Fut Gar is a generic term for various Cantonese Shaolin based systems. This contains a host of "village" styles typically of medium to long expression. As for "original 18 Lohan hands" it's a largely meaningless and definitely unprovable claim.
Maybe funky old (pre Fu Hok) Hung.At least what I've seen has much higher stances than Fu Hok,generally speaking.
Hung Gar and Fut Gar were both used in combination to form Hung Fut Kung Fu. So, I can see why there would be a similarity between the two, but there are also a few key differences. Key, as far as I'm concerned seeing I'm a practitioner. May be more trivial to non-practitioners of the style.
As Fut Gar is a GENERIC TERM, and is applicable to VARIOUS STYLES, many of which have little in common, and in the past was intechangeable with Nan Sil Lum and Hung Gar, and as I didn't say it was like Hung gar, I said it was like funky Hung gar (as in looks similar but has some key differences ) I think I'd rather covered it.
WRONG! Fut Gar is a stand alone style of southern influence. What sets Fut Gar apart is the palm strike useage over the fist. Fut Gar is Buddha Palm and it's very rare. I started learning a bit a few yrs ago right around the time I was also learning Hung Fut. Once you've seen true Fut Gar you can really see it's influence on Hung Fut. Most videos on the net (youtube, etc) that are listed as Fut Gar aren't actually Fut Gar. The Eagle techniques within Hung Fut come from Fut Gar. jeff
Interesting. Are there any similarities to CLF Or Hung Kuen? There should be I'm assuming since it's probably a Southern Siu Lam based art. Also Jeff are the hand/arm techniques long or short? Or both? Sorry for the questions. I have heard very little about the style and seen nothing of it at all. I always thought it was a generic term myself and more akin to Hung Fut or Pre WFH Hung Kuen. Peace.
Bshaw, Fut Gar is oldschool, it only has three hand sets. It's hard to say what Fut Gar looks like other than it looks like Hung Fut, but even that is not a good description. Fut Gar uses evasive foot work and attacks differently than any art i've seen. It attacks low to high and is unpredictable like monkey, it even looks monkey-ish at times. It's very hard on the body and not recommend for a big guy. It of course uses that one leg Buddha bless you type of posture from the movies, where you're on one leg squating and the palms are left vertical and right horizontal. It uses speed a lot more than power from my experience, but it's very confusing on someone trying to fight against it. The sifu wanted to teach me Hung Kuen first, then train me to fight using Hung Kuen with Fut Gar principles and concepts because of my size. He felt that me fighting with that mixture would be overwhelming on anyone. If I ever relocate back to Boston like I plan, I will be training with him, for sure. I'm not a fan of palm strikes myself, so that takes some adjusting to. It's southern in nature, but has northern mixed in since it was supposed to be the fighting style of monks, thus the name Fut Gar (monk family). jeff
Thanks Jeff. That paints a clearer picture, for me at least. The Sifu you mention in Boston, Is he public or private?
He's public and very good! Donald Wong is his name, he teaches Hung Kuen, Fut Gar, and Bak Mei. I like the fact that he's very hands on like my sifu and teaches from a fighting aspect. He's solid like a rock too, he reminds me of Chiu Wai, but he's not as cut, but he's solid. His school was in Chinatown, but i've heard he moved into a bigger place. I don't think he listed or has a website though... His school was called Nam Pai, i'm not sure if he kept the name. jeff
Sounds good. Too bad there isn't much footage of the Fut Gar Kuen. I would definitely be interested in seeing something of that rare style. Where is Donald Wong Sifu's Hung Kuen from? Branchwise I'm curious if he is of LSW or Dang Fong, or other.
Oh! He does have a website now! http://www.nampaikungfu.com/ but I heard he moved from this location. He doesn't talk much about the Fut Gar or Bak Mei to just anyone. jeff
I'm not sure, but I think it a village Hung Kuen because he doesn't teach Iron Wire, if I remember correctly. I can't remember their first form, but i've never seen it before, it was unique to their line. It had a lot of fu jow useage though. jeff
Yeah It's hard to tell from the website as well cause it doesn't list their fist sets. Could be a mainland Fukien or Canton version. Maybe pre WFH.
I know their sifu is also in Boston, but he doesn't teach publicy or speak english. Donald is i'd say in his mid 50's to early 60's and knows his stuff. His sifu is more known for his Bak Mei than his Hung Kuen from what donald told me. jeff
Whoa, slow down turbo. Unless I missed something, it's still a comparison when you say Fut Gar is <i>like</i> funky Hung Gar. And by the way, in the over 500 different styles of Kung Fu, can you please cite a bunch of references to styles that are so unique and deadly individual that they don't look similar in at least a tiny aspect to another style? Ha, 'cause really, I'd be dying to see that. And Fut Gar is its own style. Yadda yadda, that's been covered well already by jmd161. Kudos!
I nearly went back to edit that post, as I realised it didn't come across the way I wanted. I find the inerface on this forum a little fiddly, so I don't always format it in the best way. The capitals are supposed to represent highlighting, not shouting. Actually, Jeff is wrong. There are numerous styles called Fut Gar, often with no traceable link to each other, some emphasise the palm, some emphasise the fist, some don't emphasise one over the other. The fact that Jeff studied a style called Fut Gar doesn't make anything I said untrue per se. As for saying it's like funky Hung Gar, what points of reference or comparison would you offer to briefly explain it? Especially given the diversity of Fut Gar styles.
