Lau Gar
劉家拳A southern Chinese family style, one of the five main styles of Guangdong. Most of today's information about it comes from British clubs.
Quick Facts
ChinaCharacter & Origin
Training
Who It Suits
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.
Catalogs & Databases for Lau Gar
About Lau Gar
Lau Gar kuen, the fist of the Lau family, belongs, according to the Chinese press and the intangible heritage list of Nanhai district, to the five main Guangdong styles Hung, Lau, Choy, Li and Mok. Of these five, Mok Gar has been on China's national list of intangible cultural heritage since 2021, while Lau Gar is not there. The link between these five and southern Shaolin is tradition. Clubs of the style tell of a monk who, in a temple in Guangxi province, taught the tiger hunter Lau Sam Ngan, known as the Third Eye. We found no written source for this story. Most of today's information about Lau Gar comes from British clubs. According to them, Jeremy Yau came to the United Kingdom in 1961 and began teaching publicly in 1973. We found no independent confirmation of these details. One blog and one discussion forum also suggest that British Lau Gar and Guangdong Lau Ga kuen may be different lineages, but this too could not be confirmed. Clubs describe Lau Gar as a southern style with firm stances and work at short and medium range. We found no unified grading system, and belts differ from club to club. It is a poorly documented style and we are looking for reliable sources.
History
The origin of Lau Gar is uncertain. British clubs say it comes from the boxing of the Kuei Ling temple in Guangxi province, where a monk taught the tiger hunter Lau Sam Ngan, called the Third Eye, and this is a legend. According to the same account, repeated by the regional newspaper Wakefield Express, Yau Luk Sau learned the style at the end of the 19th century and passed it to his grandson Jeremy Yau. According to the clubs, he brought it to the UK in 1961 and founded the British Kung Fu Association in 1973. Hung Kyun master Lam Cho states that a mainland book, Lau Kyun, mentions the Third Eye Lau in the lineage, but he does not know these persons and, given the many branches and stories, finds the origin hard to determine. On discussion forums it is said that British Lau Gar and Guangdong Lau Ga Kuen are two different lines, we have not been able to confirm this.
How it differs
Lau Gar is counted among the traditional five Guangdong family styles. According to one contributor on the MartialTalk forum, the British and Guangdong lines share the five animals, but the traditional Lau Ga Kuen does not use kicks with the leg drawn in, which according to him Yau added to the British line. Another contributor disputes this. Lam Cho explicitly writes that his version, adapted from one Mok Gar set for Hung Kyun practitioners, is not the same as the Guangdong Lau Ga kyun of the five. British and Irish Lau Gar clubs, moreover, combine the traditional style with competitive kickboxing.
Technique
Descriptions of technique come only from clubs and discussion forums. A student of Jeremy Yau's line lists among the forms Six Harmonies Fist, Eight Rows of Palms, Five Animals Fist, Ten Separated Hands and Heart-Piercing Kick, and among weapons double butterfly knives and the tiger fork. An Irish university club in Dublin describes its teaching as the traditional Chinese Lau Gar syllabus supplemented with kickboxing, sparring and conditioning. Lam Cho describes his own version of Lau Ga kyun with a long section in the horse stance, chopping palms and kicks taken from Mok Gar, plus a long-staff set Lau Ga gwan, but explicitly as a different line from British Lau Gar.
Training
We found no uniform syllabus. According to the British regional press, the first-degree black sash exam included traditional Chinese sets, walking and strikes, defences against weapons, self-defence blocks and sparring. A contributor on the MartialTalk forum states that Lau Gar includes grip fighting called Kam La. According to the press, clubs in Britain and Ireland combine traditional forms with competitive kickboxing.
Ranks and progression
Lau Gar clubs use coloured sashes. An Irish university club lists exams for white, orange, blue, green and brown sashes, above which are the black sash degrees. According to the local press, black sash exams are taken from the first degree upwards. The order of colours differs between clubs and we found no uniform system.
Today
According to available reports, Lau Gar is today practised mainly in the UK and Ireland, where clubs descending from Jeremy Yau operate. According to the regional press, instructors regularly train with so-called guardians of the style. On the mainland, discussion forums say, master Xiao Yong Ding teaches Lau Gar in Zhongshan, and his version differs from the British one. We did not find Lau Gar on China's national list of intangible cultural heritage, of the five Guangdong styles Mok Gar is on it.
Frequently asked questions
What does the name Lau Gar mean?
Lau Gar kuen means the fist of the Lau family. According to the tradition of British clubs, it is named after the tiger hunter Lau Sam Ngan, which is a legend.
Who brought Lau Gar to Britain?
According to British clubs, Jeremy Yau, who brought the style in 1961 and founded the British Kung Fu Association in 1973. We found no independent confirmation.
What grades does Lau Gar have?
Clubs use coloured sashes, for example white, orange, blue, green and brown, and above them black sash degrees. The order differs between clubs.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.