History of Ng Ying Kuen 五形拳

From the Shaolin Temple to Canton

The fall of the South Shaolin Temple and the rise of the ten tigers of Canton is one of the legendary stories of the South Shaolin temples and the famous Shaolin Kung Fu masters who trained there. Events and betrayals led to the destruction of these Southern Shaolin temples. The survivors fled from the Qing army and dispersed. Many of them eventually settled in the area around Canton, the capital of the province. They in turn taught their kung-fu to the population, resulting in the appearance of several eminent kung-fu masters. The ten best were chosen and will now be known as the “Ten Tigers of Canton”.

From Canton to Toronto

Si Tai Gung Chong Oi Mun

Grand Master Chong Oi Mun grew up in a small fishing village a few hundred kilometers south of Hong Kong. He and his family fled China after the communist takeover and eventually settled in Toronto.

Grand Master Chong Oi Mun was the first to bring this incredible art to Canada, at the beginning of 60′s.

Grand Master Chong Oi Mun and his cousin, “Little Dave”, who along with Chong Oi Mun’s brother, Tony Chong, opened a club in Toronto’s Chinatown. For many years, the cousins drove taxis in downtown Toronto while teaching at the club part-time. They taught there for many years.

However, it was not without its trials and tribulations. By the time he began teaching, the reputation of kung fu had been tarnished – because the martial art had been associated with the triads – the Chinese mafia.

In addition, the Chinese martial arts community was pressuring Sigung Chong Oi Mun because he was teaching Kung Fu to non-Chinese students. Physical conflicts broke out between schools and students.

On the other hand, Karate had no such negative ties in the Chinese martial arts community. They would ignore Karate since they did not consider it a true martial art.

In order to build up a student base, Chong Oi Mun taught a Karate system from his cousin, “Little Dave” to beginners and as the serious students progressed, they would learn the art of Shaolin. All this would happen secretly inside the Karate school. In this way Master Chong could teach his beloved Kung Fu To anyone that needed it.

Great-grandmaster Chong Oi Mun is still training and is one of the most respected names in Canadian martial arts, as he and his cousin developed some of the best technicians, fighters and form competitors Canada has ever seen. We are very proud that Grand Master Chong Oi Mun and his cousin “Little Dave” were inducted into the Canadian Black Belt Hall of Fame in 2007.

Chong Oi Mun came to Canada in the 1950’s and began teaching Sigung Yamanaka in 1962. In 1991, Sigung Yamanaka passed on the teaching to Sifu Mitch Harrow, an honour bestowed upon him by the original founder, Grand Master Chong Oi Mun.

Forged in Canada

Grand Master Chong Oi Mun was the first to introduce this incredible art to Canada. He was trained in a suburb of Canton by Lee Sai Wing, a student of Lam Sai Wing. Although it does not reflect what is accepted as “pure” Hung Gar, it has never been presented as such. Our style contains many recognized techniques, no doubt passed down through the centuries from the original work of Bai Yu Feng. It is a Southern Shaolin system that was forged in the streets of Toronto. We practice it according to the old methods, for when its use was to defend life and to forge body and mind, not for sport or entertainment. Our belief has always been that the practitioner was making the style “good” or “bad”, so it is up to each one of us to do what we can with the knowledge that has been passed on to us, and to do our best to live up to our predecessors.

Si Gung Yamanaka

(also known as Shihan Yamanaka)

Si Gung Yamanaka, is one of the most renowned martial arts instructors in the world. He has been recognized by the Government of Canada, the former Prime Minister of Japan, the Ontario Provincial Police, the Metropolitan Toronto Police, the Peel Regional Police, the Minister of Natural Resources, school boards and numerous charitable organizations for his integrity and technical excellence. Si Gung Yamanaka has trained more than 100,000 people in 22 countries.

Si Gung Yamanaka currently holds some of the highest titles, ranks and positions in the martial arts world, including: 9th degree black belt Shaolin Ng Ying Kuen, 8th degree black belt Okinawa Goju Ryu Karate, 9th degree black belt Shindo Ryu Jujutsu, 8th degree black belt Wado Ryu Karate and founder and chief instructor Yudansha Kobujitsu Karatedo Federation. He received the title of “Kyoshi”, awarded by the Japanese Board of Directors for the certification of grades. Kyoshi means teacher of teachers. He has received positive responses worldwide for his seminars on personal protection, martial arts and police defensive tactics.

Si Gung Yamanaka is a direct student of the great master Masaru Shintani who is the father of Wado Ryu Karate in Canada and the man who introduced Shindo to Canadians. Grand Master Shintani is a direct student of Hinori Otsuka, the founder of Wado Ryu Karate.

Si Gung Yamanaka began his practice in 1962 under the guidance of the great master David Chong and remains his disciple to this day. Grand Master Chong is a direct descendant of the famous Kung Fu legend Wong Fei Hung.

As a direct student of the great master Eiichi Miyazato, Si Gung Yamanaka was aware of the most intimate aspects of Goju Ryu Karate. Sensei Eiichi Miyazato was the direct successor of the Founder of Goju Ryu, Grand Master Chojun Miyagi.

9th degree in Yamanaka-ha Shindo Ryu Jujutsu
9th degree in Shaolin Ng Ying Kune Kung Fu
8th degree in Okinawian Goju Ryu Karate do
8th degree in Wado Ryu Karate
Personal student of Si Tai Gung Chong

Si Gung Mitch Harrow

8th degree in Shaolin Ng Ying Kuen Kune fa
7th degree in Okinawian Goju Ryu Karate
5th degree in Yamanaka-Ha Shindo Ryu Jujitsu
5th degree in traditional Chinese weapon, Okinawan and Philipino
R.M. Yamanaka’s personal student