Fut Gar

Fut Gar
佛家

Also known as	Sil Lum Fut Gar / 少林佛家, Fut Gar Kuen, Buddhist Family Fist
Focus	Striking
Country of origin	China
Creator	Leung Tin Jiu / Leung Tin Chiu
Famous practitioners	Lei Jou Fun (founder of Hung Fut) Chan Yuen-Wu (uncle and instructor of Chan Heung) Chan Heung (founder of Choy Li Fut) Lum Tai Yong,[1] Chen Rong En Wei Jing (instructor of Seh Koh San) Seh Koh San (founder of Nam Pai Chuan)
Parenthood	Hung Gar, Choy Gar
Descendant arts	Choy Li Fut, Hung Fut, Nam Pai Chuan, Nam Huỳnh Đạo
Olympic sport	No

Fut Gar Kuen or Buddhist Famliy Fist is a relatively modern Southern Shaolin style of Kung Fu devised primarily from the combination of Hung Gar Kuen 洪家 and Choi Gar 蔡家 Kuen. The style utilizes mostly punches, palm strikes and low kicks, further characterized by evasive footwork, circular blocks and using the opponent's force against him/her.

The words "Fut Gar Kuen" literally translate to "Buddhist Family Fist". The word "Gar" in Cantonese means family. This name has been synonymous with the martial arts practiced in the Southern Shaolin Monastery in Fujian, and used as an ambiguous term for their skills.

One style that was formally founded using the name of "Fut Gar" has its origins at one of the Shaolin Temple's in Guangdong Province. Early on in its history, the monks at this Shaolin (Sil Lum in Cantonese) temple were fortunate enough to learn martial arts from fighters that had mastered the 5 most popular systems of Southern Kung Fu. These styles were Lau Gar, Lei Gar, Mok Gar, Choy Gar, and Hung Gar. The names of the styles reflect the surname of the particular style's founder.

A Shaolin monk named Leung Tin Jiu 梁天柱 realized the value of incorporating different schools or styles together and took only the best techniques of each style and discarded what he thought was useless or ineffective. A combination of mostly Choi Gar from Leung Siu Jong and Hung Gar from Yao Loon Kwong, this became Sil Lum Fut Gar 少林佛家 or "Shaolin Buddhist Family".^[2]

A branch of Fut Gar developed by Leung Tin Chiu is currently being partially taught in schools worldwide and was headed by Chen Rong En (陈荣恩) 1922-2015, the only direct disciple of Leung Tin Jiu who was involved in spreading the style. The Leung Tin Jiu style of Fut Gar is best known in China for the Flying Dragon Staff Form which is known as the King of Staff Forms within the Kung Fu community. The National Fut Gar Kung Fu Training Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada is the longest running school that taught Fut Gar with the direct guidance of Grandmaster Chen. A newer school also closely monitored by Grandmaster Chen exists in China since 2004. In November 2007 an International Fut Gar Federation was formed to unite instructors of Fut Ga Kung Fu worldwide.

Master Wong Ting Fong opened the Golden Dragon Kung Fu Society in Buffalo NY over 50 years ago. He was a student of Leong Tin Chiu. He asked Sifu Norman Mandarino to open a school under his name when he closed his hands (stopped teaching) in 1974. Sifu Mandarino was Master Wong’s top ranked student and disciple. He opened The Golden Dragon Kung Fu Society under Master Wong's leadership. Sifu Mandarino changed the name to Mandarin Kung Fu after Master Wong passed away. He continues to instruct and practice a blend of Hung Gar, Choi Gar and Fut Gar as taught by Master Wong.^[3]

References

1. Sensei/Renshi Nathan Chlumsky (2015). Inside Kungfu: Chinese Martial Arts Encyclopedia. Lulu.com. ISBN 1329119428.
2. Robert Richter (Aug 1989). Fut Gar Kung Fu, A Blend of Southern China's Best Styles. Black Belt Magazine. ISSN 0277-3066.
3. Sifu Norman Mandarino, Mandarin Kung Fu