Law Tiu Wen

Law Tiu Wen was descendant of very old and respected family from Foshan whose roots reaching far in the past . As a young man he received traditional education, he was direct student of Kang Youwei, a well-known Chinese scholar and a major leader of the short-lived reforms presided over by Emperor Guangxu in 1898. and he passed the Imperial examination with an excellent score for what he got an official title “ Kung Seng” '貢生‘ in the late Qing dynasty . The fact he passed Imperial examination with an excellent score witness how good his kung fu was . Most of the exam was concentrated on display of military practical skills such as hand to hand combat , weapon fighting , archery , horsemanship as well history , military tactics , law , traditional medicine ,ect. The exams were difficult to pass and only one in 100 candidates were able to complete it . There were only a handful of people who manage to pass this exam in the late Ching dynasty . As a promising young official he was sent to Japan to continue his studies in a military academy . Since early childhood Law Tiu We was trained in a system later known as Snake Crane Wing Chun . According to Law family written accounts he learned his art from Dai Fa Min Kam (Sun Kam). Latest research conducted by Grandmaster Wayne Yung shows that his actual teacher was Law Man Gung , an actor from Cantonese Red Boat opera house and active participant in Taiping rebellion . After the defeat of the rebels , Law Man Gung went hiding and found refugee in Foshan where he was supported by his family . In return he passed his wing chun system to Law Tiu Wen . In time of his return from Japan ,Sun Yat-sen raised a Revolution to finally liberate China from Ching rule . Law Tiu Wen , as a patriot joined the movement and he was assigned as general Lee Fu Lin’s military advisor. During his service in general Lee Fu Lin’s cabinet he was forced to use his Wing Chun several times fighting for his life. In one occasion , when he stayed late to finish some paperwork an assassin , who was sent to kill the general ,attacked him by mistake thinking he was a general because he was alone in general’s office Law Tiu Wen responded to this quickly and swiftly disarmed the attacker crippling his arm. Assassin, surprised by this brutal response to his attacked panicked and manage to escape leaving his weapons behind him . In the early days of Republic of China, Law Tiu Wen gave up an official position , feeling that his public work was done and China was finally free, and became a doctor returning to his ancestral place Xiqiao near Foshan. He stayed in Xiqiao until his death leading a quiet life and managing his clinic . He never showed his kung fu in public and he passed all his knowledge to his son, Law Ting Chau. There several interesting facts from Law Tiu Wen’s life connected to general Wing Chun history and several famous Wing Chun masters of modern times .