Tuesday, August 2, 2011

about...GM Garrett Gee

About GM Garrett Gee 

At the age of 5, Sifu Gee started his martial arts training under the tutelage of his father. While attaining mastery of the various styles in his Kung Fu family lineage, Garrett Gee demonstrated an affinity and flair for swordsmanship. He and his brothers are the inheritors of Grandmaster Peter Kim Ho Chu's accumulated knowledge. Consequently, Master Gee is an accomplished practitioner and instructor of traditional Kung Fu weapons styles. At the age of 13, Sifu Gee impressed Dr. Ming Wang as they became acquainted while training daily in a park. Sifu Gee became the last of Dr. Wang's four disciples who received full training in Hung Fa Yi Wing Chun Kuen. Sifu Gee has been teaching since his move to the United States in 1975. Traditionally, Hung Fa Yi Wing Chun Kuen was taught primarily to family members and/or indoor disciples. Until instruction of Garrett Gee by Dr. Ming Wang, Hung Fa YI was never taught outside the family. In order to preserve his art and to honor his Kung Fu lineage, Sifu Gee has decided to pass on his knowledge to students who have demonstrated sincere interest in this Wing Chun style. He is currently the 8th Generation successor of Hung F a Yi Wing Chun. His decision to open the system represents the first time in its 330 year history that Hung Fa Yi Wing Chun Kuen has been taught outside China or to the public.

Sifu Garrett Gee comes from a family line renowned for intellectual leadership, statesmanship, and excellence in martial arts and military matters. Dating back 33 generations in Garrett Gee's direct ancestral line was Zhu Xi. Zhu Xi, one of the most prominent philosophers in all of Chinese history. Zhu Xi played a pivotal role in the revival of Confucianism through the establishment of advanced academic institutions, active public correspondence with fellow scholars, publication of close to 100 books, and instruction of personal disciples who achieved broad public acceptance in their own rights. In addition to his enlightening commentaries on Confucianism, Zhu Xi profoundly influenced Chinese philosophical development for generations through his expositions on logical thought and scientific rationale. An Imperial decree in 1251, decades after Zhu Xi's death, designated several of his published commentaries as required reading for all government students. During the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Xi was officially elevated to the stature of Confucius and his birth was celebrated twice yearly. Even the finest ancient academies of scholarly study in surrounding Asian countries, such as Korea, still focus their curriculums around the writings and philosophies of Zhu Xi.

In more modern times, Sifu Gee's grandfather, Chu Jun-Bak was a renowned military leader who served as an instructor at Wong Bo Military School, the foremost military academy in China. Won Bo's prominence equates to the status of West Point in the United States. Chu Jun-Bak's actually shared leadership at the Wong Bo Military School with Chiang Kai Shek in the early 1920s. Chu Jun-Bak then moved to Fatshan where his military and political acumen led to his service as Chief of Police and later as Deputy Mayor of Fatshan. Further political influence was curtailed upon the rise of Mao Tse-Tung and the Communist takeover of China.

The move to Futshan in the mid-to-late 1920s coincided with the development of this region as a center of martial arts Renaissance, thus allowing access to a myriad of styles. Garrett Gee's father and first instructor, Grandmaster Peter Kim Ho Chu, is a much-respected Wu Tang instructor with more than 40 years teaching experience. Grand Master Peter Kim Ho Chu has a very famous Kung Fu lineage. Grand Master Chu's lineage dates back to one of the famous Five Northern Tigers in 1920's China - Fu Zheung Sung. Fu Zheung Sung's famous Kung Fu system was the "Wu Tang Kung Fu System" which included Fu Style Tai Chi, Leung-Yi Keun, Sei Cheung Kuen, Lightning Palm Kuen and Dragon Style Pak Qua. Grandmaster Peter Kim Ho Chu had also mastered another Kung Fu system from another very famous Kung Fu master named Sun Lu-Tang. Sun Lu-Tang was a very influential and important figure known for his internal boxing art called 'Sun Style' Tai Chi. Grandmaster Peter Kim Ho Chu was responsible for bringing Fu Style Tai Chi, Leung Yi Kuen, Sei Cheung Kuen, Lightning Palm Kuen and Dragon Style Pak Qua to the United States in 1975. All these styles are considered lost arts in the traditional world. He is also the last person to maintain the high level Kung Fu System of the famous Fu Zheung Sung's "Wu Tang" Clan. At the same time, he has attained prominence as a qualified instructor of Shaolin Animal Kung Fu systems, the Ching Wu System, and two other Tai Chi styles: Wu and Yang. Since 1975, Grandmaster Peter Kim Ho Chu has been one of the masters in the West to promote true traditional Kung Fu systems. Thousands of students have studied under Grandmaster Chu in China, Hong Kong and the United States; one notable student was the daughter of a family friend, Phoebe Lee, sister of Bruce Lee.

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