GRAND MASTER YIP SHUI
Grand master Yip Shui, became the successor of the Chow Gar Praying Mantis
kung fu in 1942 from his teacher Lau Soei. It was the late Lau Soei that
brought the Chow Gar Praying Mantis system to Hong Kong from China in
1913. Grandmaster Yip Shui, was born in 1913 and started his training
with Lau Soei when he was 21 years old in 1934, he often spoke about
the time when he first started training, as he was once propelled through
the air by Lau Soei’s shock power, Lau Soei used the soc sau technique
that caused the young Yip Shui to fly across the room to hit his head
on a wall, which caused him to go unconscious, Lau Soei had revived him
and gave him medicine. So thrilled by the skill, he decided he wanted
to learn from Lau Soei, Lau Soei accepted him and their relationship
lasted until the death of Lau soei in 1942.
Before young Yip Shui met Lau Soei, his only experience in martial arts
is what he had learnt from his father, which was a form of Shaolin martial
art as his Grandfather had learnt in the Shaolin temple. His father was
not to keen for him to only practise martial arts but after some 6 months
of training, he got used to the idea, also he had frequent sparring matches
with his father and showed the effectiveness of what he had learnt, and
his father was then convinced. The young Yip Shui trained earnestly and
was an outsider to the other students of Lau Soei, this was because he
was not Hakka, and however Lau Soei looked over this problem and trained
with him personally. Years later when Lau Soei became ill, young Yip shui
looked after him during the 2 years of illness before his death in 1942.
Though Yip Shui had learnt everything from Lau Soei, he was not famous
until an important challenge match, which he could not back down from.
Later Grand master Yip Shui became one of the most respected martial artists
in Hong Kong after defeating many famous kung fu masters in bare hand challenges.
These were due to the fact that they tried to dislodge him from his position
of his inheritance of the Chow Gar Praying Mantis system. He went on to
become famous and establish this Southern Mantis art further. He has taught
numerous people in Hong Kong as well as far and wide.
Grand master Yip Shui passed away in 2004 at the age of 93.
