Mr. Toma poses before Bruce Lee's residence in Hongkong.
	A YUGOSLAV JOURNALIST COMES TO HONG KONG IN SEARCH OF KUNG FU BY T'E MO

WITH THE CHINESE KUNG FU CRAZE SPREADING TO VARIOUS PLACE IN THE WORLD, MANY PEOPLE HAVE MADE SPECIAL JOURNEYS TO HONG KONG TO SEE, UNDERSTAND AND LEARN KUNG FU, BUT IF ONE DOES NOT KNOW THE RIGHT PATH TO APPROACH KUNG FU, HE WILL CERTAINLY BE DISAPPOINTED. ONE YEAR BEFORE, AN EDITOR AND A REPORTER OF A FRENCH KARATE MAGAZINE TRAVELLED TO HONGKONG TO COVER KUNG FU. BUT THE REPORT THEY WROTE AFTER GOING HOME WAS SHEER NONSENSE. IT WAS THE RESULT OF THEIR FAILURE TO MAKE AN INVESTIGATION BY THE RIGHT PATH.

He Is at a Loss As For Where to Look For Kung Fu

Mr. Toma, concurrently reporter and editor-in-chief of a very large Yugoslavian publishing company, came to Hongkong trying to find out the truth about kung fu. But he got nothing after having arrived in his destiny for three days.

'Before my coming to Hongkong, I visualized that I would see kung fu studios in every street and that kung fu performances would be on show in every theatre. I even imagined that everywhere in the streets of Hongkong should be scenes of people in kung fu suits hitting out with their fists and kicking up with their feet. But I just do not see any evidence of kung fu after staying in Hongkong for three days.' The slightly fat and big-paunched Toma shrugged, laid flat his hands and pulled down the corners of his mouth when he said to the author. 'I didn't find any place related to kung fu even when I looked up the telephone directory. I was quite surprised as it was said that Hongkong is a place where kung fu is concentrated, the place where Bruce Lee was reared, the place whence a large number of instructors teaching kung fu everywhere came. And many kung fu movies are shot in Hongkong, too. But when you come here, you find everything about kung fu concealed from you.'

Thanks to the kung fu movies, many people think that Hongkong is like what is depicted in the martial arts movies shown all over the world: People in kung fu suits fight in the streets at the trifling pretexts, a superior kung fu exponent with unrivalled style hits in the upper section and kicks in the lower section until he, single-handed, fells many of his enemies all about and sends the rest of them fleeing.

Though Toma had not been in Hongkong before, but, being a journalist, he could not be ignorant of the fact that Hongkong is a modernized city and its residents just cannot wear the kind of costume that prevailed in China tens, or even hundreds, of years ago. But in East Europe, the Kung fu craze has just made its appearance. Bruce Lee's 'Fist of Fury' and 'The Big Boss' were shown there only a year ago, They created such a sensation that they were shown for three or four months in a row. Bruce Lee's cyclic kicks, his quick-as-lightning punch and his deterrent yells all were a new physical pleasure to the East Europeans, catching them enthralled by the power and wonders of Chinese kung fu. Toma was also enthralled by the Chinese kung fu. He said:

'Struck by kung fu movies, many Yugoslavs want to learn kung fu. But not one gym of Chinese kung fu is in operation in Yugoslavia. So many speculative Yugoslavs who have learned karate and judo are teaching kung fu, pretending that they are exponents of Chinese kung fu.'

Do they really know Chinese kung fu?

'Certainly not,' Toma shrugged. 'They just collected some English kung fu books and taught students by following the illustrations in them. They say that what they teach is kung fu.'

Toma is visiting a morning T'ai-chi Ch'uan exercise class. In the middle is the instructor, on the right is Sifu Cheng Tin Hung.
	Trainees of the T'ai-chi Association are demonstrating the superior T'ai-chi Kung fu, which enables one to stand the simultaneous collisions by two men from the front and from behind.

The author asked Toma if he realized that it was false kung fu?

'I knew that it was not real kung fu,' he said. He touched his balding head with his hand, then spread his hands apart. 'But I just did not have the slightest notion of what real kung fu was. So I read some books on kung fu published in England. It enlightened me that Bruce Lee's kung fu was only one style out of many others. Some things described in those books astounded me. For example, in order to learn kung fu., one has to experience all kinds of hardship in the deep of a deserted mountain. And one implement for exercising quick punches is a guillotine-like sharp knife. The trainee must be sure that he hits out and takes back his punches faster than the sharp knife drops, or he would be unable to to take back his hand in time and get it cut off and lots of such things. To the way of thinking of an average Yugoslav, kung fu is a very powerful fighting technique, and is profound and mysterious.'

