Jow Ga Kuen
周家拳Southern Chinese style of Jow Lung, a combination of Hung Gar and Choy Gar with Shaolin kicks. Since 2019 it has been intangible heritage of Nanhai district.
Quick Facts
ChinaCharacter & Origin
Training
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
About Jow Ga Kuen
Jow Ga is a southern Chinese style created, according to the intangible heritage list of Nanhai district in Foshan, by Zhou Long, in Cantonese Jow Lung, in the late Qing dynasty and early republic. According to English Wikipedia he lived in 1891–1919 and came from the Xinhui area. After his death the system was led by his brother Zhou Biu, and the first school arose in 1936 in Hong Kong. The Zhou brothers were known in the 1920s as the Five Tigers of the Zhou clan. The style is a deliberate combination of Hung Gar and Choy Gar, hence called Hung's Head, Choy's Tail. The Nanhai list describes it as the agility and strength of Hung Gar, the leg mobility of Choy Gar and Shaolin kicks. The basic sets include Small and Large Tiger, and the best-known weapon is the two sabres. Since 2019 Jow Ga has been the heritage of Nanhai district, where students of Zhou Biu brought it in 1950. In Heshan district stands the memorial hall of the Five Tigers of the Zhou clan. The figure of over ten thousand practitioners in over ten countries comes from the businessman who funded the hall. According to the English Wikipedia, the style is also known for lion dance drumming.
History
According to the intangible heritage list of Nanhai district in Foshan, Jow Ga was created by Zhou Long, in Cantonese Jow Lung, in the late Qing dynasty and early republic. According to English Wikipedia, he was born on 16 April 1891 in Sa Fu village in the Xinhui area and died in 1919 aged 29 of pneumonia. According to tradition he learned Hung Gar from his uncle Jow Hung Hei and Choy Gar from the master Choy Kau. The style arose from combining Hung Gar and Choy Gar, and in southern Chinese circles it was called Hung's Head, Choy's Tail, according to Sina reports. The brothers Zhou Xie, Zhou Biu, Zhou Hai and Zhou Tian were known in the 1920s as the Five Tigers of the Zhou clan. After the death of Jow Lung the system was led, according to Wikipedia, by Zhou Biu, in Cantonese Jow Biu (1899–1961), and the first school arose in 1936 in Kowloon, Hong Kong. In 1950 Zhou Biu sent students who brought the style to Jiujiang town in Nanhai district.
How it differs
Jow Ga differs from Hung Gar and Choy Gar, on which it is based, in its combination. According to English Wikipedia, it takes solid strength, low stances and tiger and crane techniques from Hung Gar, and long arms and fast footwork from Choy Gar. The Nanhai district list adds Shaolin kicks.
Technique
The intangible heritage list of Nanhai district describes Jow Ga as combining the agility and strength of Hung Gar, the leg mobility of Choy Gar and Shaolin kicks, and states that it suits men, women and children. According to English Wikipedia, the basic sets are Small Tiger (Siu Fook Fu Kuen), Large Tiger (Dai Fook Fu Kuen), Tiger and Leopard (Fu Pao Kuen) and Man Gee Kuen. The best-known weapon is the two sabres, which the style bears in its emblem, and it also uses sword, staff, spear and three-section staff.
Training
According to English Wikipedia, power is generated by hip rotation. The style also uses grabs, throws and low and high kicks. Training includes the breathing set Iron Wire to strengthen muscles, internal organs and bones. We have not found a training plan from a higher-level source.
Ranks and progression
We have not found belts or grades in the sources. The lineage derives from Jow Lung and his brothers, the so-called Five Tigers of the Zhou clan, and from schools founded by Zhou Biu in Hong Kong from 1936 and by his students in Nanhai after 1950.
Today
Since 2019 Jow Ga has been on the intangible heritage list of Nanhai district in Foshan (6th batch), nominated by the cultural centre of Jiujiang town. In Tangxia town in Heshan district stands, according to Sina reports, the Memorial Hall of the Five Tigers of the Zhou clan, completed in 2012 with money from the Singaporean businessman Lin Zhenqin. According to him over ten thousand people study the style in more than ten countries, but this is his estimate.
Did you know
According to English Wikipedia, the style is also famed for lion dance drumming. By tradition, in 1915 Jow Lung beat a hundred candidates to be chief instructor in the army of General Lee Fook Lam.
Frequently asked questions
What does Hung's Head, Choy's Tail mean?
It is a nickname of the Jow Ga style, which combines Hung Gar and Choy Gar. The Nanhai district list speaks of the agility and strength of Hung Gar, the leg mobility of Choy Gar and Shaolin kicks.
Who founded Jow Ga?
Zhou Long, in Cantonese Jow Lung, in the late Qing dynasty and early republic. According to English Wikipedia he lived in 1891–1919, and the system was led after him by his brother Zhou Biu.
Who were the Five Tigers of the Zhou clan?
The Zhou brothers, who according to Sina reports included Zhou Xie, Zhou Biu, Zhou Hai and Zhou Tian and who spread Jow Ga in the 1920s. A memorial hall for them was completed in Heshan district in 2012.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.