HONORING SIFU ALEX CO - Tambuli Media

Excerpted from the book INNER GATE by Mark V. Wiley

Alexander Lim Co (許景偉, Co King Wei) (1953-2016) was born in Manila on June 03, 1953. So passionate was he about kung-fu that his name is inseparable from martial arts in the Philippines and especially from the Beng Kiam Club and the Chin Wu Association. In 1968, the 15 year old Co entered the Beng Kiam Athletic Association and began his dedicated study of Ngo Cho Kun under the guidance of Sifu Tan Ka Hong, who would remain his teacher until his passing in 1990. Over time, Co’s introspective nature led him to question and contemplate the deeper principles behind what he was learning.

His understanding deepened further when he became an in-door disciple of Sifu Tan in 1980. He soon came to realize that there was one form of training for the general public, and another—more refined, specific, and demanding—reserved for the inner disciple. The grandmaster accepted only those he believed capable of upholding the name of Ngo Cho Kun with dignity and integrity.

During the times when he was inspecting deeper the things he was studying, Co decided to study other systems of Chinese Martial Arts secretly. ln 1972, Co started studying Seven-Star Mantis, Hung-ga, and Tibetan Llama kung-fu under Sifu Shakespeare Chan. ln 1975, Sifu Chan founded the Philippine Chin Wu Athletic
Association in collaboration with Alex Co. ln the 1980s, Co further expanded his knowledge by studying the Hsin-I Liu Ho Pa Fa under his friend Sifu David Chan. ln 1989, Co, along with four others, started a small private Wu Style Tai Chi Chuan group under Sifu John Hu Chuan-Hai, the son of Sifu Hu Chin-Hua.

In 1973 Co and his high school friends started JAFAHA Publications (taking the first letter of each of their first names: Joseph Sy, Antonio Ong, Felix Tan, Alexander Co, Henry Co, Alejandro Co). They began their enterprise with the publication of Martial Arts Magazine and then continued in 1981with the first ever kung-fu book published in the Philippines. In the late 1970s, Sifu Alex Co and Sifu Shakespeare Chan visited Hong Kong and Taiwan to meet Sifu Alex Co as a young man various masters. Alex was starting his Fighting Arts magazine.

He went to meet Liao Wu Chang (廖五常), the famous monkey king and master of Tai Cho. Daniel Duby took him for the introduction, but said he was expensive to train with, you have to give him Fukien Dim Sum. That was code for “a girl”). Alex laughed it off and said just bring me to him. “When I met him, Liao was off putting,” remembers Co, “until I said the following: Sir, I am a student of Master Tan Ka Hong. He told me to give you his regards.” Then suddenly he changed and said, “Oh, yes, yes, Master Tan. Compared to him, my kung-fu is just like a copy without opening my eyes yet.” Then he served me tea and showed me several ground fighting techniques. Daniel Duby remarked that he had never seen Liao humbled as when hearing Tan’s name. When I returned to Manila, I asked Master Tan why Master Liao was so humbled when I mentioned his name. Tan just laughed and would not say a word about it.

The Praying Mantis Style of Kung Fu was written by Sifu Shakespeare Chan and Alex Co. In 1983 Co went on to publish The Way of Ngo Cho Kun, a translation of sections of the seven-volume manuscript set Sifu Tan Ka Hong had written on the art. In 1995 The Way of Ngo Cho Kun was re-edited and expanded by Mark V. Wiley and published for a wider audience by Tuttle Publishing, as Five Ancestor Fist Kung-Fu. This began a close relationship between Co and Wiley that lasted some 25 years, over which time they filmed a series of instructional videos for Unique Publications (The Essence of Ngo Cho Kun and Secrets of Seven-Star Praying Mantis), and a number of magazine articles on Ngo Cho for magazines such as Inside Kun-Fu, Martial Arts Illustrated, Martial Arts Legends, Kung-Fu Tai Chi Magazine, and Masters Magazine. Co’s other writings appeared in New Martial Hero, Inside Kung-Fu, and Rapid Journal. His final and largest project was the first English-language translation of the Chinese Gentle Art Complete, the so-called “Ngo Cho Bible,” with editors Mark V. Wiley and Russ Smith. It was published in 2014 by Tambuli Media. A peacemaker and visionary, Master Co was instrumental in bringing together different martial arts groups together in the successful Martial Arts Festival ‘88, held at the Rizal Theater, Manila and the 1993 Metro Manila Grand Exhibition of Martial Arts on July 31, 1993 at the Metropolitan Theater, Manila.

Alex Co’s endless Journey as a martial artist was interspersed with numerous travels abroad to Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Taiwan, and the United States to attend gatherings, conferences, clinics, exhibitions, and related events, meeting masters and practitioners, researching for the true essence of the different styles he embraced. His collection of martial arts books, Alex Co by his prized martial arts library magazines, materials and a very impressive listing of martial arts videos covering all styles and systems, to cater to every discipline.

After Tan Ka Hong’s passing in 1990, Alex Co began supervising training at Beng Kiam and was one of the Vice Chairman of the Association, which is under the leadership of his teacher’s son Sifu Benito Tan. He was largely responsible for keeping the

Topher Ricketts, Alex Co, Bonifacio Lim, Mark Wiley – 1998

club active, bringing student to the club, spreading awareness of Ngo Cho and Beng Kiam through his writings, demonstrations, and talking to prospective students at his martial arts supply shop in Green Hills, San Juan, the infamous Squadron Shoppe. Over the decades, Alex Co has served as Chairman of the Philippine-Chinese Beng Kiam Athletic Association, the Tsing Hua Ngo Cho Kung-Fu Center, the Chin Wu Athletic Association, Vice-chairman of the Hsin-I Society of Internal Arts and advising grandmaster of the Beng Hong Martial Arts Society.

It is with a heavy heart that we mourn the passing of our mentor, dear friend, and Ngo Cho master, Sifu Alex Co, who left us on April 12, 2016, at 10:34 PM in Manila. Despite enduring years of illness—including heart trouble, kidney failure, diabetes, and multiple amputations—his determination to document and share the martial arts he loved never wavered.

Sifu Co’s kindness, generosity, and boundless passion for all martial disciplines touched everyone he met. A unifying figure among the Philippines’ martial arts masters, he bridged styles and traditions with respect and openness. A devoted scholar and voracious collector, his personal library of martial arts books remains one of the most remarkable in the region—a reflection of his lifelong pursuit of knowledge and his enduring spirit.