Huo Yuan Jia - The Father of Wushu

Huo Yuan Jia (Fok Yeen Kap) - father of Wushu

Most people must have seen Bruce Lee's 2nd movie produced by Golden Harvest, Fist Of Fury (Jin Wu Men or Chin Woo Association). The  film was about Chern Chen (a fictitious disciple of Huo Yuan Jia) trying to avenge the death of his master. Many people would be really surprised to learn that Master Huo and Chin Woo Athletic Association are real. Chin Woo is currently one of the biggest Wushu (Chinese martial arts) organisation in the world. 

The first time I heard of Huo yuan Jia was from famous Cantonese story teller, Lee Tai Soh about 45 years ago.  I would always sit beside the radio at 6 pm (Monday to Saturday) to listen attentively to his stories. Back then the black and white television was something luxurious and out of reach of ordinary people. So Lee Tai Soh was really very famous for Cantonese speaking Chinese. In those days, professional story tellers were quite common and could easily be found in Chinese speaking areas. 

Huo Yuan Jia (Fok Yeen Kap) was born in the Xiao Nan He village on the outskirts of Tianjin in 1867. He was the fourth child in the family of 10 brothers and sisters. His father, Huo En Di (Fok Yan Tai), was a well known martial artist who served as security escort for caravans travelling to north-east China. In those days anyone important or any precious items were given protection by a security firm or some well known martial artists for a fee. The martial artist and his men would provide security services to ensure the person or goods reached the destination safely and in good order. It was like an insurance policy.

During his childhood, Huo Yuan Jia suffered from yellow jaundice. He was reported to have lost in fight with even younger and smaller kids. The family would lost face if he was to lose to unworthy opponents. This would tarnish the family's reputation. Therefore, his father refused to teach him martial art. He was encouraged to be a scholar against his wish.  All his other healthier brothers were taught Wushu. Huo Yuan Jia had no alternative but to hide behind the bushes to secretly watch his father trained his brothers. He secretly practiced on his own (at odd hours and out of sight of every one else) for the next 10 years.

One day, a man who was once beaten by Huo En Di when he was offering escorting/security services, turned up to seek revenge. Huo En Di was now in his fifties and had rheumatic problems. As he was in no condition to fight, his sons fought on his behalf. All of his sons with Huo Jia (Fok Kar in Cantonese) martial art training were soundly beaten. The situation became quite tense and was rather embarrassing. The challenger started to gloat about how useless and pathetic Huo Jia Chuan was. The "untrained" Huo Yuan Jia suddenly stepped out to the astonishment of his family members. He was the only son not "trained" in martial art. He was not expected to win when all his brothers had failed. However to the surprised of everyone, he gave the intruder a sound thrashing. From then on, Huo Yuan Jia was allowed to learn Huo Jia Chuan (Huo family wushu).

Famous Cantonese story teller Lee Tai Soh used to tell stories of historical personnel such as Wong Fei Hung and Huo Yuan Jia (Fok Yuen Kap). He related that as a youth Huo Yuan Jia was frail and small in size. One day he caught a strange looking turtle with six legs. He ate the turtle and over night grow in size to 6ft tall.

Huo Yuan Jia later joined his father in the escorting job. Their job were to escorted a group of monks. A group of bandits surrounded them. Huo Yuan Jia was able to defeat the bandit chief and escorted the monks safely to their destination.

In 1901, there was a Russian wrestler in Tianjin who claimed to be the strongest man in the world. The wrestler had openly insulted the Chinese, calling them "Asian weaklings" because no one would accept his challenge to a fight. Huo Yuan Jia was persuaded by a group of martial artists to fight the Russian. He reluctantly accepted the challenge to protect the honor of the Chinese people. The Russian wrestler however decided not to fight. He revealed that everything was only a ploy to make money. This was widely publicized by the newspapers. In another version by Lee Tai Soh, the Russian defeated lots of Chinese martial artists. The Russian gloated about his invincibility and how useless Wushu was. He claimed he could punch the weight of 1000 katis (600kg or 1333 lbs.), Huo Yuan Jia was forced to accept the challenge on behalf of the Chinese martial artists. Huo Yuan Jia won the fight easily and became very famous. From then on he was the hero of the Chinese people.

The British were buying tea from China for several centuries and were experiencing huge trade deficit with China. So the sneaky British introduced Opium into China, claiming it to be a wonder drug. Those taking the Opium would become addicted and hopeless dependent on the Opium. With the Opium, China was now at the mercy of the British. The British even sneaked high quality Chinese Tea seedlings into India and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and started planting it there. Now the trade was in the British's favor since they no longer rely on the Chinese for their tea. They can get Indian and Ceylonese tea for free. Chinese with Opium addictions need the Opium. With so much excess tea and low demand, China's economy was getting from bad to worst. The sneaky British were the mastermind behind the fall of China. It is funny how the westerners depicted the Chinese as sneaky people (like those Fu Manchu characters) when in actual fact were the real victims of the foreigners. 

