Okie Doke..here goes.
In the mid 1700's of the Qing Dynasty in Kwong Sai province in southern China, a Shaolin monk named Som Dot became fascinated with the praying mantis in the bamboo forest called Jook Lum. Skilled in the Kung Fu styles of other monasteries, Som adopted the deadly grace of the insect and thus began Kwong Sai Jook Lum (Southern Praying Mantis).
In the 1800's, a monastic Zen Buddhist monk named Lee Siem See, from the Kwong Sai province Jook Lum Temple, and disciple under Som Dot and a Taoist monk named Huang, both added the essence of Wundang internal skill to Som Dot's system, which later became known as Mui Far (plum flower) Tong Long, by the Hakka. Lee Siem See carried this syle to South China, Canton province, where he called it Som Dot Jook Lum Temple Praying Mantis Kung Fu. He also took a youth named Chung Yel Jung, from the Wai Yung province of south China, back to the Jook Lum Temple to be trained.
In 1890, Chung Yel Jung opened a medicine shop and a Kung Fu school, called Kwong Sai Jook Lum Temple Tong Long Pai, in his native Hakka province of Wai Yung where it was said he taught the art of Shaolin Som Dot and his teacher was Lee Siem See. The school of Chung Yel Jung soon got the attention and popularity from the Hakka people of Wai Yung for it's powerful and deadly Kung Fu. A second school was to open in Hong Kong in the early part of the 1900's and the deadly Jook Lum Mantis Boxing was taught by his student, Wong Yook Kong. This art was then restricted to only the Hakka people of China and was still referred to as Hakka Kuen.
In the 1920's the old monk, Lee Siem See came down to Hong Kong to oversee the rebuilding of the Jook Lum Temple. During the temple building, the monk took one of Chung Yel Jung's youngest students, named Lum Wing Fei (ordained Lum Sang), to help rebuild the temple. Lee Siem See took on Lum Sang as his companion and furthered his training in the art. Lum Sang did not reutrn to Chung Yel Jung until seven years later.
In the 1930's, a third school of Kwong Sai Jook Lum was opened in Kwonloon. This school was taught by Sifu Lum Sang at the age of 26. He soon gained the nickname "Little Monkey" because of his stature and the deadly abilities of his fighting skill.
During the Chinese-Japanese War in the 1930's, the extrememly old monk Lee Siem See had some down to Hong Kong again, this time to unite his students, Chung Yel Jung and Lum Sang. Lee Siem See knew Hong Kong would not be a safe place if World War II broke out. So, he ordered Lum Sang to take the responsibility of Som Dot's Kung Fu system, and the property deed of the Jook Lum Temple, and instructed him to run overseas.
Soon Hong Kong was occupied by the Japanese, and Chung Yel Jung and his top student, Wong Yook Kong, were ordered back to their native Wai Yung province to fight in the Japanese War. Lee Siem See headed to the peninsula of Macao, and Lum Sang's faith carried him to Liverpool, England, where he began to teach this system of Kung Fu to the Hakka people.
With WWII in motion, the Germans bombed England and Sifu Lum Sang sought refuge for his life aboard a ship, only to be bombed in high seas and then rescued by an American warship. Months later, this warship needed some repairs and docked in Virginia, where Sifu Lum Sang was deported. Later he became a citizen of the United States. Subsequently, Sifu Lum Sang resided in New York City, Chinatown.
In 1942, Sifu Lum Sang taught his Kung Fu in Chinatown's Hakka Chinese Association. In his later years, before retiring in 1968 from teaching, he taught in the New York City Chinese Free Mason Association.
There are still only a handful of Lum Sang's disciples throughout the world teaching this traditional art of self-defense Kung Fu to the general public. With a history of about 300 plus years, Kwong Sai Jook Lum Gee Tong Long Pai has been a carefully guarded system of traditions and secrecy.
However, within that 300 plus years, additional branches have immerged from the original Jook Lum system. These branches are Chu Gar, and Chow Gar.
