Lam Yiu-gwai　林耀桂 (1877-1966) was the master responsible for the dissemination of

Dragon Kung Fu The movements of the Southern Dragon style (traditional name Lung Ying) () of Shaolin Boxing are based on the mythical Chinese dragon. The Dragon style is an imitative-style that was developed based on the imagined characteristics of the mythic ...

. Lam was born in 1877 in Huìyáng () County in the

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

Huizhou Huizhou ( zh, c= ) is a city in central-east Guangdong Province, China, forty-three miles north of Hong Kong. Huizhou borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the west, Shenzhen and Dongguan to the southwest, Shaoguan to the north, Heyua ...

Guangdong Province Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. From a young age Lam learned martial arts from his father Lam Qing-yun and grandfather Lam Hao-hing and Uncle Lam Hap. Like them, he would eventually undertake training from masters on Loh Fu Mountain in neighboring Bo Loh () County, where he was taught by

Chan Chan may refer to: Places *Chan (commune), Cambodia *Chan Lake, by Chan Lake Territorial Park in Northwest Territories, Canada People *Chan (surname), romanization of various Chinese surnames (including 陳, 曾, 詹, 戰, and 田) *Chan Caldwel ...

(Zen) master Tai Yuk of the

Wa Sau Toi Huashoutai or commonly known in its Cantonese name Wa Sau Toi () was a Buddhist monastery on the sacred mountain Luofushan. It was destroyed in early 20th century. It is located in Boluo County, Huizhou, Guangdong, China. History The Chan ( ...

temple, who knew the Dragon style. He also learned the routines Saam Tung Goh Kiu (“Three Ways to Cross the Bridge”) from the

Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...

Wong Lei-giu and Mui Fa Chat Lo (“Plum Flower Fist in Seven Sections”) from Ke Hing-ma. Good friends since their youth in Huizhou, Lam Yiu-gwai and the

Bak Mei Bak Mei () is said to have been one of the legendary Five Elders — survivors of the destruction of the Shaolin Monastery by the Qing dynasty (1644–1912) — who, according to some accounts, betrayed Shaolin to the imperial gov ...

master Jeung Lai-chuen張禮泉 later became cousins by marriage and opened several schools together. Both Lam and Jeung served as combat instructors at the Whampoa Military Academy under the leadership of General Chan Chai-tong陳濟棠. Lam Yiu-gwai married and had several children. His wife taught Dragon Style Kung Fu to women in Hong Kong. In the 1920s, he moved to

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

, where he opened a number of Dragon style schools and met

Mok Gar Mok Gar () is one of the five major family styles of Southern Chinese martial arts. It was developed by a Shaolin monk named Monk Mok Ta Shi () as an inheritance of the Southern Shaolin Fist in Guangdong province in China. It gained fame three ...

master Lin Yin-tang, who became a friend with whom he had much in common. Lin Yin-tang was from the prefecture of

Dongguan Dongguan (; ) is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. An important industrial city in the Pearl River Delta, Dongguan borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the north, Huizhou to the northeast, Shenzhen to the s ...

, which bordered both Huìyáng and Bóluó counties. Like Yiu-gwai, Yin-tang studied at a temple on Loh Fu Mountain; in Yin-tang's case, the Temple of Emptiness (), where he studied

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...

and

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...

. After a stroke in the early 1950s, Lam Yiu-gwai moved to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

for medical treatment and to reunite with his family where, after another stroke in 1965, he died in 1966. He passed on the art to his students, among others, Chiu Chung, Wu Hua-tai, Ma Chai, Chan Cheung (Robert Chan), Tsui Yiu-cheung, Yip Ho-sing, Tsang Gan, Ho Lai何禮, Cho Sam曹森, Lau Hong劉康, Mao Yim繆炎, Lee Fat李发 and Chan Dak, in addition to his sons Lam Chan-gwong () and Lam Wun-gwong (). The Dragon Sign Athletic Association in Hong Kong celebrated its 50th anniversary in November 2019. In addition to Hong Kong and mainland China, Dragon Style Kung Fu is practiced in the United States, London, Canada, Ireland, and Australia. Cho Sam's student, Yip Wing-hong, Lam Yiu-gwai's disciples, Mao Yim, Ho Lai and Lau Hong, would emigrate to New York City. They have taught numerous students in Manhattan Chinatown since 1974. Chiu Chung‘s student Nicholas Costello established the Chiu Chung Lung Ying Academy in Slane, Co. Meath, Ireland and has been teaching there since 1998.

References

Hong Kong martial artists Hong Kong people of Hakka descent People from Huiyang 1877 births 1966 deaths Sportspeople from Guangdong Date of birth missing Date of death missing {{HongKong-martialart-bio-stub