[1] Tibetan White Crane became so established in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau by the twentieth century that it was accepted as a local martial art in that region.
[2] Lama Pai (喇嘛派) and Hop Ga Kuen (俠家拳) are closely related branches of the same lineage descending from the same original art, which the founder called Lion's Roar (獅子吼).
[4] Tibetan White Crane played an important role at a key pivot point in Chinese and worldwide popular culture, when a 1954 charity match between a master of that art and a master of tai chi attracted massive attendance and avid media coverage, generated broad acceptance and celebration of Chinese martial arts, and resulted in new waves of wuxia (martial hero) literature and kung-fu film that continue to this day.
[6][7] Adatuo lived in what today is China's Qinghai province, where he learned Tibetan wrestling sports and joint-locking techniques before becoming a monk.
[6][9] Lion's Roar (獅子吼), a Buddhist term commonly used by Tibetan practitioners, was the name Adatuo chose for his new martial art.
[11] Lion's Roar masters served in the imperial palace guard, and official support for a wide range of Tibetan Buddhist pursuits is evident in the massive Lama Temple of Beijing.
He quickly made a name for himself as a fighter – legend has it he defeated and then befriended a pirate, among other adventures – and began training a group of Lion's Roar disciples.
But his last two disciples were laymen who became the founders of two new branch lineages:[13] Lama Pai (喇嘛派), meaning "Tibetan Buddhist Master Style", began as an informal name for Lion's Roar but had replaced it by the end of the nineteenth century.
Jyu's disciple Chan Tai San (陳泰山) also trained with a Tibetan monk from Manchuria representing yet another Lion's Roar lineage.
Wong Yan-lam's innovations, some based on exchanges with Hung Ga stylists, include an emphasis on hand strikes, mostly low kicks, and fierce no-mercy attacks, with equal weight given to ape, crane, and other animal-inspired techniques.
[18] Bak Hok Pai (白鶴派) or "White Crane Style" was founded by Wong Lam-hoi's disciple Ng Siu-chung (吳肇鍾).
This art of course emphasizes crane techniques, with a defensive approach, evasive footwork, high and low kicks, and aggressive hand counterattacks to vital points.
The Jing Wu organization and the government-led Guo Shu institute focused on Han Chinese martial arts, and mostly northern styles at that.
[21][22][23] By the 1950s, Bak Hok Pai was one of the most well-known styles in Hong Kong and Macau, and popular in nearby Guangdong and Guangxi as well, alongside native southern arts like Wing Chun, Hung Ga, and Choy Lay Fut.
He also represented natives of the south against newcomers from the north, Cantonese speakers vs. Mandarin speakers, external vs. internal kung-fu, modern training (Chan) vs. traditional practice (Wu), Macau (Chan) vs. Hong Kong (Wu), and yes, a Tibetan Buddhist martial art against a Han Chinese Daoist art.
[25] The fight's outcome is not the most important aspect, especially as it was disappointingly halted after only two shortened rounds, with the result declared as "no winner, no loser, no draw".
An unsophisticated bout by today's standards, all that can be said is that Wu impressively held his own against a much younger opponent, bloodying Chan's nose and severely bruising his arms, while Chan showed great skill and aggressiveness in a good demonstration of the techniques and strategies of Tibetan White Crane within the strict limitations set by the organizers such as no kicking.
Yip has argued, this massively attended event and its avid media coverage generated broad acceptance and celebration of Chinese martial arts throughout modern Chinese culture, resulting in a new wave of wuxia fiction and kung-fu film, from the books of authors like Louis Cha (Jin Yong) to the movies of Bruce Lee, followed by second and third waves with stars like Jackie Chan and Jet Li.
Chan Hak Fu alone opened Bak Hok Pai schools in Australia, the US, Canada, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Italy, and Israel, as well as Hong Kong and Macau.
But during that decade the committee introduced controversial changes meant to simplify the curriculum and increase the sense of immediate satisfaction among modern students, on the theory that the traditional fifteen year path to mastery was not the best way to market the art.
Deng Gum Tao (邓锦涛, Pinyin: Dèng Jǐntāo, 1902–1987) and his son Deng Zeng Gong (邓镇江, Pinyin: Dèng Zhènjiāng, 1945–), masters of Hop Ga, Hung Ga, and Yang-style tai chi, trained disciples who went on to become wushu competition champions and coaches, and at least one also became a police trainer and a film actor and advisor.
Several have become prominent abroad, including Kong Fanwei (孔籓偉) in the Netherlands, Melissa Fung Chan in New Zealand, Liang Xiao Wang in France, and David Rogers in the United Kingdom.
[34] Lama Pai After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Chan Tai San and other disciples of Lama Pai masters Jyu Chyuhn and Choi Yit Gung of Guangdong competed and coached in Chinese military and civilian wushu competitions, and trained military personnel in close quarters combat.
They and the next generations went on to establish Lama Pai centers in China and abroad, founded by Chan in New York, by Lei Fei San in Guangdong (said to have thousands of students), by Lo Wai Keung (罗威强, Luó Wēiqiáng) in Hong Kong, and by Tony (Bok Tong) Jay in Vancouver.
[36] Tibetan White Crane is a complete system, with long and short range techniques, and external, internal, and weapons forms.
[43] Practitioners are often photographed as if prepared for long-range techniques, with one leg in the air and hands in beak-like form ready to strike at vital points, but the art also emphasizes short range counterattacks including powerful punches.
All punches — straight, uppercut, overhead, and roundhouse — are delivered in circular motions, with power generated from the waist as the arms extend in opposite directions front and back.
At the advanced level a soft form called the "Cotton Needle Set" is practiced for accuracy and alignment that enables effective finger strikes.
[47] Some Tibetan White Crane, Hop Ga, and Lama Pai schools also teach southern Chinese lion dance and perform at cultural events.
"Keeping Secrets: Grandmaster David Chin's Legacy of Hop Gar Rebels and Guang Ping Tai Chi Revolutionaries".