This is abridged from an interview which lasted about 1 hour

Yan Gong Kan is the oldest practitioner of the Ong Gong Shr Wu Shu Guan. You can see some video of him here

His history is very good:

Won many prizes
At one time head coach of the Wu Shu Guan
Taught partially by father, taught own son and grandson

In particular having started in the 1930s practicing, and training through the second world war as well as the cultural revolution makes his perspective very unique.

This is abridged from an interview which lasted about 1 hour. Present were Pan Shr Fu, Pan xiong chi and three generations of the Yuan family as well as kirk who is a student of beijing university and speaks fluent english , mandarin and hokkien.

I have tried to transcribe accurately, however as the answer was often a lot longer than the translation by kirk, I have videod the interview in case there is some innacuracy.

M: can you speak mandarin

Y: not so familiar

M: how old are you

Y: 91 ( chinese )

M:When did you start to study?

Y: At around 10 years old. I leant from my father.

M:At that time there was nothing here?

Y: No – there was o0ng gong shr. Also learnt at home until I was 18 years old Before going to Ong Gong Shr.

M:Who did you study with at Ong Gong Shr?

Y: Pan Shr Cheong, 5 th older brother ( yau the younger who as adopted ).

M: and then Pan Xiouw De?

Y: I leant for around 20 years, but after that the teacher dies and people became separated. ( note this does not make the answer to the question clear ).

M: At that time which forms did you study

Y: Xiouw Ba Fen only

M: not san zhan?

Y: San Zhan is ji ben gong. Every one should learn. I have learnt many forms. Sanzhan is the foundation.

M: Why is it called Xiouw Ba Fen? Is there a da ba fen

Y: Yes there is another one called da ba fen, but he does not know why it is called Xiouw Ba Fen ( again not clear ). The originators made the names. Xiouw Chian. Da Chien. Duck Swimming ( Ya Zhe Chuen Sui ) duck swimming inder under the water. The bee leaves the nest. Haung Fen Chu Chioa. I learnt many forms. But was most skilled at Xiouw Ba Fen. We were invited by the government to celebrate 30 years the foundation of PRC.

M: When he studied, at the moment people here are studying 90% tao lun. 10% is 2 man work. When you were young was it the same?

Y: Yes it was the same. Unless there was a competitoin or a performance.

M: At that time did they fight at competitions?

Y: No, because the government restricted that kind of activity.

M: Do you mean the comunist or before?

Y: Before the communist there was competitions but no fighting.I have made many performances from when I was young.

M: What is your favourite weapon?

Y: I have done many weapons, but I did not like, so after many years I stopped. Most important is the steps. I do not like weapons very much.

M: Did you every talk about the 5 elements ( gold , wood, fire, water stone )

Y: No , never. No no no. Have you leant from Huang shr fu?

M: From huang I leant Chuan Xing Jung. And Tie Ba.And I ate a lot of nice food but I did not understand much that he said.

Y: How many forms have you learnt?

M: may be 8

Y: 2 or 3 is enough

M: My favourtie it san zhan, shr san tai bau and ba fen.

Y: 2 or 3 is enough but san zhan is the most important. Many other forms when you have the foundations you can just learn very quickly.

M: In the Wu Shu Guan, what did you use the crash mats for?

Y: We bought the mat in the 1980s and was used after that time. Before that there was no mat.

M: Why did they buy the mat in 1980

Y: for the lion dances and you have to jump around.

M: not for practicing fighting?

Y:no. pan says originally there were 2 mats and then they stuck them togerther.

M: When the communists first came did you have to stop practicing?

Y: Yes, at the first moments they thought this is antirevolutionary. But we practiced in private until 1960 when they were able to train in open again.

M: Do you think you forgot anything in that time?

Y: No, because we had trained for many years. And were training ourselves.

M: I ask Because other chinese people believe that in these years many things were lost

Y: I have not seen you train, so I don’t know if you have forgotten anything. May be you can do a dance now for me in the road.

M:Later in the Wu Shu Guan I can.

Y: What Pan SHr Fu teaches you is the same as I leanrt as a child. What matters is if you have learnt it correctly and perform in correctly.

M: I think you can ask Pan Shr fu when I am not here.

Ys Son says: Pans father is Yuans fathers teacher. They all play very well.

M: Did your father or first teachers practice any soft styles?

