Brief History of Jimmy H. Woo (Chin Siu Dek)

KUNG FU SAN SOO as taught by Grandmaster Jimmy H. Woo had its origins in the very basics of Chinese feudal life two thousands years ago. For many hundreds of years, China was divided and sub-divided into various warring factions, and each produced many types of fighting styles. Chinese systematized warfare predates the arrival of the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma, thought to be the founder of Shaolin Chuan, by several hundred years 200 B.C. Exactly how and when these fighting tactics were begun in the Kwan-Yin (goddess of mercy) monastery in the village of Pon Hong, Guangdong Province of Southern China is still unclear, but is in the process of being researched. One of the main reasons the martial art was perfected by this group of monks was to protect themselves from bandits and outlaws as the monks returned with supplies and donations from the nearby villages.

One such priest was Chin Leong Kick. When Chin left the temple to return to his family, he not only took the training he had received but two extremely valuable books on the art of San Soo as well. Chin decided to keep the art a secret, only teaching family members after swearing them to secrecy. And so for 5 generations the art was handed down from father to son, uncle to nephew, until Chin's great, great, great grandson Chin Siu Dek (JHW) began training under his uncle Chin Siu Hung at the age of 4. Chin Siu Dek's dedication and focus made his training extremely fruitful. By 14 years of age he had become a teacher. By 18 his reputation as a fighter had grown considerably. Shortly after the Japanese invaded Manchuria it was time for Chin to leave his beloved country. As heir of the family art Chin Siu Dek was given the two books from the temple. He was 5th in direct succession to inherit the temple books.

In 1935, at the age of 21, Chin Siu Dek left mainland China under the passport name Jimmy H. Woo and sailed for the United States. During the early years in this country, Jimmy lived in Chinatown, Los Angeles. Chin Siu Hung (Jimmy H. Woo’s uncle) was 73 years old when the Japanese invaded mainland China and took over his beloved province. In 1942 he was forced, against his will, to answer a challenge to fight to the death the regimental karate champion of the Japanese army. This was to be a public display of the power of the Japanese conquerors in front of the poor villagers of the surrounding area. Under the threat of death to his people if he did not comply, Hung fought and defeated the Japanese champion. In fact he killed the karate warrior in less than 20 seconds. He and most of his students were immediately killed by machine gun fire. This basically ended SAN SOO in mainland China. It was extremely fortunate that Jimmy had left mainland China when he did, for the Japanese would have awarded him with the same fate as his Great Uncle and the other SAN SOO practitioners rather than allow a possible resistance corps to remain. Jimmy carried the art to America and kept it alive while many of the other early Chinese fighting systems were destroyed by the Japanese. Mao Tse Tung later eradicated many of the martial arts styles, training books and monasteries when the communist Chinese took over power from the Japanese at the end of W.W.II.

For many years Jimmy taught in the Chinatown area of Los Angeles California, in December of 1962 Jimmy officially held the grand opening for his martial arts studio in the Midway Shopping Center in El Monte, CA. In the early years he called it Karate Kung Fu because no one knew what Kung Fu was at that time. In January of 1984, following his retirement from daily instruction, Jimmy H. Woo became Grand Master (Lau Sifu) when his Grandson, James P. King, earned his black belt. Jimmy H. Woo continued teaching his instructors class two Saturdays a month until 1991, totaling nearly 46 years of Kung Fu teaching in America.

Five Generations of Tsoi Li Ho Fut Hung Ga;