Grandmaster Chan Sau Chung
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Chan Sau Chung (born Hong Kong 1932 - present) current Head of the Tai Shing Pek Kwar Kung Fu, protege and sole surviving student of Sigung Kan Tak Hoi, the Great Grandmaster and founder of Tai Shing Pek Kwar Kung Fu. Grandmaster Chan Sau Chung (75 years of age in 2007) is 5 feet tall with an average build and even after practicing Tai Shing Pek Kwar for more than sixty years, he moves like a man still in his mid-thirties.
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[edit] Early Training
The Grandmaster became a student of Sigung Kan Tak Hoi when he was roughly 12 years old and has been practicing ever since. Initially he was taught sanshou by the Sigung, however as Chan's natural talent became evident, the Sigung began to teach him Pek Kwar Kung Fu. Kan Tak Hoi had been learning Pek Kwar kung fu from his dad Master Kan Wing Kwai from he was about 8 years old. Sigung Kan Tak Hoi later invited Chan to study kung fu everyday and to help manage his school in Hong Kong. At the age of 16 years Chan quit his regular school and became a full-time teaching assistant to Sigung Kan Tak Hoi at the Hong Kong school.
Tai Shing Kung Fu was originated by founder Kau Sze (寇四). The name Tai Shing refers to the wise monkey character Sun Wukong in the Chinese legend of Hsi Yu Chi ( Journey to the West [1] by Wu Cheng En), which was written in the sixteenth century. Through the years the name Tai Shing has become synonymous with Monkey Kung Fu. Kau Sze had previously taught Tai Shing Kung Fu to Kan Tak Hoi who merged the two techniques to form Tai Shing Pak Kwar kung fu which he later taught to Chan. Although Kan Tak Hoi had learnt Pek Kwar Kung Fu from his family first, out of respect for his father's very good friend Kau Sze, Kan Tak Hoi decided to use Tai Shing as the first part of the name for the new kung fu.
Having learned the entire Pek Kwar system, Sigung Kan Tak Hoi then taught his young protege all five styles of Tai Shing Kung Fu. Learning the entire Pek Kwar system normally takes roughly ten years, however Chan completed it in only six. This caused some problems with a few of his more experienced batch mates who confronted Sigung Kan Tak Hoi and demanded that they too be taught Tai Shing kung fu. Kan Tak Hoi agreed and asked Chan to teach them. As Chan's knowledge and expertise in Tai Shing Pek Kwar grew Kan Tak Hoi would take him into the mountains outside of Hong Kong for special training in Tai Shing kung fu. This included walking tightropes, scrambling up ropes, rolling around on rocky ground and walking around in a slightly bow legged monkey styled squat until his legs burned. However not all training included physical exertion as once or twice each week Chan would go to the Kam Shan Country Park (金山郊野公園) known as "Monkey Mountain" to locals) just outside Hong Kong to watch the monkeys play, fight, frolic and generally be themselves. He gradually incorporated their gestures, eye movements, facial expressions and their short sharp burst of speed etc. in his kung fu routines.
[edit] Opening of First School
Chan Sau Chung and three of his batch mates were selected by Sigung Kan Tak Hoi and authorized to teach Tai Shing Pek Kwar. In 1954 at the age of 22years Grand Master Chan Sau Chung opened his first school in Hong Kong. Chan's first school had only eleven students and he had to be helped financially by his brother but he was determined to continue teaching kung fu even though his father constantly asked him to get a "real" job. Things remained very slow and low-keyed until the late sixties when monkey kung fu burst onto the international scene.
[edit] Trainer of Champions
In 1969, one of Chan's students (Chan Koon Tai whom we in the West now know as Chen Kwan Tai or Chen Kuan Tai [2]) won five straight matches to claim the middleweight title in the Southeast Asia Open Martial Arts Tournament. For the next three years Chan sent a fighter who won his weight class. Having trained four outstanding Southeast Asian champions, Chan Sau Chung now retired, spends his time taking life a bit easier while his son Master Chan Kai Leung is set to take on the leadership of this very special technique.
