Eagle Claw Spirit

The ancient martial art of Eagle Claw kung fu has been passed down through dynasties and generations, from master to disciple, father to son and - in my story, breaking with tradition - directly from father to daughter.
Eagle Claw's long history records the succession of extraordinary masters, including the story of my father, Lau Fat Mang, a seventh-generation, great grandmaster. Eagle Claw dates back to Chinese military training in the 1100s, founded by General Yue Fei. Warriors were secretly trained in extremely powerful fighting techniques - gripping hand, joint lock, kicking, punching, and takedown - to incapacitate and defeat their enemies.
Eagle Claw was passed to Lau Fat Mang from Lau Kai Man, my father's uncle. Lau Fat Mang then made a name for himself within the martial arts community, winning honors in the Peking civil service exams. While in his early 20s, Lau Fat Mang traveled to Shanghai to teach Eagle Claw at the famous Chin Woo Association, a prominent martial arts organization. In 1929, he was requested to travel to Hong Kong to become the leading instructor for the Chin Woo academy in Hong Kong. From there, he received an invitation to train Chinese army troops. He fought under Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek during the Chinese War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and was known as one of the famous Five Tigers Came Down from the South. He became a national war hero, meticulously assembling and training a special forces troop that conducted night raids on enemy encampments.
After the war, he was offered an award for his service in the army, but turned it down as he believed the money belong to the people of China. That action spoke to my father's character. He believed in personal responsibility, commitment and service, acting with honor and integrity. He is highly respected to this day as a war hero and exceptional grandmaster.
Father married my mother in 1943. He opened his own martial arts school in Hong Kong and taught for several years. Together they had six children; one child passed in infancy. I was their fourth child, born Lau Mang Wan on Cheung Chau Island in 1951. Father was 50 years old when I was born and, after a most illustrious military and martial arts career, he struggled with a lung disease. Burdened with excessive medical costs, our family lived in poor conditions and, fearing his disease was contagious, Mother sent us to live at an orphanage school for a time. (In China, during that period, orphanage schools served children without parents and children of poor families.)
When I was a child, it was not important for girls to be educated. I went to school through the fourth grade and mostly helped with chores at home. In my early years, we did not have running water or electricity. We lived in a one room house, sectioned off by my father to create a bedroom area and living room area. We later moved to Hong Kong and lived in the studio where my father taught.
Father began training me in traditional Eagle Claw at the very young age of four. As his health was declining, he felt an urgency to pass the Eagle Claw legacy on to me. Training was long and hard - at times harsh and brutal for a child. As a child I often did not appreciate the ways of my father. Yet, in time, I came to understand him, humbled by the life he led and honored by the Eagle Claw legacy he left to me.
In Eagle Claw Spirit, I share with you the stories of my early years and the years of training with my father. Some stories are filled with struggle and pain, some with wit and joy - but through it all is abiding love for my parents and gratitude for the gifts of my father.