Class Schedule
Monday-Thursday 7pm-9pm (days and times may vary)
One class $20
1 month up front: $100
3 months up front: $250
6 months up front: $500
2 hour private session by appointment: $60
Classes include:
KungFu conditioning
Basic striking, throws, and grappling
Sanda sparring
Pak Mei Pai Kungfu
History of The Pak Mei Clan
The martial arts of the Pak Mei Clan originated from the Shaolin Buddish Monastery, Sung Shan, Henan Province, China, Buddish Monk Pak Mei, the eldest of the five elders of Shaolin in the Ching Dynasty was regarded as the first generation of the Pak Mei Clan, the Pak Mei Martial Arts were passed from Buddish Monk Pak Mei to Buddish Monk Kwong Wai who was regarded as the second generation, from Buddish Monk Kwong Wai to Buddish Monk Chuk Fai Wan who was regarded as the third generation, from Buddish Monk Chuk Fat Wan to great Grand Grand Master Cheung Lai Chuen who was regarded as belonging to the fourth generation and from Great Grand Grand Master Cheung Lai Chuen to his son Cheung Ping Lam who was regarded as belonging to the fifth generation. The first, second and third generations of the Pak Mei Clan were all Buddish Monks. The Pak Mei Martial Arts did not spread to the secular world until they had been passed to Great Grand Grand Master Cheung Lai Chuen.
The first person to spread wildly and brilliantly of the Pak Mei Martial Arts in the secular world was Great Grand Grand Master Cheung Lai Chuen who was born during the reign of Emperor Kwong Shui at the end of the Ching Dynasty in Weiyang District, Dong Jiang, Guangdong Province, China. He commenced to learn martial arts at the age about Thirteen years and learned three different styles of martial arts in the Dong Jiang area from three famous Kung Fu masters who were Master Shek, Master Lee Yee and Master Lam Ah Hop, the disciple of Buddish Monk Yuk Shing of the Wah Sou Buddish Monastery, Law Fau Shan, Guangdong Province, China. All the three famous Master praised him and indicated that he should establish his own gymnasium to teach students. As Great Grand Grand Master was still young at the time, he preferred not to teach martial arts but went to Guangzhou for good at about the age of nineteen years. In Guangzhou he accidentally got to know a Buddish Monk called Lin Sang and had the chance of having a friendly combat with Monk Lin Sang. Who then defeated him. Great Grand Grand Master humbly requested Monk Lin Sang to accept him as a disciple, but he was refused.
Later he learned from Monk Lin Sang that the martial arts used to defeat him had been passed to Monk Lin Sang by Buddish Monk Chuk Fat Wan and both Monks toured about in the Guangdong Province from the Sichuan Province and were then staying in the Kwong Hau Buddish Monastery, Guangzhou, Monk Lin Sang brought Great Grand Grand Master to the Monastery and introduced him to Monk Chuk Fat Wan who finally accepted Great Grand Grand Master as his disciple to learn the Pak Mei Martial Arts after having begged lengthily for it, thereafter Great Grand Grand Master followed Monk Chuk Fat Wan to tour about, learn and practice the Pak Mei Martial Arts. After two odd years of hard learning and practice and an account of Great Grand Grand Master’s talent in understanding martial arts, Great Grand Grand Master learned all the Pak Mei Martial Arts except the technique gravel shooting and obtained their vitalities. Then Monk Chuk Fat Wan and Monk Lin Sang returned to their Buddish Monastery in the Sichuan Province and Great Grand Grand Master returned to Weizhou to join his mother.
Thereafter Great Grand Grand Master joined the revolutionary team of Wong War Shun against the Ching Dynasty in Dong Jiang area and took part in the revolutionary battle in Wong Fat Kong of Guangzhou. The revolutionists were defeated heavily and most of them lost their lives, Great Grand Grand Master was fortunate for not being killed and he escaped from Gangzhou to his native place.
