The FEI HOK PHAI (Flying Crane Style) Kung Fu & Tai Chi Chuan was created in 1968 in Sao Paulo/Brazil, by a Chinese immigrant called Chiu Ping Lok (1938 – 2009). The style arose from the union of the various styles of Chinese martial arts learned by him (Hun Gar; Choi Gar; Mo Gar; Tai Chi Chuan).
SiGung Chiu Ping Lok is also known as Master Lope, an affectionate nickname gave him by his students.
Born on May 15, 1938, in the village of Chao Chun Tung, Taishan (Tai Sam), Guangdong (Kwangtung) Province, in southern China, he began his training of Chinese martial art with the age of 5 years.
His first teacher was his uncle, Sifu Chan Mun, who taught him a form of Kung Fu named HUNG TAO CHOI MEI GAR (Hung headand Choi tail), which is a compilation of two traditional styles of kung fu: Hung Gar and Choi Gar.
He also learned from a friend of his uncle, Sifu Man Sim, the MO GAR and HUNG GAR. It was said that the Sifu Man Sim, who was blind, had an extrasensory sensitivity.
At fifteen years old Master Lope moved with his family to Hong Kong, where he continued to train MO GAR (under the guidance of Sifu Hui Miu Sin), and HUNG GAR (under the guidance of Sifu Lan Fei Hung, better known as Hung Tao Teet – i.e., "Hung, the head of Iron ", because of his public demonstrations in which he warped and straightening three irons bar with his head).
Later, in Kowloon, Master Lope met the old Sifu Si Pak, who taught him TAI CHI CHUAN, YOGA, CHI KUNG exercises, techniques of NOI GAR (called "Kung Fu Divine”, by emphasizing internal energy in carrying out movements), techniques of SI MEI KWAN ("Bat Tail Rat" - a long pole, with about 3 feet long and has one end thinner than the other), and PA KUA CHAUN.
His martial training has also been enriched by a friend of education and training whose father worked at a local film industry in Hong Kong. There, Master Lope had the opportunity to gain experience in various styles and methods of warfare, as well as training to act as an extra in several Chinese movies.
Later Master Lope also made a quick passage through New York (USA) where he studied TAI CHI CHUAN with Sifu Cheng Man Ching.
Chiu Ping Lok went to Brazil in 1961 with the intention to continue his journey to the United States, where his parents and otherfamily members lived a long time. Master Lope was twenty-four years old and, arriving in Brazil, had only the support of an uncle. Graduallyhe learned the Portuguese language with the help of a friend. The year 1963 began giving his first lessons in Kung Fu over the weekend, at the Chinese Social Center of Santo Andre (Sao Paulo) where he taught HUNG GAR and MO GAR. During this period only Chinese immigrants settled in Brazil participated in the drills.
In 1969, he founded his own gym, called “Academy Tai Chi, Yoga and Kung Fu", acknowledged as the first Chinese martial arts academy in Brazil. Together with two other Chinese immigrants, Wong Sun Keung (who arrived in Brazil in 1959) and Chan Kowk Wai (who arrived in Brazil in 1960 - Northern Shaolin Style Master and founder of Sino Brazilian Association of Kung Fu), Master Lope was an early master of Chinese martial art to settle down and teach in Brazil.
Master Lope died in Sao Paulo (2009), Brazil, at the age of 71. There are ten "Sifu" of the FEI HOK PHAI directed certified by Master Lope. They are: Lee Wai Yin (died in 2009), Jair Melo Lima, Cintia Yan, Maria Luiza Horneaux, Valdemir Machado, Mario Kunio Masuno, Benedito de Barros Filho, Guilherme Eduardo Stamato, Valter Tadeu Ribeiro and Aparecido Marrera.
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