{"id":1137,"date":"2015-01-01T09:54:30","date_gmt":"2015-01-01T14:54:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tambulimedia.com\/?p=1137"},"modified":"2023-07-24T15:07:30","modified_gmt":"2023-07-24T19:07:30","slug":"james-cama-remembers-sifu-henry-leung","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tambulimedia.com\/james-cama-remembers-sifu-henry-leung\/","title":{"rendered":"James Cama Remembers Wing Chun Sifu Henry Leung"},"content":{"rendered":"
When I was a young man I was in search of this miraculous art of Wing Chun. By chance I met Master Moy Yat and became a \u201cspecial student\u201d and trained under him for about a year. His art was excellent but there was \u201csomething missing\u201d for me. I was looking at an article by my good friend Bob Brown on a closed-door style of Wing Chun from Mainland, China called Fut Sao Buddha Hand. It told of this great master named Henry Leung. I called Bob and asked if I could meet Master Leung. He said that was impossible because Leung doesn\u2019t take in outside students. Bob said I could ask for Peter Chow and that he would train me in the art instead. He gave me the address to the Friendship Coffee Shop and I went the next evening! I walked into a crowded coffee shop and asked the middle aged man with a slight build standing behind the counter if Peter Chow were there. He looked me up and down and smiled. \u201cMaybe he come later,\u201d he replied in broken English.<\/span><\/p>\n I waited for three hours as the crowd thinned. The man then tossed me a book titled, Wing Tsun<\/em>, by Leung Ting. He said, \u201cYou want to learn this?\u201d I shook my head yes, enthusiastically. He said to come back tomorrow morning. I arrived bright and early and the man approached me with a mop. Before I could utter a word he motioned for me to mop the floor. I started mopping, thinking to myself, What am I doing? A customer walked in and addressed the man.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHey, Henry, got a cup of coffee?\u201d Henry nodded to me. With a smile on my face I served the customer. Thus began my relationship with Sifu.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This story and more is published in the late James Cama’s book, Fut Sao Wing chun<\/em>.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n My First Lesson <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Later that day Sifu moved some tables and demonstrated the Siu Lin Tao form for me. He then told me to practice for one hour in ma bo horse stance. He then sat down, crossed his legs, and began reading the paper. Sifu sipped on his Hennesy and puffed on his cigarette. After 20 minutes I figured he wasn\u2019t paying attention so while holding the tan sao position I dropped the fist of my opposite hand down to rest. Without lifting his head, Sifu gestured for me to lift my fist back to chamber position. Then he turned the page of his paper and continued reading. From that moment on I never slacked off in my training.<\/span><\/p>\n The Test <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n <\/a>One day, Sifu asked me about my martial arts experience. I told him I was a third degree black belt. He said, \u201cKarate has good kick?\u201d I said, yes. He said, \u201cKick me.\u201d I knew I had a very fast round kick so I thought I\u2019d just place it next to his face. I said okay and threw it as fast as I could. The next thing I knew I was on the floor in pain, holding my groin. He counter kicked me to the groin! Sifu helped me up and said, \u201cKarate has good grab punch?\u201d Now I\u2019m thinking, I have him now because the grab-punch was my favorite technique. He couldn\u2019t possibly get away. Sifu held out his wrist, daring me to grab it. I moved swiftly and could feel the hair on his wrist. The next thing I know, I\u2019m again on the floor choking. Sifu helps me up and I bow deeply. \u201cPlease teach me, master.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The Incredible <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n One evening Sifu and I were in the basement of his building. I noticed that Sifu was exceptionally energized. I knew this because his color would change when he brought his chi (internal energy) up. He would turn a fading brown color and his lips would blacken. I also noticed his gait was nimble and quick. Sifu started to walk\/punch vigorously toward an old piece of plywood shelving. His fist smashed the wood to bits, like an explosion. Then he grabbed a rattan pole and went over to an old metal door. Sifu whipped that pole and made inch-deep indents. Ten of them! I took the pole and swung it like Babe Ruth swung his bat. I barely made a scratch!<\/span><\/p>\n