Ark Yuey Wong 1900 – 1987

Ark Yuey Wong 1900 – 1987

“American Kung Fu Trailblazer”

Grandmaster Ark Yuey Wong was born in the village of Toysun Tien Sum Chien, Canton, Southern China, into a moderately wealthy family. Early on, he was exposed to the ancient fighting arts as a need to defend himself from threats of harm.

It was at the age of seven that Ark Wong began his training under 14 masters within a Shao Lin Temple, with masters hired by the grandfather to teach the Wong family. He and his relatives would study daily for at least two hours, under the revered master Lam Ark Fun, an old teacher of Choy Lay Fut. Wong then trained under respected master, Ho Ark Yeung, who taught him Mok Gar King Fu. In his later teens, Ark Wong attended college and gave private Kung-fu lessons. During this time he met Pung/Pang, chief monk of the Canton area and one of the greatest Kung-Fu fighters in China. He studied under Pung/Pang for 18 months, learning both the external and internal aspects of Kung Fu. Wong returned to his village when civil unrest occurred in Canton, and opened a Kung Fu school for his family.

In 1921, Master Wong immigrated to the USA with relatives. His uncle further taught him the ways of herbal healing and acupuncture. He stayed in San Francisco, Oakland and Stockholm, where he taught many Chinese students. In 1931, he returned to China to teach the Wong family, returning to Los Angeles in 1934, where he received the title of Grandmaster at the age of 31.

In 1960, Wong would become one of the first genuine Kung Fu masters to open the door of his school to any sincere student who wanted to learn Chinese martial arts, finally helping to break the Chinese-only rule and enforced for so long by the Chinese community, and playing a very important role in introducing Kung Fu to America.

In his school, Master Wong taught in the style of the five families: Choy, Li, Fut, Mok and Hung, and in the traditional Five Animals: The Dragon, the Tiger, the Snake, the Leopard, and the Crane. He also taught Tai Chi Quan, Five element fist, and Hop Gar Lama, along with 18 traditional Shaolin weapons, and even instructing in Lion and Dragon dancing for their role in Chinese festivities.

While in the US he taught many students, and influenced legends of martial artists such as Bruce Lee and Ed Parker. Master Wong died on his birthday in 1987. He was the last of the old Masters!