After the establishment of the Republic of China, in Jiang Men Town of the Sun Wui District, Great Grand Grand Master aided Detective Captain Lui Chan to confront a leader of the salt smugglers, Great Grand Grand Master fight with the leader who was highly proficient in Kung Fu, broke the Leader’s arm and arrested him for the Captain. As a result Great Grand Grand Master got his prestige in the Sun Wui District and started his teaching of martial art in Jiang Men Town. In Jiang Men Town Great Grand Grand Master accepted the challenge of Kung Fu Master Chan Sau who had defeated several Kung Fu masters in Jiang Men Town and won him, thus Great Grand Grand Master was further praised by the martial arts community there. Later Great Grand Grand Master tried to solve some problems for one of his students and was forced to involve in a fight confronting more than fifty bad characters, during the fight he knocked down several persons, it was heard that one of them had been punched by him with his phoenix eye fist at the throat and died of the injury. To avoid trouble Great Grand Grand Master was forced to leave Jiang Men Town for Guangzhou.
In Guangzhou Great Grand Grand Master set up his Kung Fu school to teach Pak Mei Martial Arts again at On Wide Lane, during which time Great Grand Grand Master defeated Kung Fu Master Tsang Wai Pok who had closed several Kung Fu schools in Guangzhou by overcoming the masters thereof. Great Grand Grand Master’s victory shocked the martial arts community there and gained his prestige in Guangzhou. A lot of students followed him to learn the Pak Mei Martial Arts causing the jealousy of some of the Kung Fu masters. Ultimately while Great Grand Grand Master was carrying his infant son and walking along a street, a group of seven to eight assassins tried to kill him with knives and guns. Great Grand Grand Master knocked down several of them and took one of them as his shield, it was fortunate that the policemen were accidentally nearby to give assistance and arrested those being knocked down. The incidence was widely reported by the newspapers in Guangzhou and honored Great Grand Grand Master with the title of “The Fierce Tiger of Tung Kong” which made him well know in Guangzhou.
Thereafter Great Grand Grand Master was employed by the Guangzhou Police Training School, the Yin Tong College and the Whampoa Military College one after the other as their martial arts training officer. During his employment in the Whampoa Military College he established a set of technique for fighting by using the rifle fixed with the knife and was responsible for training the famous by saber team apart from performing other duties. Many military officers also personally became his disciples in learning the Pak Mei Martial Arts, such as the Security Commander of the Guangdong Province, General Wai Chun Fook and Colonel Liu Chun Yat who died for China in the Nanking Battle against the Japanese army During the war against the Japanese Great Grand Grand Master was employed as the martial arts trainer of the guerilla band of Leung Kwai Ping in Dong Jiang area. After the war he was employed as the martial arts training officer of the Secret Agents Department in the Guangdong Province.
When Guangzhou was about to be liberated, for being a military officer of the Republic of China he brought with his three sons, Cheung Ping Sum, Cheung Ping Lam and Cheung Ping Fat to migrate to Hong Kong, then some of his disciples also came to Hong Kong. It was from that time onward the Pak Mei Martial Arts were formally brought to Hong Kong and starting to be spread in Hong Kong Great Grand Grand Master passed away in Hong Kong at the age of eighty odd years in 1964. During his time in Hong Kong he only taught about twenty odd disciples, but it has now been developed that members of the Pak Mei Clan can be found in many parts of the world and the Pak Mei Martial Arts may have been passed on to the ninth generation nowadays. Great Grand Grand Master combated with many Kung Fu masters during his lifetime and defeated all of them. Many of his opponents admired the Pak Mei Martial Arts after their failure and became his disciples such as Master Chan Sau and master Tsang Wai Pok aforesaid, and Great Grand Grand Master was very willing to pass the Pak Mei Martial Arts to them.
After the death of the Great Grand Grand Master, members of the fifth generation of the Pak Mei Clan held meetings and elected his son Cheung Ping Lam as the Head of the Pak Mei Clan. Master Cheung Ping Lam is the second son of the Great Grand Grand Master Cheung Lai Chuen. Great Grand Grand Master taught Master Cheung Ping Lam the Pak Mei Martial Arts since his childhood. Master firstly performed martial arts in the Whampoa Military College at the age of seven years and started to teach the Pak Mei Martial Arts at the age of eighteen years. Amongst the disciples and sons of the Great Grand Grand Master, his son Cheung Ping Lam is the one who spent the longest time to learn the Pak Mei Martial Arts from the Great Grand Grand Master and research the Pak Mei Martial Arts with the Great Grand Grand Master.