During that time, China was in a state of turmoil. It was around the end of the Qing Dynasty and China was weak and politically unstable. The country was suffering from one natural disaster after another. To make matter worse they were oppressed by foreigners in their own country. The Chinese people were regarded as invalids (hopelessly useless people similar to animals such as pigs and dogs) because of the miserable economic conditions, opium additions and natural disasters. 

Many Chinese were fed up with the oppression from other countries especially the British. These martial artists instigated by the weak and corrupt Ching government, started the "boxer rebellion" targeting foreigners. Huo Yuan Jia did not agreed with their views and was known to rescue the foreigners from these martial artists. When the Chinese martial artists attacked and burned down the British opium stores and attacked some foreigners, a joint declaration of war was issued by the British, French, Japanese, German, Portuguese, American, Spaniard and Russian. It was known as the Eights Countries Combined Forces attacking Beijing. The Empress Dowager ruling China at that time surrendered (after Beijing was captured by the combined forces) and were forced to make unreasonable concessions such as ceding  Hong Kong to the British for 100 years, ceding Macau to the Portuguese for 100 years, Shanghai to the Japanese and other compensations. The westerners were free to trade in opium with the locals. There were lots of opium dens in China catering solely for the Chinese people.

Many foreigners arrived and referred to the Chinese as the "Sick Men of Asia". Phrases such as 'No Dogs and Chinese Allowed' were widely used by the foreigners that were occupying territories in China by force. Even the Japanese who previously were known to be afraid of China now wrote in their school text books that the Chinese and Koreans were worse than Pigs and deserve to be killed. 

Numerous foreign martial arts and western boxing schools/ individuals had arrived in China (such as western boxing and Japanese martial arts) making the situation worse. They openly challenged the Wushu schools and try to defeat them in fights. This was not helped by the traditions among Wushu masters to teach their skills to a selected few. These students (after they become masters) may then pass their skills to one or two students. Wushu was therefore limited to a selected few. The skills would be lost if the selected ones did not pass their skills down to anyone. On top of that, many do not teach the weak and female. Some masters would keep some secret techniques for themselves as protection just in case the next in line were to rebel. Some only revealed their techniques when  they were about to die. Therefore if they die without revealing those moves, the moves would be lost forever. Hence, the standard of Wushu skills in China were steadily deteriorating over the years. The Chinese might be serious about fighting for personal glory but most were on a friendly nature. In many fights to avoids serious injuries, top martial artists might just call it a draw. Some of the fights were like chess games where the masters verbally fight until one admit defeat. Some contests were won by "touch only" rules to avoid serious injuries. 

In contrast, Japanese martial arts while being copied from Chinese martial arts were more direct and aim to maim or kill. The Japanese were always challenging for honors. As the spirit of the samurai raises, they were constantly issuing challenges to the Chinese martial art schools. Losing to the Japanese would further dampened the already depleted Chinese's spirit. The Japanese martial artists could not afford to lose either as losing to the Chinese would bring dishonor to their family and race as they viewed the Chinese as pigs and dogs. Japanese warriors would have to commit suicide if they were to lose to such unworthy opponents.

                                                                  Hercules O'Brien

In 1909, Hercules O'Brien, an American boxer of Irish descent came to Shanghai. He was giving performances of his power. Along with demonstrating his strength, he would issue challenges of hand to hand combat to any Chinese willing to take him on. In Shanghai there was no master strong enough to beat him. Later, some Wushu masters invited Master Huo to Shanghai to accept the challenge on behalf of the Chinese people. At first O'Brien, tried to delay the fight by setting all types of rules which would practically make most of Huo Yuan Jia's moves illegal. Later they agreed on the format of the fight. O' Brien however, chicken out and secretly left without competing. Thus, Huo Yuan Jia's fame had spread far and wide. He was able to restore some pride to the Chinese but at the same time attracting hatred from the foreigners he defeated.


Huo Yuan Jia was then working as a porter in a pharmaceutical company owned by nationalist Nong Jin Sun. One day a group of bandits raided the pharmaceutical company. Huo Yuan Jia was able to defeat the bandits single-handedly. Nong Jin Sun noticed Huo Yuan Jia martial arts abilities and pointed out to Huo Yuan Jia that the Chinese were weak and often bullied by others even in their own country. In order for the Chinese to rise again, the people need to be healthy and strong (both physically and mentally). Nong Jin Sun encouraged Huo Yuan Jia to set up a martial art center to help China restore the pride and morale of the nation. 

Master Huo then challenged all the various foreign martial arts organizations and won. Master Huo started Chin Woo Physical Training School in Shanghai in 1909 (with the help of Nong Jin Sun) to allow all Chinese the opportunity to learn Chinese martial arts and strengthen themselves in order to defend the country. He named his school "Chin Woo" - "Chin" meaning "high spirit" and "Woo" meaning "martial art". His objective was to provide the people of China with the essence of Chinese martial arts with the aim of cultivating knowledge, benevolence and courage and improving the health of the people in addition to continuing the spread and preservation of Wushu skills. Nong Jin Sun became the first president and Huo Yuan Jia the chief instructor for martial arts and military training. Many people speculate the man behind all these was actually Dr. Sun Yat Sen the founder of modern China who was forced to flee to Japan and temporarily resided there. Masters from other schools were invited and encourage to impart their knowledge / teach at Chin Woo. This would in turn raise the standard of Chinese martial arts.

