YING JOW PAI SCHOOLS

YING JOW PAI KUNG FU SCHOOL ASSOCIATION

MEMBER SCHOOLS & INSTRUCTORS

AUTHORIZED SCHOOLS

AUTHORIZED INSTRUCTORS

FINDING A LEGITIMATE
EAGLE CLAW INSTRUCTOR

VIDEOS BY MASTER SHUM ARE AVAILABLE FROM
ESPY-TV MARTIAL ART VIDEOS

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		FINDING THE RIGHT INSTRUCTOR
	One of the biggest problems in the martial arts is how to verify the legitimacy of an instructor. One reason for this web site is to help people who are interested in learning Faan Tzi Ying Jow Pai - Northern Eagle Claw Kung Fu find proper instruction.
	Unfortunately, there are a number of individuals who claim to be Eagle Claw instructors or masters. Some of these people have largely gained their knowledge thru videotapes. Others are people who have learned pieces of the system and fabricated the rest to bolster their claims of mastery. None are reliable or legitimate instructors.
	For one thing, to become an authorized instructor under Master Shum, one must master at least 25 forms, a specific number of locking techniques and show Eagle Claw fighting skills. The videos Master Shum made only cover half of the required forms, none of the locking techniques and only beginning fighting skills. This is to prevent "television masters" and to require that anyone who wants to master Eagle Claw must learn personally from Master Shum or one of his selected instructors. The Eagle Claw system as it has been handed down consists of over 80 forms, 108 locking techniques and various other training techniques. No one can master this system in a few years!!!
	There are two branches of Northern Eagle Claw. The Lau Fat Man branch and the Ng Wai Nung branch. The differences in form and technique when performed properly are minor. Both branches are legitimate holders of the Eagle Claw lineage! *GrandMaster Leung Shum is the only person in the United States who is a grandmaster of Great-Grandmaster Ng Wai Nung's branch of Eagle Claw kung fu.* Ng Wai Nung (d. 1991) was first a student under Chan Tzi Ching and later became Lau Fat Man's top student in the 1920's. Please note that Chan Tzi Ching was senior to Lau Fat Man (d. 1964). Chan Tzi Ching learned Eagle Claw from the Lau family elders.
	If you have a question regarding a person claiming to teach Master Shum's system and they do not appear on this list you may contact the association headquarters or e-mail us at: info@yingjowpai.com Any other person making claims as to their "mastery" in Eagle Claw and is not a recognized instructor by either branch of Eagle Claw should be held suspect. In addition, be wary of anyone who claims to have learned under a "hidden" master. The Eagle Claw lineage is well documented and researched. After the Chinese revolution, the only people who could teach Northern Eagle Claw were living in Hong Kong. During his trip to Mainland China in 1984, Master Shum made extensive efforts to locate anyone who was an advanced Eagle Claw student in the 1940's and didn't flee to Hong Kong or Taiwan in 1948. He found only one person in Canton who wasn't an advanced student and hadn't practiced for over 30 years. None of the Kung Fu / Wu Shu masters in Mainland China knew of anyone who could perform the true style. There is a Wu Shu "eagle" form but this is not to be confused with Northern Eagle Claw. This was with a number of other Chinese Sifus who were teaching in the U.S.. The Chinese government invited a number of Sifus to tour the country and demonstrate Kung Fu styles that were lost to the mainland Chinese since the revolution.