One of my earlier experiences with MA was with Master Tan who founded Khong Chang in Singapore. I studied with him for around 3-4 years when I was younger. I just found out he recently past away and thought I'd make a little tribute. Great man and great teacher! R.I.P. P.S. I have never come across any Khong Chang practitioners outside Singapore, if there are any on MAP, do chime in.
i teach khong chang in newzealand. in a small town called wairoa .i also obtain my black belt with master tan grading me for it .when he was in nz in 2004.its been in nz for good 35 years.iam now a first degree black belt and had my own class for 2 years but been teaching for 6 years
Hello Sifu Rodger my name is Nathaniel i was in Sifu Pauls class in wairoa from 2003-2005 i still practice today to keep fit but only up to black belt level, since leaving the school to raise my kids ( what a mission) ive tried aikedo, taikwondo and traditional karate( met Grand master Hanshi ) however i miss the Khong Chang art i guess it was the great class mates, intense training and fun times limping around, it is sad to hear Master Tan is gone i was hoping he would train me to reach a high teaching level when i went to singapore so i could begin a new school, meet my chinese family there and experience training with him, when i left wairoa i wasnt ready to start a school like Sifu Paul said but thats ok i still got to black belt say hi to all the class mates that remain at the schools in wairoa. R.I.P Grand Master Tan.
Hello everyone, Khong Chang is a very exciting Art Form, Sifu rodger, Nat H. 2 very good practitioners, and good students of mine, Master Tan came to Wairoa New Zealand 2004 to attend the 1st Khong Chang World international Tournament, With sifu rodger attaining black belt status with Master Tan as the Chief Judge,There are many Khong Chang Practitioners in New Zealand, and the NZ Armed Forces whom Master Tan taught when the 1st Battalion RNZIR was stationed in singapore in the early 1960's through the 1989.there is also a branch in yorkshire England, My introduction was through my father in 1976, then an uncle whom became my mentor and Instructor from 1978 through to 2004.........S.U.T.I.khong Chang NZ Branch is moving forward. Good of you there Inthespirit to acknowledge the late master Tan Seng Lee. i am humbled by that. Nat H.....I have your Black Belt here with me just need to present it to you. sifu rodger...very good student and teacher.
Interesting info. Thanks for chiming in. I'm pretty sure I had an article from a Singapore newspaper attached with this post before. I'll see if I can find it and repost.
Tan Seng Lee It is a while since I visited MAP so please forgive the tardy response. First of all I want to assure everyone here that I absolutely do not mean any disrespect to Tan Seng Lee. I offer my knowledge only in the interests of preserving the history of Khong Chang. > Khong Chang was actually founded by Tan Seng Lee's father, Master Tan Siew Cheng, this is well known in Singapore. I was posted to Singapore in early 1967 not long after the founding of Khong Chang. > Khong Chang was Siew Cheng's response to the fact that young Singaporeans were being attracted to 'imported' systems such as Taekwondo; he realised that not all youngsters wanted to follow the traditional Chinese MA path and so created a 'streamlined'version of Fong Yang complete with a coloured belt ranking system. Khong Chang was therefore born out of Fong Yang kung fu (the Beggars Art) which was Master Tan Siew Cheng's main art. > I trained in both Fong Yang and Khong Chang, eventually attaining a black belt second dan in Khong Chang before giving it up to focus on Fong Yang and English martial arts which I was researching and developing at that time. > Khong Chang was conceived at Fong Yang's Balestier Road headquarters in Singapore. I knew Tan Seng Lee who was training there at the same time and although he was two or three grades ahead of me we sometimes got to train together. Seng Lee at that time, like me, was studying both the traditional Fong Yang and the new Khong Chang system. > Both of my Khong Chang black belt certificates were issed under the auspices of Tan Siew Cheng not Tan Seng Lee because at that time Khong Chang was definitely controlled by Tan Senior. At some time after this (can't remember the date) it was decided by Tan Senior to allow Tan junior to develop his own version of Khong Chang. > This was all done in a very amicable manner and Tan senior in fact remained involved with his son's new school as its technical advisor. > Tan senior continued to teach Khong Chang but to distinguish it from his son's system Tan senior called his version 'Fong Yang Khong Chang' while you all know that Seng Lee continued to use the name Khong Chang. > It is also a matter of record that Tan junior did an excellent job of developing Khong Chang into the well-known art that it then became. > I still have all my copies of the Khong Chang syllabuses which I suppose are now collectors pieces I also have a copy of the first Khong Chang magazine ever produced which brings back some happy memories > It's good to know that so many people are keeping alive an excellent martial art that was the product of a father and son joint effort. It is quite fitting therefore that one of the strikes in the Fong Yang Fierce Tiger form (called Ben Hor Choot Tong) is a double fist strike called 'Father and Son Fist'. > I hope no one is offended but I think the history of Khong Chang is a wonderful tribute to two great men. > Best wishes, Terry Brown Company of Maisters of the Science of Defence
lost your email Hi I haven't forgotten my promise to send you the Khong Chang magazine but unfortunately my computer crashed and I lost all of my email files. I'm finally up and running again so if you could let me have your email and home address I will post the magazine to you as well as copies of the early Khong Chang syllabus. Best wishes, Terry
Article about Sifu Tan Siew Cheng Hi inthespirit, That was a short article I wrote for a magazine which Eric was kind enough to publish on his blog 'Many Trees One Forest (http://eric88ling.wordpress.com/). This is a brilliant blog with lots of brilliant videos of CMA demonstrated by some top masters, please visit it. For more articles about Fong Yang kung fu (the Beggars Art) and Khong Chang there are several articles about them on my website here: http://www.terrybrownenglishmartialarts.com/ Terry
Hi Terry, lots of cool stuff on your site! I wanted to pick your brain a bit on the Feng Yang system, if you don't mind of course. Firstly, Feng Yang, as I understand it refers to a county in An Hui province China, is this correct? Also, is there a longer name to the system, like Feng Yang Chuan or Pai or something else perhaps? Do you know of there is any relation to a system called Feng Yang Lu Yi? Or even Lu Yi Pa Kua? Is Feng Yang classified as a Hakka style? Does the system contain spinning hands and / or sticky hands practices? And Chi Gung? The reason I ask is I study a system called I Liq Chuan, which is a relatively new system, but it was in large derived from Feng Yang Lu Yi, and the closest system I have found by name is Feng Yang. Thanks in advance!
Hi inthespirit, First thing I reallise that a three year response time is a touch tardy for which I apologise, I was busy meandering along life's highways and byeways
No worries about the tardiness T Brown! Many thanks for your answers, it's useful information for me. Much appreciated!
Is this the style in question? [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AJpbba8c_M"]Fong Yang Quan. - YouTube[/ame]
Only a few months late this time I'm glad my answers were of some help to you. Thanks for buying my book and thanks to you Ben Gash for also buying it - I hope you both enjoy it. Kind regards, Terry
Old Thread I know, but this popped up in a facebook group I am a member of. Ex- 1 RNZIR. Image taken before 1984 I believe.
