Sifu Shum's training

Sifu Shum started studying martial arts at the age of eight with Ng Wai Nung, his godfather, who had a small school in Kowloon and who trained his godson in both kung fu and tai chi. Sifu Shum practiced with his godfather until he was sixteen. When Ng Wai Nung was asked to teach Eagle Claw in Singapore for three years, Sifu Shum and his training brother, Shum Man Lock, were put in charge of the school until his return. When Ng Wai Nung returned from Singapore, Shum Man Lock went to Canton. Sifu Shum then helped his teacher until leaving for the United States in 1971.

Above: Sifu Shum performing at the opening of
Great Grandmaster Lau Fat Man's school in Hong Kong in the 1950's

Above: Sifu Shum with Tiger Claw Kung Fu Grandmaster Wai Hong
in the early 1970's

When Sifu Shum came to this country he knew no one. He worked in a restaurant in Chinatown, little by little widening his circle of friends and teaching privately. In 1972 Master Wai Hong of the Tiger Claw system organized a tournament and invited Sifu Shum to perform and act as a judge. Don Larkin, Sifu Shum's first American student, was in the audience. He was so impressed with Sifu Shum that he sought him out and asked Sifu Shum to teach him. He took private lessons from Sifu Shum for about one year, then in March 1974, helped Sifu Shum open the first Eagle Claw school in America on 28th Street In New York City. It was the beginning of the school's twenty years.


Sifu Shum with the other Kung Fu Masters at the historic 1972 demonstration in New York's Chinatown.	Sifu Shum demonstrating with his good friend Wing Chun Sifu Chung Kwok Chow at the 1972 exhibition.

Above: Senior Instructor Cecil Jordan performing one of the
Eagle Claw Kwando sets in the mid 1970's.

Above: Senior Instructor Wanda Pruska performing one of the
Eagle Claw Spear sets in the mid-1970's.

Northern Eagle Claw Kung Fu in America

The school stayed at 28th Street for five years, with its students performing extensively in that time. In 1974, students went to Washington, D.C. to take part in a competition sponsored by Dean Chin, and to Puerto Rico for a demonstration there. Later, performances took place at Madison Square Garden and Town Hall, both in New York City. In 1975, less than one year after the opening of the school, thirty Eagle Claw students organized demonstrations in New York's Lincoln Center, Staten Island College and Queens College. In the course of 1975 Eagle Claw students performed several times in Boston, once for the opening of the Boston branch of the Eastern U.S. Kung Fu Federation

In one of his numerous talks to his students, Sifu Shum observed that the way kung fu is taught in America is very different from the training he underwent when he was young. In this country kung fu is commonly taught within a class structure, with students progressing from technique to technique in a matter of weeks. However when Sifu Shum was practicing under Sigong, people would devote a whole year to learn one form, getting to know it inside out. Another difference between kung fu practiced then and now is that in Sifu Shum's day there were no tournaments, although today they are quite popular. Back then it was a rare event when famous sifus would publicly demonstrate their art.

Above: Sifu Shum, in his youth, practicing in Hong Kong

One of Sifu Shum's most difficult tasks is to strike a careful balance between the requirements of good form while making allowances for the different life style here in the United States. He often tells his students, "It takes three days to learn a form, but three years to master it." This philosophy stems from the way Sifu Shum and his training brothers were taught by Sigong. They started by learning the sequence of the different moves. Then they practiced the form section by section, until every move was perfect. Finally Sigong would check the form to make sure the techniques and their uses were understood by the student and the delivery of power accurate.

When Sifu Shum was practicing Eagle Claw with his godfather, there were only twenty to thirty students. Because the space was very small, there was no organized work out - people stretched and warmed up on their own. Sifu Shum would limber up and practice tai chi in the morning, going to his godfather's school every day and staying there for hours to perfect his forms and practice new techniques. His favorite techniques involved short, low kicks and catching. After class, he and other students, like brothers in a family, went to a nearby noodle restaurant for a late dinner.

Sifu Frank Marrero demonstrates locking techniques

Because Sifu Shum was the best student in his school in spite of his young age, he was treated with respect by other students. He was also the most brazen of them all. There was no in-school sparring in Hong Kong; kung fu was practiced only for health and self-defense. Fighting practice was picked up on the street. Sifu Shum did not back out of fights and occasionally got into one to test his skills. He also tried to stir things up in school: he once attempted to knock Sigong off balance while doing tai chi's push-hands with him, and, as a result, almost went flying out of a sixth floor window. When Sifu Shum was 28 years old, he had a botched appendectomy without anesthetics or stitches; they tied him down but he broke the ropes. Unfortunately the operation disrupted Sifu's chi for many years.

