Our Focus

Our Focus

What Is The Focus Of Our Teaching?
The belief of Sifu Richard Chow is that Kung Fu is designed for the purpose of training your body to react instinctively to situations as they arise. Generally in Martial Arts training, you will learn hand forms, weapons forms and fighting. Some styles focus heavily on fighting while others focus on hand forms. Our belief is that all techniques and reactions are built by repetitive training in forms and enhanced by practicing fighting in controlled sparring situations. Sifu Chow’s main focus in training is on practicing techniques correctly. Until your body is trained correctly to step, strike, block and kick by practicing your forms, free sparring is of very little value to your development. Once students are proficient at a series of forms, they will be introduced to sparring.

Learn more about our styles and forms.

Kung Fu Styles and Forms

Fut Gar is a Northern Shaolin style of Kung Fu which utilizes mostly punches, palm strikes and low kicks. It is further characterized by evasive footwork, circular blocks and using the opponent’s force against him/her.

The words “Fut Gar” literally translate to “Buddha Family”. The word “Kuen” in Cantonese would translate to “fist”. “Fut Gar Kuen” would be “Buddha Family’s Fist”

Fut Gar Training

Fut Gar training includes self-defence, hei (qi) gung, weapons, traditional forms, exercises for health, philosophy and meditation, inner strength, discipline, and confidence. Offensive techniques in Fut Gar are diverse and include wide, circular hook punches and hammer fists. Evasive footwork and circular blocks are some of the defensive techniques used. Benefits of Fut Gar training include: strong fighting theory; short- to medium-range attacks; maneuverability and footwork; heavy focus on hand techniques; flexibility of techniques for all body types.

The Fut Gar style traditionally had three empty-hand sets and nine weapons. The empty hand sets are: Hu Dip Jeong (The Butterfly Palm); Sup Ji Kuen (Cross Fist); and Dai Ga Lu (Great Family Set). There are now ten empty-hand forms to practice starting with a hard, almost Karate-like form, all the way to an internal form similar to Tai Chi Chuan; they are: Seah Ying Diu Sau (Snake Form); Tai Ji Kuen (Prince’s Form); Bak Mok (White Hair); Lohan Kuen (Monk’s Fist); Dai Lin Wan (Large Connection); Dai Gum Gong (Big Solid Body); Chut Yup Bo (Out In Step); Maang Fu Ha San (Fierce Tiger Descending the Mountain); and Tien Jaang (Complete Elbow).

There is also various weapon training The nine original weapons are: the staff, spear, straight sword, broadsword, butterfly swords, kwan do, tiger fork, three-sectional staff, and the monk’s spade.

Some of Fut Gar’s weapons forms include: Hak Loong Dao (Black Dragon Broadsword); Fook Fu Gwun (Tiger Taming Staff); Ng Ma Quite Show (Five Horses Returning to the Feeding Post Staff); and Loong Chien Gim (Dragon Well Sword).

Featured Forms

Kung Fu Styles