What is his impression of kung fu?

'I do not completely believe the descriptions in the books: said Toma. But Yugoslavs coming home from other European countries always make mythical accounts of the Chinese martial arts.

To find out the truth about kung fu, I decided to come to Hongkong. My idea of kung fu before I embarked on the journey was that it was a commercialized sport, a merchandise operated by big business, that it could be seen in theatres and on other occasions, and could even be seen everywhere at street corners and ends of alleys. But after coming to Hongkong for three days, I failed to see kung fu after looking for it everywhere. I just don't know how to get into contact with it.'

Male and Female, Young and Old, All Exercise T'ai-chi Ch'uan

At half past six in the morning of the fourth day of Toma's stay in Hongkong, Mr. Bill Wong, Public Relations Superintendent of the Cathay Airlines, and the author brought Toma to see kung fu.

The author brought him to several morning T'ai-chi Ch'uan classes conducted by the Recreation and Athletics Office of the Government of Hong Kong. All. the instructors of these classes were disciples of Sifu Cheng Tin Hung, Superintendent of the T'ai-chi Association of Hong Kong. Each class had an enrolment of between two hundred to three hundred. The trainees, who ranged in age from five or six-year-old children to octogenarians and nonagenarians of either sex, were all uniformly exercising T'ai-chi Ch'uan in an orderly way. Toma was happy and surprised at the same time to see the scene.

The author told him that morning T'ai chi Ch'uan classes like the ones he saw were operated everywhere in Hongkong, including the Hongkong Island proper, Kowloon and the New Territories, and the number of persons exercising T'ai chi Ch'uan should exceed 100,000.

A performance of the use of T'ai-chi Ch'uan in self-defence combat. It is a kung fu that overpowers hardness by softness.

The purpose the author had in his mind in bringing Toma to see the morning T'ai-chi Ch'uan classes was to change his idea of kung fu. Before his arrival in Hongkong, he thought kung fu was no more than a truculent fighting technique preferred by young men. But now appearing before his eyes was a health physical exercise suitable for the young and the old alike.

At the morning T'ai-chi class held on the athletics field of the Wah Yan College, a high school with a long standing in Hong­kong, the author introduced Toma to Sifu Cheng Tin Hung, who happened to be there. Toma said that he had heard of T'ai-chi Ch'uan before he left Yugoslavia. Now that he saw so many people exercising the style, he would like to know its merits.

'Tai-chi Ch'uan is a kind of beneficial athletic item,' Sifu Cheng Tin Hung told the visitor. 'You know exercise promotes man's physical fitness. A proverb of your people is "Health is wealth", while a Chinese proverb is "Being free from mishaps and diseases is bliss", so Easterners and Westerners all attach importance to physical fitness. T'ai-chi Ch'uan already has a history of several hundred years. It keeps up the physical fitness and spirit of the trainee, so that he is mentally alert and able to judge things methodically in his handling of routine affairs. It indirectly helps us win success in our cause.'

Toma liked to have a more detailed explanation of the beneficial effects of T'ai-chi Ch'uan on the human body.

'The consecutive actions of T'ai-chi Ch'uan helps develop the muscles and joints in various locations in the human body in a balanced way: said Sifu Cheng Tin Hung. 'T'ai-chi Ch'uan makes the breath smooth and unobstructed, thus strengthening the power of activity of the diaphragm. And more than that, if you pay attention to the calmness of your spirit and concentrate your mind when you perform every action, the exercise will greatly benefit your central nervous system, which affects other vital organs prominently.'

Sifu Cheng told him that, in the same way, T'ai-chi Ch'uan exercises are beneficial to the internal organs, artery and the respiratory system. The smooth and undisturbed breathing has the effect of strengthening the power of activity of the diaphragm, which in turn promotes blood circulation and improves the health of the lymphatic glands. Also, all the actions improve the pressure in the vein, prompt­ing the flow of the blood toward the heart. Besides, during the deep breathing, the muscles in the diaphragm massage the internal organs and improve their efficiency. It improves one's appetite and prevents constipation, which effects are especially conspicuous with old people. T'ai-chi Ch'uan also prevents the occurrence of arteriosclerosis and other diseases.

