and the essence of Hung Sing Choy Lee Fut in the purest possible way to the future generations.
The Next Generations of Ho Cheung’s Legacy
It’s hard to explain the influence of Master Ho Cheung in the Temple since his teachings also reach those who are not his disciples or students of these, but I would like to highlight among all some of the most relevant who continue to expand his legacy.
Sifu Wong Sai Hoi
This master is straddling two generations, since he studied with Yang Yum, Ho Cheung’s first student, but because of his age, since he was only a few years younger than his master, he also spent a lot of time with his Sigong Ho Cheung.
He is a Master with a very personal approach to Choy Lee Fut, also known for his strong massages. He is also a really kind person from whom you can learn a lot because he is always willing to teach.
Sifu Lei Wei Fong
Linked to Ho Cheung by two of his Masters, Sifu Lei Wei Fong is a student of both Sifu Lok and Sifu Leung, and he is currently one of the most time-consuming young teachers at the Hung Sing Kwoon.
Most of the children and teenagers who study in the temple pass through his hands and he is also responsible for always being present at exhibitions, championships and all kinds of events they attend.
Sifu Leung Wai Wing´s disciples
This inauguration was attended by many of Ho Cheung’s disciples who were at that time in mainland China or Hong Kong, students of his disciples, disciples of other Hung Sing Kwoon masters, students of Sifu Ho Choek Wah and of course all the students of Sifu Leung.
