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COMING SOON - AUGUST 2026 PROJECTED OPENING - MONTEREY, CA
Won Hop Loong Chuan ("Combined Dragon's Fist") is a martial art with both an Okinawan and Chinese heritage. It is a Daoist gung fu that incorporates punching, kicking, joint manipulation, throws, forms, weapons, qigong, meditation, Chinese medicine, Tai Chi, and the study of tactics (Sun Tzu's The Art of War).
To an observer, Won Hop Loong Chuan may look like a very fluid form of karate! In truth, it is a complete Chinese Daoist gung fu.
The name itself was adopted to represent the style in its present form, having been brought to the United States by an Okinawan/Chinese grandmaster, Sensei Kushubi, when the Chinese Nationalist government left China as the communist party rose to power after World War II. The style has historically gone by other names such as "Temple of the Open Gate" and the "Art of Sun Tzu."
Won Hop Loong Chuan is based almost entirely on Daoist philosophies and ideas. It has no connections to the Shaolin temple and is not considered to be a Shaolin-derived art. The past practitioners of the art had a tendency to acquire portions of other martial arts incorporate them into their own style. Each acquired portion was evaluated, and if necessary, modified, to fit into the existing curriculum and structure supporting cohesiveness and consistency. In addition to this, masters in the art also created their own original forms to fit within the framework of the style.
Sensei Kushubi also made some modifications to the art before he taught it to A.F. Walker. Drawing on his Okinawan background, he modified some of the forms to add more solid power and stability to the stances.
Won Hop Loong Chuan had always been a style taught to advanced martial artists and did not have a "beginner" curriculum. Pyong Hwa Do serves as the introductory material to Won Hop Loong Chuan today and takes a person to 1st Degree black belt.
As students progress through the kata (forms), there will be a transition from traditionally Okinawan movements to more Chinese body mechanics.
In the mid-19th century, a man from Fujian, China named Lau Leong (known as Ahnan or Ahn in Okinawan) had traveled to Okinawa for a stay of a few years, staying near the fishing village of Tomari. Lau Leong, only planning to stay for a limited time but wanting to share his teachings, modified his martial art to be more like the harder Okinawan styles. After several years, Lau Leong eventually returned to Fujian but kept in touch with some of his Okinawan students.
Leong's students taught what they had learned to others in Okinawa. One of Leong's students, Matsumura, taught Itosu Anko. One of Itosu's students was a young man named Kushubi.
Eventually, Kushubi decided to travel to China and find the original Chinese art that was the root of what he had been learning. In China, using his familial ties (his father had married Lau Leong's daughter), Kushubi found Lau Leong himself. From Leong, Kushubi began learning the Chinese art that Leong had taught, Won Hop Loong Chuan.
When Kushubi came to America years later, he taught A.F. Walker the Okinawan art he learned in addition to teaching him the Chinese art. Kushubi taught it as one complete system, with the Okinawan portion forming the introductory material and the Chinese portion forming the more advanced curriculum. A.F. Walker chose the name Pyong Hwa Do ("Peaceful System Way") is the name to represent the introductory curriculum in honor of his Korean mentors after Sensei Kushubi's passing.
Within Won Hop Loong Chuan, practicioners will learn Wu Small Circle Tai Chi Chuan. This is the family martial form of the more widely known Wu Wai Chi Chuan style. Wu Small Circle Tai Chi Chuan includes martial roots in addition to the health aspects of Tai Chi.
Our classes will include various qigongs, meditations, and tai chi movements. Tai chi chuan incorporates powerful stances, strikes, joint manipulations, throws, and kicks - training students how to remain relaxed while expressing power.
The Wu style of tai chi chuan (taijiquan) was created by Quan Yu (or Wu Quan Yu) in the 19th century, who combined the Yang style he learned from Yang Lu Chuan with concepts from other arts he practiced. Hi grandson, Wu Cheun Euik, passed down the Wu Small Circle Tai Chi Chuan to Sigung Walker in the 1960s. There are differences in the Wu family style of Won Hop Loong Chuan, as passed down by Wu Cheun Euik, than other taijiquans - including the Wu Jianguan variation.
Additional history and background can be found on the parent WHLC website.
Additional history and background can be found on the parent WHLC website.
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