We wanted to give readers a little inside look at the content of this book. It is a lifetime of wisdom, overcoming challenges and attaining mastery. Get the book here.
“Hung Gar has many major characteristics and a certain focus that tends to distinguish the style. Distinctive of that style is a system inside Hung Gar which consists of a philosophy of practical martial strategies, various principles, tactics and concepts. It also includes the character development of the practitioners and the self-realisation of each of the practitioners.Preservation of health is another extremely important distinction of the style, which probably exists in other styles as well. The style is traditionally known as being strong and focused. So if you don’t look after your health you’re not able to learn and practice Hung Gar well. Another key component of the style is the Five Animals. These are the tiger, crane, snake, leopard and the dragon. They represent various characteristics or personalities of those animals which we are taught to adopt as part of the learning of various movements.
There are also five elements of nature – fire, earth, metal, water, and wood. Each of those five elements has certain “characteristics just as the animals do, and those characteristics are employed within the execution of Hung Gar. Then there are the Four Pillars, which have evolved over time. These are the historic forms and routines which contain within them most of the distinctive movements and techniques of Hung Gar. Much of the tactical movements can be seen within the four pillars. There are also the Twelve Bridges, which are very important as they tend to remind and teach us the intention or ‘way’ we intend to carry out our particular actions.
I consider that the system of Hung Gar has three main areas of focus: Martial, Health – physical and mental and lastly Cultural. Each Hung Gar school and teacher (Sifu) will likely have their own particular emphasis on one or more of these areas. In my case, I tend to focus more on the cultural and health areas. The martial focus is of course a key part that I teach. However, in today’s society, it is not practical for that to be the major area of focus. Bear in mind that Hung Gar is not a spectator sport for entertainment or competition. So it is not taught or practiced with any cautionary rules…”
We have another excerpt on the twelve Bridges, a key teaching from Hung Kuen:
‘An important principle of Hung Gar is that of the Bridge. The Bridge is a practice and strategy that, through the application of principle, technique, skill and the establishment of positioning and opportunity, establishes advantage and enables the transference of power or energy (chi 氣), and control.
Hung Gar is known very well for its Twelve Bridges. Many people believe these Twelve Bridges refer to specific movements only. However, that is not what I was taught, and not my belief. Perhaps linking certain of the Twelve Bridges with particular movements simply became a learning aid over time, and has been misinterpreted. But to me, that association completely misses the depth of meaning of the Twelve Bridges.
Their focus is exclusively on teaching you ‘the holistic concept’ of the way we execute a movement, rather than simply where and how to place the limbs, body, or weapon. So the emphasis must always begin with understanding your own intent.
The Twelve Bridges also represent important keywords and principles within Hung Gar that form the basis and meaning of the art, and that also guide the students along the path of discovery towards the unlocking of what some may interpret as the mysteries of the art and encountering self through the mind-body connection. Apart from being used as variations of intent in terms of a threatening confrontation with martial intent, the Twelve Bridges are also directly adaptable to communications with people in day-to- day life, which may be perceived as confrontational yet with no martial connotation.‘
We hope you enjoyed this look inside, if you a martial artist, TCM practitioner or just someone who is inspired by others success, then this is certainly a book you will enjoy and gain a lot of wisdom from. You can purchase the book here.
Leave a Reply