'Another feature of T'ai-chi Ch'uan is that it "emphasizes the mind rather than physical strength",' said Sifu Cheng Tin Hung. ' ''To emphasize the mind is that one should be good at the use of his intelligence, that, in doing anything, he should deliberate carefully before he takes actions, he should never act impul-sively, so that he is always alert and flexible. Not to emphasize physical strength means that he does not rely on sheer strength. His every action must be a use of techniques, so that his movements are nimble. Once a man is healthy, intelligent and nimble, he will certainly be competent in handling his routine affairs and happy in his life.'

Toma asked why are the actions of T'ai-chi Ch'uan so slow?

'T'ai-chi requires that one's actions must coordinate with his mind. Slow exercises do not cause stresses. After exercising for a long period, one's mind will be at one with his form and he will be comfortable both mentally and physical. It will promote physical fitness.' Sifu Cheng said.

Toma asked if T'ai-chi Ch'uan can be used in a fight?

Of course, it can, said Sifu Cheng Tin Hung. The primary purpose for exercising Chinese kung fu is to .improve one's physical fitness, but the secondary purpose is to defend oneself. Then Sifu Cheng invited Toma to visit the training ground of the T'ai-chi Association. There Sifu Cheng Tin Hung let his disciples display the self-defence techniques and basic exercises of. T'ai-chi Ch'uan. It quite surprised Toma.He had never thought that such a slow-moving pugilistic style could be so effective in combats and so useful in fending off provocations and providing self-defence.
'There are two principles with T'ai-chi Ch'uan when used for self-defence purposes: Sifu Cheng told him, 'namely, to check movement with tranquility, and to overcome hardness with softness. '

Toma visits two elder fellow disciples of Bruce Lee. Right: Sifu Wong Shum Leung. Left: Sifu Victor Kan.

An Interview with Bruce Lee's Elder Fellow Disciple

I was very excited to visit the T'ai-chi Ch'uan classes: said Toma to the author. 'It completely changed my idea of Chinese kung fu. Bearing in mind that T'ai-chi Ch'uan is only one of the numerous styles of Chinese kung fu, I can see that kung fu is not a technique meant to trl:.lin pugnacity, rather, it is a physical exercise that promotes the physical fitness of the mankind. It is not a merchandise transacted by enterprises, on the contrary, it belongs to the public. Male and female, young and old, come together to train in an equitable manner with a view to improving physical fitness and forging friendship. It is a new form of combination compared with the many athletic forms I knew before.'

Toma is a famous Yugoslavian athletics reporter.

The author is gratified that this East European reporter has got a new impression of Chinese kung fu. Certainly T'ai-chi Ch'uan is not equal to the whole of Chinese kung fu, but no one would raise any objection to the idea that the chief purpose of kung fu training is to strengthen and defend oneself.

Admittedly, Bruce Lee's kung fu movies are a factor that contributed to the emergene of the kung fu craze all over the world. They also gave him the image of a hero. Many foreigners repute him as "the King of Kung Fu." Toma asked the author if Bruce Lee was the greatest Chinese martial artist? He wished to meet people who best know the true aspect of Bruce Lee's kung fu.

It came to the author's mind that Sifu Victor Kan had just arrived in Hongkong from England. An elder fellow disciple; of Bruce Lee, he is now teaching the Wing Chun Style in England. So the author brought Toma to Sifu Kan's aboding place. It happened that Sifu Wong Shun Leung, another elder fellow disciple of Bruce Lee, was also there. Though Bruce Lee knelt to Grandmaster Yip Man, but the man who actually taught him kung fu was this Sifu Wong Shun Leung.

Toma asked Sifu Kan and Sifu Wong if Bruce Lee's kung fu was as powerful as is seen in the movies.

'Certainly the kung fu actions shown in the movies are exaggerated: said Sifu Wong Shun Leung. 'Bruce was a master
of kung fu in his own right. But the kung fu he actually mastered should not be confused with what you see in the movies. There are Wing Chun disciples whose achievements in martial arts are not even second to that of Bruce Lee. But the latter shot a number of movies. Therefore movie fans know only of Bruce Lee, because his movies are shown I all over the world.' The two elder disciples of Bruce Lee displayed the kung fu of the Wing Chun Style on the lawn to treat their visitor.

This Yugoslavian journalist. had stayed in Hongkong for only five days when he had to return to the Eastern Europe. The author and Mr. Bill Wong saw him off at the airport. Before leaving, Toma said: 'I can say that I've discovered the truth of kung fu. The Chinese kung fu is not the mysterious and strange juggling craft as is seen in the movies. It is an athletic form that promotes physical fitness and embodies the principles of philosophy. Its variety and colourfulness formed over several thousand years are beyond compare by any martial art in the world.'