History of Fu Hok Kuen

The school’s fundamentals are based upon the Hung Gar style, whose roots reach far behind in the past. It is known that Hung Gar is one of the styles that were being practiced at the Southern Shaolin Temple around 300 years ago. Since then, the style has been being passed by generations of great masters, who have not only left permanent marks in the history of martial arts, but also in the history of their own country. Fortunately, despite of the fact that centuries have past since the very beginning, the pureness of the lineage has been preserved, thanks to the respectful obedience to the tradition and a strong opposition towards the commercialization of teaching. Not so long time ago, the style was being taught only within the Hung family, being kept a secret from the authorities and other schools. At that time, the agility in unique martial art techniques could have decided about someone’s survival, after all. Today is different. Tremendous masses of students all over the world utilize the wisdom of the ancient martial arts, nowadays. However, Hung Gar has remained an elite style, due to the dedication to tradition and, what follows, the refusal of degradation of the requirements set upon the disciples and the masters.

In Poland Hung Gar appeared in the 1980s. The way to it led through the martial arts section established in 1976 by Krzysztof Lozinski, a great propagator of and expert in the culture, tradition and history of China. Although the techniques taught there were a compilation of many Wu Shu schools, owing to the personality of the Instructor a community was created that was greatly dedicated to training and propagation of Chinese martial arts. From this community originated the founder of the Fu Hok Kuen school and precursor of the Hung Gar Kung Fu system - Si Fu Jacek Swiatkowski. Up to 1990 he conducted classes of the Hung Gar Kung Fu system at the martial arts section of the TKKF Blyskawica /Society for Promotion of Physical Culture/, located in the center of the Praga Pólnoc district of Warsaw. This was a pioneer period, a time when learners practiced with a large dose of persistence, not only in the rented hall of a nearby elementary school, but also in the tiny room of the club, and often also in the open air, in frosty, rainy and hot weather alike. Soon came the first successes – appearance in a martial arts show in Lódz in 1987, a series of training sessions at the Martial Arts Center in Minsk, participation in increasingly frequent shows and training sessions in Poland and abroad (including Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan, where representatives of the section were received upon invitation of the Kazakh Wushu Federation). More and more people participated in the classes.

The beginning of the 90's was a time of change. In 1990 a second center was opened in downtown Warsaw. This center transformed a year later into the Fu Hok Kuen school. At first classes were held parallelly at the new center in downtown Warsaw and the old one in Praga. A year later the Praga Fu Hok Kuen subsidiary was finally liquidated, which allowed the Master to consolidate the school and mark out new directions of development. Aside from the advanced and beginner groups, a children’s group was created. In 1992 a subsidiary of the school was opened in Plock. The dynamic development of the school required great effort on the part of the Founder, as the training of the first instructors took many years, during which Si Fu Jacek Swiatkowski personally instructed all the groups, including the subsidiary in Plock. Additionally he conducted demanding training camps during the summer holidays. However, the achieved results were an adequate reward. After successes of disciples in Polish Championships, where they have won a total of several dozen medals, including mainly gold ones, there came medals at international events.

  • London, 1992, 2nd place for Laura Sutkowska in the forms category at the European Wu Shu Championship,
  • Rome, 1996, 2nd place in the combat category for Konrad Poplawski and Jan Groszyk, 5th place in the saber category for Anna Kowalska at the European Wu Shu Championship,
  • Cracow 2000, 1st place for Konrad Poplawski and Piotr Pasnik in the combat category at the 1st World Choi Lee Fut Championship.

Besides participation in competitions, instructors of the Fu Hok Kuen School organized various training sessions and seminars. This included a Choi Lee Fut seminar conducted by Si Fu Carlos Moreira.

Currently, besides Si Fu Swiatkowski, classes at the school are conducted by a staff of qualified instructors, two of which - Zbyszek Blaszczak, Konrad Poplawski– received master’s degrees of the Hung Gar Kung Fu system. These are the first and so far the only master’s degrees in the subsequent generation of Hung Gar Kung Fu practicers in Poland.

During all the years of existence of the section at the TKKF Blyskawica, and then the Fu Hok Kuen school, Si Fu Jacek Swiatkowski has developed and perfected his knowledge and skills. The beginning of pure tradition of the Hung Gar Kung Fu system in Poland was marked by the meeting of Jacek Swiatkowski with Master Lam Chuen Ping at the World Championship in China in 1988. This resulted in the first of a series of training episodes at Master Lam’s in Barcelona, Spain. So far Si Fu Jacek Swiatkowski has participated in them more than a dozen times. The instruction program at Master Lam’s school was wide-ranging, it included not only a comprehensive tradition of the Hung Gar style, but also elements of the Choy Lee Fut, Pak Mek, Xing Yi, Pak Siu Lum, Shuai Jiao and San Da schools. Workouts lasted often up to 8 hours a day. In 1991, during one of his stays in Barcelona, Si Fu Jacek Swiatkowski had an opportunity to meet and practice under the supervision of the great Hung Gar authority – Master Chiu Wai. This allowed him to become acquainted with both lines of tradition existing within the framework of the Hung Gar style, as Master Lam is the inheritor of Tang Fung’s Si Gong line, while Master Chiu Wai teaches Lam Sai Wing’s line of the Si Gong tradition.

The crowning of many years of study was the transmission to Si Fu Jacek Swiatkowski of the most advanced form of the Hung Gar school – Tit Shin Kuen (the form of the Iron Rope), which is known only to several chosen in the world. Si Fu Jacek Swiatkowski as the only person in Poland possesses the master’s degree of the Hung Gar Kung Fu Chow Wing Tak Association, conferred by Master Lam Chuen Ping.

Today, at two Fu Hok Kuen training centers in Warsaw and Plock, about 250 students practice and shape their character in groups of various degree of advancement. Up to May of 2000, classes with the beginner group were conducted by Tomasz Smolinski, who laid the foundations of today’s medium-advanced group. Another training group is conducted by assistant Jan Groszyk. The center in Plock is conducted by master Zbigniew Blaszczak with the participation of assistant Mariusz Mietus. The person supporting the operation of both centers is master Konrad Poplawski. Currently Si Fu Jacek Swiatkowski deals with the conduct of the advanced group at the Warsaw Fu Hok Kuen center.



The next step in the development of Hung Gar Kung Fu in Poland was the establishment by the leaders of the Fu Hok Kuen school of the Polish Hung Gar Kung Fu Associationis also a member of . The Polish Hung Gar Kung Fu Association the Polish Union of Traditional Martial Arts, uniting associations dealing with both the traditional martial arts as well as the sport variety – Wu Shu.