Interview With Grandmaster Henry Sue

Our Grandmaster Henry Sue was asked the question what is it about our style of kung fu that is so very unique to the rest of the kung fu world. Even more specifically why does our style of kung fu look so very different to the traditional method of chow gar Tong Long (Southern Praying Mantis) Kung Fu that he originally learnt and taught so many years ago and that is still being taught in China and other countries around the world. The results of that interview can now be seen exclusivly for the first time here.

About our Style

There is something unique about every style of kung fu. What makes the traditional Chow Gar Tong Long (Southern Praying Mantis) Kung Fu style unique is the very quick, dynamic hand movements. One of the key survival assets of the tong long, or praying mantis style is its attacking movements. These movements are sharp, compact, yet unpredictable. With appropriate levels of training, these short, sharp, compact movements can deliver devastating blows for the Tong Long practitioner. However, Tong Long’s movements are simply not enough according to Grandmaster Henry Sue. Grandmaster Sue fears that without building on the strengths of the style he has trained for more than fifty years, the style will atrophy and fade away.

 

So with the help of his Master Dr Nat Yuen and many years of trial & error, research and study into his own ideas and of other famous powerful martial arts there has now been many improvements added to the Chinese Kung Fu Academy’s version of Chow Gar Tong Long (Southern Praying Mantis) Kung Fu almost to the point where that it can now be called its own unique fighting system comparable to no other fighting system in the world.

 

One of the improvements to the style is a technique called Cotton palm. Cotton Palm is a technique that has added significantly to the power of Tong Long. Cotton palm allows a fighter to feel his opponent’s movements and use this sensitivity to capitalise on any flaws or weaknesses in the opponent’s technique. Rather than simply striking and sticking to that position as with the famous sticky hands technique, the cotton palm fighter will maintain contact and move with his opponent - up, down, forward, backward, and to the sides to gain the advantage. Grandmaster Sue uses the analogy:

 

“Imagine I gave you a meal, but said you can only eat it if you are touching the plate. One hand would always be touching the plate, the other would be eating. Cotton palm is like that. With one hand you are always feeling where your opponent is and what they are doing, controlling the movement, with the other hand you are hitting him! Your opponent is too busy worrying about what you are doing with his hands to notice you‘re about to hit him. Cotton palm is all about sensitising and controlling the fight.”

 

It is the same desire for growth that led Grandmaster Sue to study three styles of tai chi as means of further developing the tong long style he teaches. The Chinese have long recognised the need for balance in the world. The light and dark, soft and hard, the yin and yang are all part of the world’s balance. Tai chi provides the soft to balance and advance the hard in praying mantis kung fu.

 

When someone pushes you and you push back, that creates an argument between energies - two forces pushing against each other. This phenomena leads to both people ending up wrestling on the floor according to Grandmaster Sue:

 

“if someone rushes at you with energy, use your soft energy to slide them away and redirect their hard energy. You use people’s energy to your advantage and manipulate them into a position where you are in control. That’s the tai chi art of manipulation in a fight.”

 

To accompany the subtle redirection of energy that tai chi incorporates, the soft controlling touch of cotton palm, the fast accurate devastating strikes of the traditional Chow Gar Tong Long style, Grandmaster Sue has now added a few more tricks to the arsenal he provides for his students. For example, the hard eagle claw - five fingers controlling techniques that are used when required, pulling and dragging the opponent when required. Not to forget the devastating circular hand techniques that the Chine Kung Fu Academy students are now famously known for are another addition to Grandmaster Sue’s fighting style, meaning that the tong long speed is further enhanced and that the energy does not simply stop with a strike, it continues in circular movements so the proponent hits the target many times in rapid succession.

 

It is these additions and subtleties that mean the art is excellent for people of all sizes. It is not always the big person who will win according to Grandmaster Sue, who, standing a little over 155 cm (5ft 2in) knows too well. Skill and fluency of hand and brain is what wins in the end, not size.

 

All of these subtle additions to the tong long style make it an extremely dynamic form of Chinese martial arts. Again, Grandmaster Sue explains:

 

“Having someone attack you with a sharp knife would be bad enough. But imagine they also had a machine gun. But having a net to catch you first before they stab you and shoot you with the machine gun. But they also hang you in the net … well, our style is like that. Our style has developed like that - we not only have one weapon, but many weapons all ready to come out when required.”

 

This art continues to grow because of the desire of those Tong Long practitioners under Grandmaster Sue‘s tutelage. Grandmaster Sue fosters in himself and his students an open mind to explore the possibilities within the style. While the Southern Praying Mantis style was complex already, the addition of the best components of various other styles means the Sue’s brand of Tong Long has endless depth, possibilities and is unique the world over. 

 

Grandmaster Sue’s passion and more than 50 years of studying fighting have led to a unique style of Tong Long kung fu, one which provides his students with endless opportunities for physical, intellectual and emotional challenges. Grandmaster Sue views his art as a living creature, and the living creature has only two alternatives - it can die, or it can continue to grow. Under Sue’s guidance, the art has grown significantly over the last five decades and will continue to do so into the future.

 

 

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This entry was posted on Thursday, April 2nd, 2009 at 11:50 pm and is filed under Fighting, PHILOSOPHY, PRAYING MANTIS KUNG FU, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.