Ku Choi Wah

Insights On Cho Ga Wing Chun

- Zhang Tianyu

KU CHOI WAH is a senior master of Ban Chun Cho Ga Wing Chun in South East Asia. This style was always kept very private, but he is one of the few masters who teach it openly nowadays.

Master Ku is second to none when it comes to passion about martial arts, as well as openness and generosity in sharing his knowledge and experience with anyone interested.

Could you please tell our readers a bit about your background?

I started learning Kung Fu from my father when I was about 7 or 8 years old. At that time, society was more violent and less developed, so it was customary that the elders asked the younger generations to train in Kung Fu to keep them busy, healthy and to be able to defend themselves.

Initially, I wasn’t interested in learning Kung Fu but in my family, the tradition was to be especially strict with the juniors. If we didn’t train Kung Fu as was demanded by our elders, we wouldn’t get any food! So I didn’t have much choice.

I trained for about 10 years; I just knew it was Kung Fu, but not what style. Later, it turned out that I had learnt four different styles, including Wing Chun and some Hakka. During this period, I also had the chance to learn Southern Taijou Kuen and some Baak Hok Kuen.

When I started working as kitchen staff at a restaurant, I found that my Kung Fu training was very useful for work, but also for daily life. I came to really appreciate Kung Fu and developed a great passion for it, something which has lasted until this day.

A short while later, I met Hung Suk (Jeung Baak Hung), who was a martial arts actor and playwright of an opera troupe. His Kung Fu was from the Gou Lou Chung lineage and since he thought my Wing Chun skill was already at an acceptable level he taught me two forms.