During the old age of the Great Grand Grand Master in Hong Kong, Master usually stayed by his side to make research of martial arts with him and taught for and on behalf of the Great Grand Grand Master some of his disciples the Pak Mei Martial Arts. Master has devoted all his lifetime to martial arts and obtained all the vitalities and importance of the Pak Mei Martial Arts. He has taken up the teaching of the Pak Mei Martial Arts as his life career and frequently teaches the members of the fifth and sixth generations of the Pak Mei Clan the Pak Mei Martial Arts for the purpose of promoting them to the higher level. Thus Master was elected as the Head of the Pak Mei Clan an account of his doings and prestige. He has selected to teach good quality disciples of a smaller number rather than bad quality students of a larger number and teaches his selected disciples of all known by him without reserve. In 1999 Master has attained the age of seventy-three years.
In order to show respect and gratefulness to Master Cheung Ping Lam, several of his disciples gathered a sum of money to purchase a landed property of about 1,300 square feet situated at Tsimshatsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong in 1986 for Master to have a permanent place of teaching and in February, 1988 they also established the Pak Mei Lai Chuen Martial Arts Association Limited. The members of the Association are the disciples of Master Cheung Ping Lam within the past fifteen years, each of them has decent job and is without undesirable background. Amongst them, there are accountant, lawyer, police superintendent, police chief inspector, civil servant, manufacturer, merchant, executive and artist, and Master Cheung Ping Lam is the permanent governor of the Association. At present there are only left surviving several members of the fifth generation and even the youngest one has attained the age of sixty-nine years.
Master Ng Yiu
Master Ng Yiu constant practice of martial arts, he enjoys excellent health. At the old age, his kung fu movements are still extremely brisk and powerful. In parallel to his superb mastery of Pak Mei kung fu, his martial ethic is equally well known. He is highly respected as an outstanding kung fu master in both the Pak Mei family and the general martial art circle in Hong Kong.
He came from Nan Hoi district of Kwong Tung Province. At the age 15, he learned kung fu from the Master Cheung Lai- Chuen. He was tall and of sturdy build. Great Grand Grand Master Cheung was deeply impressed by his loyalty and diligence in practicing. He gave him constant encouragement and extra coaching in Pak Mei kung fu. A few years later, he became Great Grand Grand Master Cheung’s distinguished disciple.
He was soon appointed by the Cheung’s to head the first branch of the Lai-Chuen kung fu association at Kwei-tong street, Canton and to teach in the military academy.
At that time, the Lai-chuen kung fu association of the Pak Mei school developed and expended rapidly. There were 18 branches altogether in Canton. Many other kung fu were also competing strongly for ground and reputation. One would find it extremely difficult to survive and establish if without genuinely high standard in martial arts. Yet. With his sheer mastery of Pak Mei kung fu, Grand Master Ng stood up to competition, understand. As a matter of fact, he was Great Grand Grand Master Cheung’s right hand man. Due to his achievement and establishment, he was highly respected and so able to act as a trouble-shooter within the kung fu circle.
Throughout his career, he has been put into numerous tough and real tests. To mention a few, the following were included.
In 1930 because of the political uncertainty, social order was very bad, the Long-beach area in Canton, in particular, Travellers commuters and shopkeepers nearby were harassed by the underworld based at the docks. It happened that one of Grand Master Ng students owned a shop in the area. He was no exception and had to inform Master Ng about the case. So, Master Ng went to negotiate with the gangsters. But, they were so unreasonable that they turned out to attack him. The one in the front chopped at him with big chopper. As soon as he had avoided the attack by retreating a step backward, he gave the attacker a lighting right side-kick at his waist. The force was so powerful that the thug tumbled and fell a few meters away.
Then another one came forward from the left. After the right side-kick, Master Ng tilted his body slightly to balance and then made a similar side-kick on the left. Again, the attacker fell helplessly as he received the momentous impact. The rest fled. Social order improved consequently in the Long-beach area. After this incident, Grand Master Ng became famous in Canton. On the other hand, Pak Mei kung fu also became well known throughout the city. It happens that the chained directional side-kick are just some of Pak Mei powerful leg applications.
