bio (FuStyle)

bio

Biography of Fu Chen Sung

Fu Chen Sung (also known as Fu Qiankun, also written Fu Zhen Song) was born in MaPo village, Henan province, China. When he was eight years old, the village set up a martial arts school. They hired Chia Feng Ming (a top student of the founder of pa kwa chang (also spelled in translation as baguazhang), Grandmaster Dong Haichuan) and from the nearby Chen village, Chen Yanxi (an 8th generation disciple of tai chi). They would teach in a local field. After nine years Fu reached the stage "hands grasp the lively sparrow", which meant he could leap and capture a bird without hurting it. After this, he learnt the tai chi ball and then moved to Beijing, where he studied more pa kwa with Ma Gui and Cheng Ting Hua, both first generation disciples of Dong Haichuan.

In 1900 he moved back to home village to teach, becoming well known in that part of China, armed with an 8kg iron bar, defeating a gang of local bandits who attacked his village. [His brother stayed in Mapo teaching till his death in 1942]. In 1911, Fu Chen-Sung became a caravan guard/body guard in Shantung and Henan at the request of the Kai Kung Hsin Shan Protection Service.

After the Hsing Hai Revolution of 1911, Fu began to travel around the cities of Fu Chou and Cheng Chou, as well as Shan Si Province and other areas of China. In 1913, Fu was hired by the Revolutionary Army as a martial arts instructor, holding this post for just a few years. During this time, he hired Yang Cheng Fu, Sun Lu Tan, Li Shu Wen and Huo Dian-Ge (Instructor of the last Ching Emperor).

Sometime around then, Fu met a Wu Tang tai chi teacher, Sung Wei-I in Liao Ning Province. [Note: this is not the same as the current day styles which claim to be from Wu Tang Mountain]. He was famous for his "lightning palm" and "rocket fist." He taught Wu Tang sword and tai chi to Fu, and subsequently to this these elements were added to Fu’s forms. According to Lin Chao Zhen the dragon form of pa kwa and liang yi chuan ("yin-yang boxing") were created after Fu studied tai chi with Song Wei Yi.

In 1920 he joined the central army. The then Brigade Commander (later General), Li Jinglin ("Magic sword" Li), made Fu head of the 100 person strong martial arts company after he demonstrated tiger fist, leopard fist, connected fist, pa kwa "cyclone" broadsword and pa kwa "four sided" spear. Li Jinglin had also learned sword from Sung Wei-I, and taught Fu further sword techniques. The company transferred to Beijing in 1926. During a martial arts demonstration "God spear" Li used his famous spear and Fu used his "four faced" pa kwa spear in a friendly bout. The match ended in a draw. This increased Fu’s fame and both men exchanged their knowledge of spear tactics. Fu Chen Sung was married to Han Kun Ru, who practiced the spear and had a powerful technique. Her father was also a famous kung fu master China.

In Beijing, Fu met Sun Lu Tang, Yang Cheng Fu, and many other skilled practitioners, who exchanged knowledge. This exchange continued when the Central Martial Arts (Guoshu) Institute was founded in Nanjing. After heavy competition, Fu Chen Sung was made Chief Instructor of pa kwa, emphasizing in his teachings fast precise footwork and waist strength. Here, he taught Sun Lu Tang the Wu Tang sword and in exchange, learns the Sun style of h'sing yi chuan ("mind-intent boxing") and tai chi.

Later (in 1929), at General Li Jinglin’s urging, the Central Academy sent Fu south to teach at the Kuang Hsi and Kuang Tung provincial school. This school, which was located in Kuang Chou (Canton), was called the Liang Kuang Kuo Shu Kuan (The Two Kuang's Martial Arts School). Fu Chen Sung became the school's director. This was a regional branch of the Nanjing Central Academy, where Fu was still chief instructor, even though based at the southern regional school. The others who were sent to the south were (probably) Ku Ju-Chang, Wang Shao-Chou, Wan Lai-Sheng, and Li Hsien-Wu. They were constantly being challenged by southern Chinese martial artists, but beat all challengers. They thus earned the nickname, the "The Five Tigers Who Came From the Mountains in the North". Fu Chen-Sung was the only one who stayed on permanently in this area, and was the first master to teach northern "internal" styles like tai chi and pa kwa (bagua) in Canton (the southern state near Hong Kong).

In 1938 war broke out with Japan and the Provincial Martial Arts Academy and the Ching Wu Association schools were closed down. Fu moved his family further into the countryside for safety, and traveled around the south teaching the Chinese army troops. After the war ended in 1945, Fu began to teach in various schools in Canton (Guangzhou) province. He supported General Sun in his unsuccessful attempt to unify China under a republican form of government. He devoted his life to developing the Fu family style of internal martial arts.

In 1953 martial arts exhibitions were held in Canton Cultural Park. Fu Chen Sung was to demonstrate the dragon form to the audience. Thousands of people packed the park, and crowds of people blocked all entrances. After the first demonstration of the form, the cheering crowds called for encores, and Fu returned to perform the form, faster and faster. Of this event, a local newspaper said afterwards, "words could not describe the speed he moved." This exertion overcame him, and later that night, Fu died in the local hospital. He believed in constant innovation and continual improvement. The forms he developed express this, incorporating the most useful and practical principles of other styles, and progress from simple to advanced. The Fu style dragon form and the dragon form push hands are probably the most difficult of the internal styles.

Fu passed on this system to his son, Fu Wing Fai, and also General Sun Bao Kang, Liang Qiang Ya, Huang Li, Fan Rongxiong, Lin Chao Zhen, Ma Ren Zhao, Deng Xiang, Jiao Bing, Li Huang Sheng, Yang Jin Tan, Zhai Rongji, and many others. He also taught at the Hong Kong police academy, the Zhong Shan University and most notably at the Nanjing National Martial Arts Institute. As Chief Instructor of pa kwa at this nationwide network of schools, his legacy is also felt in the mutual exchange of knowledge that occured between the various masters and grandmasters brought together at this schoolduring this brief period of openness.

Information for this biography was sourced from the Pa Kwa Chang Journal (volume 1, # 3; volume 2 # 6; volume 5, # 2; and volume 6 # 6); from the book Fu Style Dragon Shape Eight Trigrams Palms by Fu Yonghui and Lai Zonghong (translated by Joseph Crandall); and from the websites www.fustyle.org (Victor Fu’s website, 3^rd generation Fu family internal styles), http://www.leeskungfu.com/ and http://www.wudangboxing.com/ (Qiang-Ya Liang’s site, who is the last living disciple of Fu Chen Sung: [old website wudangboxing.com webpage mirror http://sites.google.com/site/fustylewushu/liang ).