History
of The Pak Mei Clan
The
martial arts of the Pak Mei Clan originated from the
Shaolin Buddish Monastery, Sung Shan, Henan Province,
China, Buddish Monk Pak Mei, the eldest of the five
elders of Shaolin in the Ching Dynasty was regarded
as the first generation of the Pak Mei Clan, the Pak
Mei Martial Arts were passed from Buddish Monk Pak Mei
to Buddish Monk Kwong Wai who was regarded as the second
generation, from Buddish Monk Kwong Wai to Buddish Monk
Chuk Fai Wan who was regarded as the third generation,
from Buddish Monk Chuk Fat Wan to great Grand Master
Cheung Lai Chuen who was regarded as belonging to the
fourth generation and from Great Grand Master Cheung
Lai Chuen to Grand Master Cheung Ping Lam who was regarded
as belonging to the fifth generation. The first, second
and third generations of the Pak Mei Clan were all Buddish
Monks. The Pak Mei Martial Arts did not spread to the
secular world until they had been passed to Great Grand
Master Cheung Lai Chuen.
The
first person to spread wildly and brilliantly of the Pak Mei Martial Arts in the
secular world was Great Grand Master Cheung Lai Chuen who was born during the
reign of Emperor Kwong Shui at the end of the Ching Dynasty in Weiyang District,
Dong Jiang, Guangdong Province, China. He commenced to learn martial arts at the
age about Thirteen years and learned three different styles of martial arts in
the Dong Jiang area from three famous Kung Fu masters who were Master Shek,
Master Lee Yee and Master Lam Ah Hop, the disciple of Buddish Monk Yuk Shing of
the Wah Sou Buddish Monastery, Law Fau Shan, Guangdong Province, China. All the
three famous Master praised him and indicated that he should establish his own
gymnasium to teach students. As Great Grand Master was still young at the time,
he preferred not to teach martial arts but went to Guangzhou for good at about
the age of nineteen years. In Guangzhou he accidentally got to know a Buddish
Monk called Lin Sang and had the chance of having a friendly combat with Monk
Lin Sang. Who then defeated him. Great Grand Master humbly requested Monk Lin
Sang to accept him as a disciple, but he was refused.
Return
Later
he learned from Monk Lin Sang that the martial arts used to defeat him had been
passed to Monk Lin Sang by Buddish Monk Chuk Fat Wan and both Monks toured about
in the Guangdong Province from the Sichuan Province and were then staying in the
Kwong Hau Buddish Monastery, Guangzhou, Monk Lin Sang brought Great Grand Master
to the Monastery and introduced him to Monk Chuk Fat Wan who finally accepted
Great Grand Master as his disciple to learn the Pak Mei Martial Arts after
having begged lengthily for it, thereafter Great Grand Master followed Monk Chuk
Fat Wan to tour about, learn and practice the Pak Mei Martial Arts. After two
odd years of hard learning and practice and an account of Great Grand Master’s
talent in understanding martial arts, Great Grand Master learned all the Pak Mei
Martial Arts except the technique gravel shooting and obtained their vitalities.
Then Monk Chuk Fat Wan and Monk Lin Sang returned to their Buddish Monastery in
the Sichuan Province and Great Grand Master returned to Weizhou to join his
mother.
Thereafter
Great Grand Master joined the revolutionary team of Wong War Shun against the
Ching Dynasty in Dong Jiang area and took part in the revolutionary battle in
Wong Fat Kong of Guangzhou. The revolutionists were defeated heavily and most of
them lost their lives, Great Grand Master was fortunate for not being killed and
he escaped from Gangzhou to his native place.
After
the establishment of the Republic of China, in Jiang
Men Town of the Sun Wui District, Great Grand Master
aided Detective Captain Lui Chan to confront a leader
of the salt smugglers, Great Grand Master fight with
the leader who was highly proficient in Kung Fu, broke
the Leader’s arm and arrested him for the Captain. As
a result Great Grand Master got his prestige in the
Sun Wui District and started his teaching of martial
art in Jiang Men Town. In Jiang Men Town Great Grand
Master accepted the challenge of Kung Fu Master Chan
Sau who had defeated several Kung Fu masters in Jiang
Men Town and won him, thus Great Grand Master was further
praised by the martial arts community there. Later Great
Grand Master tried to solve some problems for one of
his students and was forced to involve in a fight confronting
more than fifty bad characters, during the fight he
knocked down several persons, it was heard that one
of them had been punched by him with his phoenix eye
fist at the throat and died of the injury. To avoid
trouble Great Grand Master was forced to leave Jiang
Men Town for Guangzhou.
