History

1st Generation:

Wong Fei Hung 黃紅飛 (1847 – 1925)

He was a Chinese doctor and martial artist. In China, he is revered as a national hero. Because of his tireless efforts to help the weak in need, Wong Fei Hung still enjoys a very high reputation in China. More than 100 films and television series have been shot about him since 1949. Among them such well-known productions as: Once upon a time in China (with Jet Li), Iron Monkey (with Donnie Yen), Drunken Master II (Jackie Chan and Lau Kar Leung).

In 2001, the Wong Fei Hung Memorial Hall opened in his birthplace Foshan in his honor. He is also considered the pioneer of the world famous Hung Gar (Hung Kuen) Kung Fu and developed the probably most famous Kung Fu form in the world: the Fu Hok Sheung Jing Kuen - the Tiger/Crane form.

2nd Generation:

Lam Sai Wing 林世榮 (1861 – 1943)

He is considered one of the best martial artists of his time. After many years of training with various masters, he eventually became a direct student of Wong Fei Hung and later became his most famous student. He was also known for his social commitment.

Lam Sai Wing was an excellent teacher and fascinated many students from all over South China. He was also the main instructor for the Chinese army in the then newly founded Republic of China (Canton Province) and was the first martial artist to write three books on Hung Gar Kung Fu. With these books it was possible to gain insight into the techniques of Hung Gar Kung Fu for the first time, which until then had often been kept secret or difficult to access.

3rd Generation:

Lau Jaam 劉湛 (1897 – 1963)

He was born in Canton, South China in 1897. At the age of 16 he met his master Lam Sai Wing while Wong Fei Hung was still alive. After his military service Wong Fei Hung ran a Kung Fu school in Hong Kong.

Because of the close connection between Lau Jaam and his teacher Lam Sai Wing he regularly came into contact with Wong Fei Hung.

Through his work as an assistant in a traditional theatre, Lau Jaam finally came by "chance" to Chinese filmmaking. Even then, entertainment movies about the life and work of Wong Fei Hung were made for the Chinese population. Lau Jaam was often seen in the role of Lam Sai Wing in the elaborate productions and thus played his own Kung Fu teacher.

Together with his sons Lau Kar Leung and Lau Kar Wing as well his grandson Lau Kar Yung, the Lau family – over 3 generations until today – has been significantly involved in more than 1000 movies and series about Kung Fu.

4th Generation:

Lau Kar Leung 劉家良(1934 – 2013)

He came to the Chinese film industry at an early age through his father Lau Jaam, from whom he learned Hung Gar Kung Fu. In the beginning he worked mainly on black and white productions about the life of Wong Fei Hung. In the 70s and 80s he became the most important filmmaker, choreographer, actor and director for the Shaw Brothers Studios (the Chinese equivalent of the American Universal Studios). During this time, his worldwide film successes such as: The 36 Chambers of Shaolin (with Gordon Liu) or Mad Monkey Kung Fuwere made, which inspired an audience of millions for Kung Fu. Since then, he is considered the most important ambassador of Kung Fu next to Bruce Lee and founded the worldwide fame of the Lau family.

Numerous awards reflect this success story:

• Best film at the FANT-ASIA Film Festival
• Best Action Choreography at the Hung Kuen Film Awards
• Best Martial Arts Director at the Golden Horse Awards
• Award for lifetime achievement at the Hong Kong Film Awards 2010

It is not without a reason that Lau Kar Leung has earned to be called King of Kung Fu, which is especially common in China.

5th Generation:

Lau Kar Yung 劉家勇 (1958 – heute)

Lau Kar Yung lernte das Hung Gar und Choy Lay Fut Kung Fu von seiner Mutter, seinem Vater und Lau Kar Leung. Er ist der Neffe von Lau Kar Leung und wiederum Erbe des Kung Fu seines Onkels und damit „Keeper of the style“ der Lau Familie. Lau Kar Yung war und ist nicht nur Darsteller, Choreograph, Stuntman und Regisseur zahlreicher Kung Fu Filme und Serien, sondern vor allem ein ausgezeichneter Kung Fu Meister, der sein gesamtes bisheriges Leben der Ausübung und Verbreitung des Hung Gar Kung Fu gewidmet hat. Er ist einer der wenigen, noch weltweit agierenden Meister, der sich (trotz der Aufbereitung des Kung Fu für Film- und Fernsehproduktionen) einer ursprünglichen und authentischen Herangehensweise verschrieben hat.

Moreover, due to his exceptional knowledge of the Chinese lion dance, he is considered the most outstanding coriphée in China in this art. In the film industry, he has worked and still works with international celebrities such as Jackie Chan, Tony Leung, Gordon Liu, Lau Kar Leung, Sammo Hung, Donnie Yen, and many more.

In 2016, Grandmaster Lau Kar Yung, who lives mainly in Hong Kong and Los Angeles, founded the International Lau Family Kung Fu Academywith his direct master student Jau Chi Hang (Dominik Spies) from Germany, in order to make the valuable cultural heritage of his family accessible to an international audience outside the film industry.

6th Generation:

Jau Chi Hang 游 志 恒 (1974 – heute)

He is one of the few martial artists worldwide who has been taught directly by Lau Kar Yung outside the film industry in the Hung Gar and Monkey Style of the Lau family. Sifu (Meister) Spies was officially appointed to the 6th generation of Wong Fei Hung in 2016 and is internationally considered the next heir of the Lau Family Kung Fu. In the course of a traditional ceremony he was given the Chinese name/title Jau Chi Hang Sifu.

He is initiator and founder of the International Lau Family Kung Fu Academy and director of the Fu Pau Kung Fu Schools Germany.

Dominik Spies worked for many years as a social worker and state-approved educator in socially deprived areas (Info). Since 2003 he has been focusing his efforts on the preservation and cultivation of Chinese martial arts.