NGOK FEI AND THE 108 FIGHTING TECHNIQUES

The Eagle Claw System can be traced back to the end of the Southern Sung Dynasty ( about 1250 A.D. ). At this time, China, under the rule of the King Go Chung, was being invaded by Mongolian "Golden Soldiers". Ngok Fei was the Sung General in charge of resistance to the "Golden Soldiers". Training his soldiers in fighting techniques he had learned from a Sil Lum monk named Jow Tong, Ngok Fei continuously defeated the Mongolian invaders and, on several occasions, almost succeeded in capturing their general. As a result, Ngok Fei and his fighting techniques acquired quite a reputation throughout China.

THE HISTORY OF EAGLE CLAW

Originally the Eagle Claw system, whose complete history is told in Sifu Shum's book Eagle Claw Kung Fu: Classical Northern Chinese Fist, was called Elephant style, a system of hand combat that Ngok Fei, said to be the most brilliant general of the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279 AD), taught to his soldiers. The Song court had fled south of the Huai river, a tributary of the Yang Tse River, before the Jürched (a Siberian people who were the ancestors of the Manchus, the last rulers of China before the country became a Republic), who had conquered North China. The Song court set up its capital in Hang Chow. General Ngok Fei defeated the Jürched every time he fought them. Just hearing Ngok Fei's name filled the Jürched with terror. Ngok Fei was able to win victory after victory because he was a clever tactician, and above all because of the kung fu system he taught to his troops.

Ngok Fei was a junior officer who rose from the ranks of recruits. He was not only an excellent strategist, but also a scholar and always showed moral integrity and loyalty to the Emperor. He inspired discipline among his troops, won the people's support, succeeded in suppressing bandits who were roaming the land, and defeated the Jürched cavalry with infantry tactics.

Unfortunately for Ngok Fei, at that time Prime Minister Ch'in Kwei was working out a peace settlement with the Jürched. Ngok Fei's integrity and popularity were not only jeopardizing the peace accord, but also threatening a shaky regime, the Emperor being a lackluster ruler. Ch'in Kwei falsely accused Ngok Fei of insubordination and convinced the Emperor to order him back to the capital. Ngok Fei, who knew very well what was waiting for him, refused to obey. Three times he disregarded the imperial command. Finally the Emperor sent him a "gold edict"?an order that could not be ignored under penalty of death. Ngok Fei had no choice: he headed back to the capital. Once there, he was immediately thrown into prison where he was murdered. He was thirty-nine.

It is widely believed that Ch'in Kwei engineered Ngok Fei's murder.

Ngok Fei's soldiers, enraged at the grossly unfair punishment he had suffered, disbanded and continued training on their own. A monk named Lai Chin, who was already the master of his own system called Faan Tzi, happened to see Ngok Fei's former soldiers training during his travels. He recognized the value of their techniques and decided to incorporate them into his own system. Faan Tzi Eagle Claw was born: today it is known as the Northern Eagle Claw system.

Lai Chin taught Northern Eagle Claw to his student, another monk named Toa Gai, who in turn passed it on to one of his lay students, Lau Shing Yuo. The latter trained his son, Lau Kai Man, in the system. Originally, the Northern Eagle Claw system was to remain within the Lau clan and was not to be taught to outsiders. But Lau Kai Man taught it not only to his nephew in the Lau family, Lau Fat Man, but also to Chan Tzi Ching, his sister's son.

Chan Tzi Ching founded the Ching Mo Kung Fu Association in Shanghai with his friend, Fawk Yun Gop. Other sifus soon joined the association. Chan Tzi Ching also went to Hong Kong to set up another Ching Mo Association, but he soon had to return to Shanghai and left the Hong Kong Ching Mo Association in the care of Lau Fat Man. Sifu Shum's teacher (our Sigong), Ng Wai Nung, trained extensively under Lau Fat Man.

During the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), the Hong Kong Ching Mo Association was closed. Lau Fat Man spent the war teaching in Canton with Ng Wai Nung. After the war, Lau Fat Man went back to Hong Kong and taught for five years in the Restaurant Workers' Union. Ng Wai Nung also came back and taught in an opera actors' club and gave private lessons in both kung fu and tai chi.