Y: you mean something like chi gong? You should learn like your teacher has taught you. There are no other styles. ( a little confusion here ).

M: Have you heard of the form –needle in cotton-?

Y: I have heard of it a long time ago. Pan Xiouw De knew how to use that but he did not teach it to anyone. Teachers father, played with someone else Pan Xiow De held a coin in his mouth and the other person had to try to get the coin. Pan Xiouw De got a cut lip from that. Those styles were a long time ago and no body taught me.

M: Was that part of white crane?

Y: no , it is from another places.

M: Have you seen many other styles of kung fu?

Y: Much 5 ancestors.

M: What makes the white crane here from different from other styles of kung fu?

Y: Other styles are all hard. But white crane is more soft.

M: When they were young did they have exercises specifically to develop sensitivity?

Y: No special training, but when 2 people play together you get the experience. Because I am old, my memory is not so good. I think you are asking too many details. If I was younger I could answer better, but at the moment I do not have the energy so well.

( At this point he goes and sits further away. The interview is already quite long, so we have a little break ).

Y: Many of the ancient scripts have been taken away ( collected ) by Su Yin Han. You are fatter than when you first came to china. But I am old and cannot teach you and hang out. When you learnt from Huang Shi Fen I came to see you many years ago. If I had the ability still I would like to teach you. Why do you have to stay for such a short time?

M: At home I have family and children. If I stay longer my wife will beat me up. The old scripts, why don’t you take them back? Because they belong to the Ong Gong Shr Wu Shu Guan.

Y: Because he does not want to give them back.

Explanation: Digression here where they discuss Su Yin Han. The explanation of the documents is that at the time Su Yin Han was part of the Ong Gong Shr Wu Shu Guan. As part of a project, an effort was made by him to coallate documents held in many places including individuals houses. He still has the documents, however in many cases the original owners are dead. However this has all given Su Yin Han a centralises academic knowledge base. It is a question of perspective to say now to whom they to. However many of these documents have been commercially published now without permission by Su Yin Han. One might take the position that his hard work in coallating the material allows him to publish, or one might take the position that he should not have published these ( at the time or previously ) private documents.

M: The hand movements in Ba Fen did you practice them to strenthen his hands or to use as techniques.

Y: They are for both. They are for attack and defence.

M:When you were younger did you use a punch bag?

Y: Yes of course. Both and soft and hard – especially when you are young you have to make the foundation.

M: What other training tools did you use?

Y: Sand bags which we would throw and catch. Also something like a shiriken ( throwing stars ) to throw on the door.

M: Where they round?

Y: like a triangle made of metal. ( pan – also arrow tips many kinds of things ).

Pan – in my old house there were many kinds of things but after the 70s when we moved they threw them away due to the cultural revolution.

M: From the weapons a long time ago, are they the same as now or did you also learn sword?

Y: No. The sword mainly in the North. We did learn spear. At that time people learnt different weapons. Just the basics was the same and then you could choose what else.

M: Do you remember lin bau san?

Y: yes of course. He died a few years ago. At that time we did not think he was qualified to be the head.

M: Do you know who his teacher was?

Y: No.

M: do you think the crane that we do is good for your health?

Y: yes of course! Many people who practice are very long lifed. Like the former Da Yu head who died 2 years ago at the age of 99. At that time Ong Gong Shr was famouse for keeping order. They would put a sign on the door that they were from Ong Gong Shr and no one would rob them.

M: In Malaysia, Pan Xiouw De has a reputation as a very strong fighter.

Y: Yes. Most of the people who went to Malaysia were members of the Nanjing competition team. When ong gong shr was first founded it was very well equiped, and the would advertise with posters to recruit members.

M: When it started did everyone train in the same room, or were there different rooms for different levels of students?

Y: No, there space is limited. We all practiced on the floor. The second floor was a little dangerous at that time.

M: What is the age difference between you and Pan Xiouw De

Y: 35 years. Pan Xiouw De was 5 years older than my father.

M: In Japan in the martial arts when you are very old with a long history then they have a special title called living cultural treasure. If you were in Japan you would be a living treasure.

Y: It is not so easy to be a living treasure!

M: When I studied with Huang , his fingers were very stong. Was that normal?

Y: He used sand or rice to practice. He mainly used rice. If you directly use the sand bag you can hurt your fingers.