Mok Gar
莫家拳Southern Chinese family style from Guangdong with close-range hand work and many kicks. Since 2021 it has been on China's national list of intangible heritage.
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About Mok Gar
Mok Gar, in Chinese Mo Jia Quan, is a southern Chinese family style from Guangdong province. According to China's national list of intangible cultural heritage, it arose during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor, about 300 years ago, in Huizhou, spread through Dongguan to Guangzhou and was passed down through nine generations. The list does not name a founder. Chinese press names Mo Dashi of Huizhou as the creator, and him and Mo Qingjiao as the first generation of masters in Dongguan. The story of a Shaolin origin is tradition. The national list describes Mok Gar as a blend of the deep power and shifting hands of southern styles with the footwork of northern styles. The style has close-range hand techniques, many kicks and alternates between long and short distance. The repertoire consists of 39 empty-hand forms, 27 weapon forms, paired exercises and stance training. Practitioners build strength gradually with bamboo poles, sandbags and stone weights. In 2021 Mok Gar was inscribed on the national list of intangible heritage. It is often confused with Hung Gar because of Mok Kwai Lan, the wife of Wong Fei Hung, who learned Mok Gar from her uncle and led her husband's school after his death.
History
According to China's national list of intangible cultural heritage, Mok Gar, in Chinese Mo Jia Quan, arose in Guangdong under the Qianlong Emperor, roughly 300 years ago, and was passed down through nine generations. It was born in Huizhou, spread through Dongguan and developed in Guangzhou. The list does not name a founder. A 2021 Chinese press report names as creator Mo Dashi, a native of Huizhou who studied southern Shaolin. With Mo Qingjiao (Mok Ching Kiu) he is said to have taught as the first generation in the town of Qiaotou in Dongguan, which became the centre of transmission. The first heirs were born in the village of Huogang in the township of Shalin. Southern Media newspapers report that the second generation defeated Russian challengers in Hong Kong, but this is an oral tradition without a date.
How it differs
According to the state list, Mok Gar differs from other southern styles mainly in its kicks. To the deep power and shifting hands of southern styles it adds footwork attributed to northern styles. The Chinese press ranks it among the five great family styles of Guangdong: Hung, Lau, Choy, Li and Mok. It is linked to Hung Gar not by a common origin but by the person of Mok Kwai Lan. She learned Mok Gar from her uncle, and Wong Fei Hung taught her Hung Gar. Unlike Hung Gar, Wing Chun and Choy Li Fut, Mok Gar does not appear in Hong Kong's first inventory of intangible heritage from 2014. We found no documented technical comparison with them.
Technique
The state list describes Mok Gar as a combination of the deep power and shifting hands of southern styles with the skilful footwork of northern styles. The style joins attack with defence, with close-range hand techniques, powerful forms, nimble footwork, many kicks and alternation between long and short distance. According to the list, the repertoire consists of 39 empty-hand forms, 27 weapon forms, 4 paired exercises and 5 forms of stance training. Among the empty-hand forms it names Heihu quan, the black tiger fist, and Guxue quan and Zaizhan quan, and among the weapons the great rake Mojia dapa and the long dragon staff Changlong gun.
Training
According to the state list, practitioners build strength gradually with bamboo poles, small sandbags, stone weights and the Renzi zhuang stance. Stance training consists of five forms, among them Renzi ta, the human pyramid. Mok Gar is passed down orally in two main lines, the Huizhou and the Dongguan, by blood and outside the family. Pupils' conduct is governed by a written code of martial ethics. Master Mok Yuk-lam, a ninth-generation descendant, says in the press that one learns martial arts in order to avoid a fight.
Ranks and progression
We found no system of belts or grades in the sources. According to the state list, admission to the school is marked by a ceremonial but simplified ritual. Training moves from simple aids and stances to hand and leg drills and only then to forms. The press says pupils must repeat the basics for several years before learning more.
Today
On 10 June 2021 the State Council added Mok Gar to the fifth batch of China's national list of intangible cultural heritage as item 1452 in the category of traditional sports, games and acrobatics. The nomination came from Guangdong province, and protection is the responsibility of the Guangdong Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage Promotion Association. Protection includes teaching in schools and communities and a group form for youth. From the late nineteen-seventies to the early 21st century, hardly anyone practised Mok Gar in the village of Huogang. Today Master Mok Yuk-lam is bringing it into local schools. The Chinese press says it is also practised in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, the United Kingdom and the USA.
Did you know
The best-known bearer of the name Mok was Mok Kwai Lan, who died 3 November 1982 in Hong Kong aged 90. In 1911 she became the wife of Wong Fei Hung, and sources call her both a concubine and his third or fourth wife. In 1970 she demonstrated the family forms of Mok Gar on Hong Kong television. According to newspapers, a house in Huogang village from the time of the Jiaqing Emperor still bears marks of blows by Mok Jin-nin, a descendant of the style from the late Qing dynasty. Mok Gar is the third national intangible heritage item of the city of Huizhou.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Mok Gar and when did it arise?
China's national list of intangible heritage dates its origin to the time of the Qianlong Emperor, roughly 300 years ago, and does not name a founder. The Chinese press names Mo Dashi of Huizhou as the creator.
What makes Mok Gar special?
According to the state list, it combines the close-range hand techniques of southern styles with many kicks and footwork attributed to northern styles.
Is Mok Gar recognised cultural heritage?
Yes. On 10 June 2021 it was added to the fifth batch of China's national list of intangible cultural heritage.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.