Sifu Benson Lee

Because students coming to the school on 28th Street were his first students, Sifu Shum felt he had to train them with extra care so they could preserve the knowledge he imparted to them and pass it on. Training was very strict, strenuous and rigid. A student was not allowed to learn advanced forms unless he could demonstrate to Sifu Shum's satisfaction that he knew the current form well: that he was able to give every move in the form a clear beginning and end, to do it with the correct speed and power, to coordinate various parts of his body for certain moves so that they move in unison, to pause at the appropriate points in the form, and show what Sifu Shum calls "spirit".

Senior student Ghee Tseng

According to Sifu Shum, a good form should look graceful, powerful and effortless. All the different moves of the form must look as if one were flowing into the next, like the notes making up a musical piece, cohesive with no false notes. Yet even though the moves should flow, they each should have their own identity and should never be abbreviated or blurred together into a confused mass. Nor should there be extra flourish added for so-called aesthetic reasons. At the same time, the student should show complete confidence in his skills while executing the form, as if he could defeat his opponent with a single technique. He should also convey a sense of urgency. An observer should feel as if the person executing the form were actually fighting for his life against an invisible opponent, hence the old name of kung fu: "shadow boxing". In a way, the performer is telling a story - not with words, but with his body. Sifu Shum often reminds his students that eyes are important because they reflect the person's intent, not just in sparring but in forms as well. Kung fu depends on will for power, so eyes have to be carefully trained. For instance, in straight sword forms, the eyes must focus on the tip of the sword and not wander around in space.

In 1979 the school moved to a larger space at 34th Street and 9th Avenue, where it stayed for nine years. Even in the new location, classes were crowded and had to be split into early and late sessions. Every day, up to twenty new people would come in to observe classes, many of them eventually signing up for them. A large number of students came from abroad, including Korea, Germany, Great Britain and The Netherlands, to train with Sifu Shum.

Sifu Jeanne Moss performing the double swords

With so many students, Sifu Shum started to train a number of his senior students, including Cecil Jordan, Benson Lee, David Chin, Mark Shan and Peter Armstrong, to teach beginners. It was also during that time that Sifu Shum's kung fu book, Eagle Claw Kung Fu: Classical Northern Chinese Fist, was published, which in turn drew more students to the school. Some outstanding Eagle Claw students such as Benson Lee, who won the title of grand champion several times for forms, and Cynthia Rothrock helped spread the name and fame of the Northern Eagle Claw system.

Sifu Benson Lee (center) and Cynthia Rothrock with their trophies
at a competition in the 1970's.

During this time Sifu Shum continued holding a Chinese New Year party each year. Performances opened with Southern and Northern lion dancing and continued with demonstrations of Eagle Claw fist forms, various weapons, partner forms and tai chi forms. Because Sifu Shum required the best from his students, and they were willing to spend long hours rehearsing, the New Year's performances were outstanding. Many sifus from other schools and their students were also invited to perform. The audience, students, family members, friends, and visitors regularly exceeded four hundred persons.

Starting in 1988 the school was forced to move several times due to the volatile real estate market in New York City. The headquarters school now resides at the Fighthouse, a place that in a way resembles the original Ching Mo gymnasiums in that many different martial art schools share the same space! Over the last twenty years, Sifu Shum's students have grown - a number of them were teenagers when they started practicing Eagle Claw and now they hold jobs, have married and started families. Some have moved to other cities or states, or gone back to their home countries. But a few dedicated students who have trained for over ten years with Sifu Shum, some up to twenty years, are still with the school. The president of the Eagle Claw Association is Bruce Paly, D.D.S., who has studied with Sifu Shum for more than 15 years. Other Association advisers include Stanley Eng, M.D., and lawyer Richard Zayas, who both have trained for over 15 years. Tony Stone, with the New York City Police Department, and James Ho, who was Sifu Shum's first Chinese student and is now a branch manager of Metropolitan Life Insurance, are other Association members.

Sifu Shum feels that students of his who have the ability to teach and become sifus themselves include Cecil Jordan, Mark Shan, David Chin, Benson Lee, Jeanne Moss, Wanda Pruska-Wallace, and David Machin who all have trained for twenty years. A student who knows all twenty-one required forms on Sifu Shum's list can become an instructor with his permission. To have the title of sifu, one has to master at least an additional twenty forms and exhibit artistic and ethical maturity.

Eagle Claw instructor Ernie Rothrock

Students who have trained for over ten years and are currently teaching include not only people mentioned above but also Ernie Rothrock in Pittsburgh, Gary Mark, Donald Walth, Frank Marrero, Joel Rodriguez in Atlanta, Danny Abello and Eric Hargrove as well as Charles Edgerton and Lenny Aaron who teach tai chi. Please consult the schools page for a full list.