Lau Gar Kuen History

For well over 45 years, Grand Master Jeremy Yau has been teaching Lau Gar Kung Fu in Great Britain to students from all walks of life. Based in the city of Birmingham, his philosophy and teachings have permeated far and wide with Lau Gar clubs now present in virtually every city in Great Britain and many more throughout the towns and villages.

In recent years Master Yau has re-introduced Lau Gar back into China where he has been teaching a very talented Wu Shu exponent called Coach Xia the Lau Gar syllabus, meaning that soon coach Xia will be able to start teaching his own students Lau Gar, thus bring the style full circle and back to its roots and country of origin.

Lau Gar Kung Fu is derived from a form of Chinese boxing practiced at Kuei Ling Temple situated in Guang Xi province in West China. It was learned from a monk on retreat from that temple by Master Lau Sam Ngan "Three eyed Lau", a tiger hunter, whom we honour as the founder of our style. The style subsequently became very popular over a large part of South West China along with four other systems emanating from Shaolin namely Hung Gar, Choy Gar, Li Gar and Mok Gar.

The fighting techniques of the style are based upon the movements of the five Shaolin animals, Dragon, Tiger, Snake, Leopard and Crane, with the mental training and fighting strategy being derived from Buddhist philosophy.

Lau Gar is classified as a hard, external form of Kung Fu specialising in short fist techniques executed from firm stances, the style also excels in stick fighting and defence. These classifications are only really useful when compared to other styles such as Tai Chi Chuan, which is classified as a Northern, mainly internal soft style, specializing in long fist techniques.

Like all Shaolin derived systems, Lau Gar has a significant internal content to its training, as well as "soft style" techniques. However, these require significantly more practice by the practitioner to master, as the power that makes them effective is not as obvious as the "external" type.

There are many more elements to the Lau Gar system for student to learn such as, body conditioning, Chi Gung, Chi Na, as well as Tai Chi and meditation.

The many weapons of the Lau Gar style include Broadsword (Darn Dao) Dragon Broadsword (Kwan Do). Butterfly knives, (Woo Dip Do), the seven-foot pole (darn Kwan), the eyebrow pole (Tsai May Kwan), the Spear (Ying Chum), the Trident (par) and the Cane Shield (Tang Pai).

About Master Yau

Master Yau was born in Hong Kong in 1942 (the year of the horse). He came to the UK by boat in April of 1961 at the age of just 19.

Fluent in English having had a good education as a child, he initially found work at his brothers restaurant in Birmingham before moving onto in a number of other restaurants around the country.

Whilst having to work to earn a living, Kung Fu training for master Yau was everything. Unable to find a master in England to compare with his master back in Hong Kong, Master Yau Lok Sau, he soon realised that to develop and hone his skills further he had only himself to rely on. Every day he would move the tables and chairs to the side of the restaurant he was working in and spend hours practicing his Kung Fu.

This type of work and daily lifestyle went on for a number of years until eventually Master Yau found himself living and working back in Birmingham. It was during this period that he met and became partners with an English man named Mike Haig, and the British Kung Fu Association was born.

The British Kung Fu Association

In 1972 The British Kung Fu Association was launched with Master Yau at its head. With world wide interest in Kung Fu soaring, primarily due to the popularity of the Bruce Lee films at the time, the British Kung Fu association quickly grew, and soon gained a reputation for producing world class martial artists and tournament fighters.

Throughout the 1970's and 80's practitioners of Lau Gar from the British Kung Fu association were taking their Lau Gar skills and techniques to tournaments throughout the country, winning trophies, invariably Gold medals, at every major event, much to the annoyance of the martial artists from the various other styles, who to that point had dominated the tournament circuit in Great Britain.

This renaissance of the Lau Gar fighting skills into an acceptable format for tournament fighting was one of a number of innovations that Master Yau brought to the country when he arrived. The traditional full contact way of fighting that Lau Gar was renowned for in Hong Kong was adapted for use in competition in the west and proved most effective. Subsequently, other less well known innovations in martial arts were introduced to great Britain, innovations that Master Yau should be credited for, such as the introduction of full contact fighting to the tournament circuit and the inclusion of ladies in tournaments fighting.

For Master Yau, being a winner in Great Britain alone was just the beginning. He regularly escorted the BKFA's fighting squad to tournaments abroad, where very soon European and World titles were being won and brought back to the BKFA. headquarters in Birmingham.

In early interviews Master Yau was often asked why a traditional style like Lau Gar did so well in competition. To which he simply replied "I don't know". However, the truth is, if the opposition couldn't see it for themselves, he certainly wasn’t going to tell them. The secret of Lau Gar Kung Fu as with any form of martial art is simple...

Practice, Practice and more Practice!

Sifu and Lau Gar Guardian