For the first time everyone would be allowed to openly learn from another master. Previously this would be considered treason and punished accordingly (such as disabling the ability to use wushu by breaking the collar bones). Now wushu is opened to all willing to learn.

It was reported that Huo Yuan Jia was seeking treatment from a Japanese doctor who made prescriptions for his illness. Upon learning Huo Yuan Jia was a famous martial artist, the doctor invited Huo Yuan Jia to his Dojo. It was suppose to be a friendly competition with his disciples. When the Japanese lost the fight, a real brawl broke out between Huo Yuan Jia's students and the Japanese. In the fight, many Japanese (including the chief instructor) were wounded. As word of his victories spread, so did the Chin Woo spirit. You must remember the Japanese were a dominant race then and any loss of face was a disgrace to their race and country. It was not uncommon for them to commit suicide (hara kiri) due to any such dishonor. The Japanese doctor provided him some medicine with arsenic poison inside and Master Huo passed away on 9 August 1910. He was only 41 years old. Master Huo became a national hero and his name is still revered and honored as a great martial artist/ fighter. He is indeed the father of modern Wushu (kung Fu). If not because of him, Chinese martial arts might still be limited to the privileged few. Some people pointed out that arsenic poison was commonly used by eastern doctors and his students did not suspect foul play. One should realized that Japan was a strong nation  China was in no position to confront Japan over such "trifle" matters. Everything was sweep under the carpet as if nothing happened so as to appease the Japanese. 

Huo Yuan Jia's Residence and Mausoleum

There can be no replacement for Master Huo. His life was short but meaningful. 

Master Huo tried to restore the pride and health of the Chinese people through Wushu. Normally, when you are famous everyone want to challenge you. Even Master Wong Fei Hung, Lam Sai Weng and later Bruce Lee get challenged and sometimes even ambushed. Somehow Master Huo did not have any such problem. His opponents were mainly bandits and foreigners. They either chickened out or were defeated by him or his students. Due to his selflessness, no Chinese would want to be seen challenging him. After all, everything was for the good of the whole nation and people. When you are a real legend no one want to fight you.

Undaunted by Master Huo's death, his students Chen Gong Zhe, Yao Chan Bo and Lu Wei Chang reopened the Chin Woo school. Master Huo’s younger brother, Mr. Huo Yuan Xiang, and his son, Mr. Huo Tong Ker (Huo Yuan Jia's son), continued to teach at the Chin Woo Association and later invited many famous martial-arts masters from Long Fist, Eagle Claw, Praying Mantis and other specialized schools to teach in Chin Woo. These include Liu Zheng Sheng, Zhao Han Jie, Zhao LianHe, Zhang FuQuan, Lee ZhengJiang, Ye Feng Khi, Chen Wei Xian, Sun Zhan Xuan, Huo Yuan Qing, Lee ZhanFeng, Sun Yu Feng, Huo Dong Ge, Zhao LianCheng, Zhao Guan Yong, Ye Shu Tian, Chen Zi Zheng, Luo Guang Yu, Lee Yu Ting, Liu Zhi Xiang, Lee Jian Ming, Lee Lian Chun and Wu Jian Quan.

Chin Woo became a famous and popular martial-arts association in Shanghai. Many provinces opened their own Chin Woo branches and in 1918 the Hong Kong Chin Woo Athletic Association was formed. In 1915, the members bought a new building, reorganized the school and renamed it "The Chin Woo Athletic Association". The reason behind the change of name was not to attract any attention for being a martial art school. They were afraid the Japanese and foreigners might interpreted it as military training and might bring uneasiness to other countries. China was very weak and do not want to offend any country. They purposely added caligraphy, cultural dancing, sporting activities and etc into the association to allay suspicion from other countries.

In 1919, the Guangzhou branch of The Chin Woo Athletic Association was officially opened. Among those invited to perform was Master Wong Fei Hong in his seventies.

In July 1919, Shanghai Chin Woo Association sent five representatives to Southeast Asia to perform a missionary program to expand the Chin Woo activities overseas. They were Chen Gong Zhe, Li Hui Sheng, Luo Xiao Ao, Chen Shi Zhao, and Ye Shu Tian. They made their first stop in Saigon, Vietnam. There, they opened the first Chin Woo School and later more were established in parts of Malaysia and Singapore. To prove their skills, they were often required to give demonstrations or accept challenges. By 1923, these five Chin Woo Masters had opened Chin Woo schools all over Southeast Asia and visited nine different countries.

Currently Chin Woo is one of the largest Wushu organizations in the world with branches in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Poland, Canada, UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Surprisingly, Malaysia have the most Chin Woo branches as they even have branches in districts and towns. The art and culture of Chinese martial arts is becoming more widespread everyday and valued relationships are growing between an ever increasing number of countries. 

Please note that the dates used in this article is from Chin Woo's website. The year of birth can be either 1867 or 1868. Similarly the time of his death could be 1909 or 1910. This is probably due to the Chinese system of adding one year to a person age after his birth.

Those wishing to read more about Wushu please click here.