Two years later. The political scene was more settled, but, in Ho-Nam of Canton, underworld influence was still felt. Near the Hoi Tung Temple and Hung Fook district it was a mixed area. A group called “The Four Kings and General Hunt and General Hah” ran a vice racket there. Not only asking for protection money from the locals, they often beat up tourists visiting the beautiful holiday resort. For this reason, an amusement park owner had to employ reluctantly their fellow gangsters as gate-keepers
Hoping that harassments would then cease. However, this gave them a further boost in morale. Thing did not improve, but worsened. In the end, the owner had to turn to Grand Master Ng for help. The latter then went to the amusement park alone to settle the matter with the two tough guys. He was immediately surrounded by the gangsters as he stepped into the park. Their leaders came forward and grabbed Grand Master Ng’s arms while the other were about to attack. He realized that that to break through, he must apply the genuine techniques. So he first exerted a powerful and sudden inward pull. The two guys were drawn off their balance, falling forward. They were subsequently flung out by his forceful left-right lower outward blocks.
Having defeated the two leaders, he could then concentrate on the rest of the gangsters one by one and got away. The story of this fight once again spread fast throughout Canton.
The city fell into Japanese hands soon after LouKouchiao ( Loo Chow Bridge ) Incident, in 1938.
Grand Master Ng was assisting Great Grand Grand Master Cheung to train the soldiers in the military academy after having retreated. They taught charging techniques using rifles, and trained the “big chopper Squad” Both were found useful and efficient on the battlefield. Toward the end of the Sino-Japanese War. Grand Master Ng was appointed to work in the intelligence division of the Commando Squad.
He had won a few awards for his outstanding achievements. He had also practiced the traditional herbs treatments throughout the year.
The tragic war ended in 1945 after the Japanese surrendered. He returned to Canton and restarted his business. In his spare time, he helped the Great Grand Grand Master Cheung to develop the kung fu school. The latter was very proud of his remarkable achievements in martial art and had therefore made known that he was his most distinguished disciple. He always encouraged and reminded him to pursue the true spirit of chivalry and endurance.
In 1949, he followed the Great Grand Grand Master to Hong Kong. With his vast knowledge and experience in medical herbs, he set up his clinic to practice herbs treatments on the Kowloon side. As for the Great Grand Grand Master, he was invited by many village leaders from the new Territories to set up school to teach martial art. Again, Grand Master Ng was very active in assisting to develop and promote Pak Mei kung fu.
Three years later, a rather famous kung fu instructor also came to Hong Kong from Canton. He was agitated by someone with malicious intention to defame the Pak Mei school. He often claimed that if you wanted to become famous, all you had to do was to defeat the Pak Mei school. And, to defeat that school, you must first defeat nd GraMaster Ng. But, Great Grand Grand Master Cheung took all these slanders with a smile. However, they got worse and distasteful as they spread around. Grand Master Ng was infuriated. He had found out that instructor used to lunch in a particular restaurant in Shum Shui Po. Having found him there, Grand Master Ng questioned him about its truth and suggested a dual to determine superiority between themselves.
Yet. That instructor was scared of Grand Master Ng’s achievement in martial art and had to apologies. Grand Master Ng accepted it and so a fight was avoided. After the death of the Great Grand Grand Master, he became the leading veteran of the Pak Mei School.
A similar incident arose in 1954. At that time, he was responsible for the further developments of Pak Mei kung fu, which was already prospering in Hong Kong. Another kung fu teacher intended to achieve fame through the same trick. He got to know Grand Master Ng through a herbalist friend. He had learned kung fu from many different schools. Every evening, he discussed and practiced kung fu in a nearby Buddhist temple with his friends.
One day, Grand Master Ng was having luncheon with the instructor together. After lunch, they went to the herbalist clinic. That kung fu teacher began to boast of his kung fu skills intending to invite Grand Master Ng for a fight. It was natural to learn and improve in this way, providing all parties observed the true spirit of martial ethics. The teacher maintained he himself was very fast and could fling Grand Master Ng on to the ground easily. Grand Master Ng took a more cautious and defensive approach. He then set up a “blockade” with his two fists covering the middle part of the body while bending his waist slightly. Because of such obstruction, that instructor found it difficult and too late to change his tactic. In the meantime, Grand Master Ng stepped forward applying a frontal punch. It was a special punch which released force like a tensioned spring. It is a typical Pak Mei punch. The teacher tumbled and fell by the wall. The force was so violent that some framed picture on the wall also came down and shattered. The spectators on the spot were startled. It took him a long while to recover. He was deeply ashamed and had to concede the superiority of Pak Mei kung fu. It happened that Grand Master Ng was so broad-minded that he stooped the reporters from releasing this incident. This well explains why he has won the respect and established his position inside the kung fu circle in Hong Kong.