Return
In
Guangzhou Great Grand Master set up his Kung Fu school to teach Pak Mei Martial
Arts again at On Wide Lane, during which time Great Grand Master defeated Kung
Fu Master Tsang Wai Pok who had closed several Kung Fu schools in Guangzhou by
overcoming the masters thereof. Great Grand Master’s victory shocked the
martial arts community there and gained his prestige in Guangzhou. A lot of
students followed him to learn the Pak Mei Martial Arts causing the jealousy of
some of the Fung Fu masters. Ultimately while Great Grand Master was carrying
his infant son and walking along a street, a group of seven to eight assassins
tried to kill him with knives and guns. Great Grand Master knocked down several
of them and took one of them as his shield, it was fortunate that the policemen
were accidentally nearby to give assistance and arrested those being knocked
down. The incidence was widely reported by the newspapers in Guangzhou and
honored Great Grand Master with the title of “The Fierce Tiger of Tung Kong”
which made him well know in Guangzhou.
Thereafter
Great Grand Master was employed by the Guangzhou Police Training School, the Yin
Tong College and the Whampoa Military College one after the other as their
martial arts training officer. During his employment in the Whampoa Military
College he established a set of technique for fighting by using the rifle fixed
with the knife and was responsible for training the famous by saber team apart
from performing other duties. Many military officers also personally became his
disciples in learning the Pak Mei Martial Arts, such as the Security Commander
of the Guangdong Province, General Wai Chun Fook and Colonel Liu Chun Yat who
died for China in the Nanking Battle against the Japanese army During the war
against the Japanese Great Grand Master was employed as the martial arts trainer
of the guerilla band of Leung Kwai Ping in Dong Jiang area. After the war he was
employed as the martial arts training officer of the Secret Agents Department in
the Guangdong Province.
When
Guangzhou was about to be liberated, for being a military officer of the
Republic of China he brought with his three sons, Cheung Ping Sum, Cheung Ping
Lam and Cheung Ping Fat to migrate to Hong Kong, then some of his disciples also
came to Hong Kong. It was from that time onward the Pak Mei Martial Arts were
formally brought to Hong Kong and starting to be spread in Hong Kong Great Grand
Master passed away in Hong Kong at the age of eighty odd years in 1964. During
his time in Hong Kong he only taught about twenty odd disciples, but it has now
been developed that members of the Pak Mei Clan can be found in many parts of
the world and the Pak Mei Martial Arts may have been passed on to the ninth
generation nowadays. Great Grand Master combated with many Kung Fu masters
during his lifetime and defeated all of them. Many of his opponents admired the
Pak Mei Martial Arts after their failure and became his disciples such as Master
Chan Sau and master Tsang Wai Pok aforesaid, and Great Grand Master was very
willing to pass the Pak Mei Martial Arts to them.
Return
After
the death of the Great Grand Master, members of the fifth generation of the Pak
Mei Clan held meetings and elected Grand Master Cheung Ping Lam as the Head of
the Pak Mei Clan. Grand Master Cheung Ping Lam is the second son of the Great
Grand Master Cheung Lai Chuen. Great Grand Master taught Grand Master Cheung
Ping Lam the Pak Mei Martial Arts since his childhood. Grand Master firstly
performed martial arts in the Whampoa Military College at the age of seven years
and started to teach the Pak Mei Martial Arts at the age of eighteen years.
Amongst the disciples and sons of the Great Grand Master, Grand Master Cheung
Ping Lam is the one who spent the longest time to learn the Pak Mei Martial Arts
from the Great Grand Master and research the Pak Mei Martial Arts with the Great
Grand Master. During the old age of the Great Grand master in Hong Kong, Grand
Master usually stayed by his side to make research of martial arts with him and
taught for and on behalf of the Great Grand Master some of his disciples the Pak
Mei Martial Arts. Grand Master has devoted all his lifetime to martial arts and
obtained all the vitalities and importance of the Pak Mei Martial Arts. He has
taken up the teaching of the Pak Mei Martial Arts as his life career and
frequently teaches the members of the fifth and sixth generations of the Pak Mei
Clan the Pak Mei Martial Arts for the purpose of promoting them to the higher
level. Thus Grand Master was elected as the Head of the Pak Mei Clan an account
of his doings and prestige. He has selected to teach good quality disciples of a
smaller number rather than bad quality students of a larger number and teaches
his selected disciples of all known by him without reserve. In 1999 Grand Master
has attained the age of seventy-three years.
In
order to show respect and gratefulness to Grand Master Cheung Ping Lam, several
of his disciples gathered a sum of money to purchase a landed property of about
1,300 square feet situated at Tsimshatsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong in 1986 for Grand
Master to have a permanent place of teaching and in February, 1988 they also
established the Pak Mei Lai Chuen Martial Arts Association Limited. The members
of the Association are the disciples of Grand Master Cheung Ping Lam within the
past fifteen years, each of them has decent job and is without
undesirable
background. Amongst them, there are accountant, lawyer, police superintendent,
police chief inspector, civil servant, manufacturer, merchant, executive and
artist, and Grand Master Cheung Ping Lam is the permanent governor of the
Association. At present there are only left surviving several members of the
fifth generation and even the youngest one has attained the age of sixty-nine
years.