Master William Lam
1948-2004
56 years old.
Master Simon Lui
Si Fu Simon Lui was born in 1957, Hong Kong, China. He was fascinated with the practice of martial arts from a very young age, but to his misfortune, his family was not entirely supportive of this practice because it was not “realistic”.
Since moving to Toronto, Canada in 1972, Si Fu Simon was finally able to pursue his life’s’ dream and started to devote his life to learning, and mastering, the various kinds Kung Fu that were available to him.
He was first under the tutelage of Master Wong Leung (黃梁), from whom he learned the Wing Chun ( 詠春) style. Within a few months, Si Fu Simon also learned the techniques of Hung (洪拳) style from Master Luk Can Wing (陸鏡榮). He spent an entire year mastering these two techniques, refining his posture to absolute perfection.
In 1974, Simon landed a job where he coincidentally found out that an elder co-worker, Master Lum Hung (林雄) was not only into the practice of Kung Fu, but was extremely good at it. After seven months of constant, daily persuasion, Master Lum Hung finally invited Simon to his home. Since that day, Master Lum Hung and Si Fu Simon Lui became teacher and student for the next 5 years.
Master Lum Hung instructed Si Fu Simon in Pak Mei (白眉) style. Si Fu Simon devoted himself into mastering this technique, spending 8 hours a day practicing, refining and perfecting it. Unfortunately, Si Fu Simon and Master Lum Hung needed to go their separate ways. Si Fu Simon traveled to New York, where he was privileged enough to meet another devout Kung Fu practitioner, Master Wong Kwok Wai (黃國威), from whom he learned the White Crane (喇嘛白鶴) style, and also the many different uses of Chinese herbal medicine. Within 4 years, Si Fu Simon completed his course in Chinese Medicine, and within the 2 years after that, completed his course in Chinese Herb Facial and other different Chinese herbal treatment systems. In 1982, Si Fu Simon started creating his own Dit Da treatments, using the various methods learned in the courses he took, and analyzing the particular need of the patient and creating a treatment customized for these singular cases.
A few years later, Si Fu Simon chanced to meet Master Lum Hung again, and they worked together for over 20 years. During this time, Si Fu Simon never slowed in his passion and continued to refine his Kung Fu and Chinese medicinal practices. He also took the opportunity to travel across many states in an attempt to expand the practice of Kung Fu. Today, Si Fu Simon has hundreds of students across Canada and the United States. He enjoys spreading his knowledge, and watching others become healthier, and better people, through his tutelage. Kung Fu is a form of exercise which takes dedication and teaches one discipline. It trains the body and mind as a whole. Si Fu Simon is proud to see some of his students well on their way to becoming their own master of Kung Fu. Still, to this day, he does not tire of involving himself, in every way possible, in the art of Kung Fu and Chinese herbology. His life’s dream and passion, is lived in him, through his students.
Si Fu Bill Girod
Bill Girod has been studying martial arts for about 15 years. He started as a youth at a local Kempo Karate school where he earned his brown belt. When he realized he was not getting the kind of self defense training he was looking for he started a quest through many styles and systems (including hapkido, tae kwon do, judo, Japanese + brazilian jiujitsu, and even traditional kenjutsu) before finding his passion in traditional kungfu. In 2005 he began studying under Cory Schwendemann, and Mikey Reyes in the basic of shaolin Kungfu with styles such as 5 animal boxing, Wing Chun, 7 star preying mantis, Hsing Yi, Bagua, and Tai chi. In 2008 he decided to compete in MMA at an amateur level after winning 2 bouts and losing 3 he decided he needed to slow down and really focus on his passion of kungfu. In 2012 he met Sifu Simon Lui and was introduced to the power of Pak Mei. The short power and natural body movement of Pak Mei, along with the philosophies and training methods, were everything he had been searching for in his martial quest. He has since dedicated all of his practices to helpincrease his understanding of Pak Mei kungfu.
