Exhibits | 展品
 
Li Tin Loy was born in Hong Kong in 1954. He is Hakka and a native of Ngwa county in Guangdong province. His grandfather moved to Tsok Pok Hang Village in Shatin, Hong Kong, in 1912. According to Li Tin Loy his grandfather ran a medicinal store in Sui Zai in Ng Wah county. Later a plague occurred and he brought his son Li Yong Fat and daughter-in-law to Hong Kong. Li Tin Loy has three siblings and is the second youngest in his family.

李天來,1954年香港出生,祖籍廣東省五華,客家人。祖父李亞記於1912年從廣東省五華遷居香港沙田作壆坑村14。據李天來言,當年祖父在五華水寨15經營藥材店,後來當地有瘟疫,因此帶同兒子李容發及兒媳婦到香港。李天來在家中排行第三,兄弟姐妹共四人。

Martial arts have always been popular in the New Territories. When Li Tin Loy was growing up there was a martial art master – Master Yeung – living in his village. It is said that he was the son of Master Yeung Sau, a renowned master of Tung Kong Praying Mantis style. Seeing his son was vigorous and interested in the martial arts, Li Yong Fat asked Master Yeung to take his son in as a disciple, but as the child was very young the latter declined. The next opportunity came when Li Tin Loy was sixteen years of age. He was a trainee at the marine police. In 1973, at the age of nineteen, he entered the Royal Police force (stationed at Mui Wo). In his spare time, together with a colleague from work, he went to Sai Lam Monastery at Pai Tau village in Shatin to learn Chu Gar Praying Mantis from an old man, who went by the name of Ah Wong (deceased). In the 1970s Shatin was not well developed and getting there was troublesome. Li’s companion rode to Sai Lam monastery by bike, but it was stolen after two weeks, so Li was left to practice alone. As it happened, his own study continued only for another three months as he was transferred to a different station.

新界鄉村向來武風旺盛,李天來兒時作壆坑村中有一位楊性師傅居住,據說是東江周家螳螂拳名師楊壽16之子。李容發見兒子生性好動,喜愛武術,曾請求楊師傅收李天來為徒,但由於年紀較小,楊師傅沒有答應。1973年,李天來十九歲,投身香港皇家警察隊工作(駐守梅窩)。工作之餘,一位同事一起到沙田排頭村西林寺,跟一位老伯伯何旺(已故)學朱家螳螂拳(從村民打聽老伯伯習武)。七十年代的沙田仍然較偏僻,交通不便,李天來的同僚騎自行車到西林寺,但兩星期後,自行車被偷了,結果只剩李天來一個人繼續練。三個月後因工作關系調配到其他地方執勤,之後便停止習武。

In 1979 at the age of twenty-four Li wished to take up kung fu again. He asked the celebrated Master Ip Shui (1912-2004), head of Tung Kong Chow Ka Preying Mantis, to take him in as a disciple. In the beginning, he studied at a rooftop martial art school in Fi Fe Street, Mongkok (Fi Fe Mansion), where a senior student of Ip Shui’s was teaching. A year later he transferred to the school run by Ng Si Kei, Ip Shui’s son-in-law. It was here he started to receive instruction from his master. Several months later he moved again to the main school in Kowloon City. As a policeman Li had a regimented schedule, which basically involved a full day of work followed by two days of holidays. When he was not at work he was in the kung fu school most of the time. Normally, he would be at a teahouse with his master at nine o’clock in the morning. At eleven they went back to the school to practice. Lunch break was at one o’clock, with a short break (nap) after lunch, and practice was resumed at three until six pm. That was his routine for ten years.

1979年,李天來二十四歲,希望再練功夫,因此向聞名已久的東江周家螳螂拳掌門葉瑞(1912年-2004年)拜師,開始學習東江周家螳螂拳術。一開始在位於旺角快富街(快富大廈)的天台武館,初時由師兄教,練了一年多後,轉到葉瑞女婿吳士麒的武館,葉瑞師父才正式教他功夫;幾個月後,又到九龍城的武館。李天來當警察需要排更表上班,基本上一天班,休兩天,放假時大部分時間留在武館,一般早上九時跟師父上茶樓,十一時回武館,中午一時再去吃飯,飯後在武館休息小睡,到下午三時繼續練,一直練到六時就才回家,天天如是者,堅持十年。

During the 1980s Li Tin Loy was already married with family but continued to practice with his master. At the same time, he started to casually teach some of his colleagues at the marine police, taking them through the same training methods he learnt from his master, such as zau maa (footwork), cai sau deui zong (basic conditioning which involves two practitioners rubbing their forearms in continuous circular motion), san sau (restricted sparring), etc. In addition, he began his own independent research on Hakka martial arts, paying frequent visits to elder masters and collecting whatever information he could find. In 1996, together with a group of colleagues who shared his interest and enthusiasm for Chinese martial arts, they started Hong Kong Police Chinese Wushu Club, and organized irregular exchanges with their counterparts in Mainland China. In 2003 he joined China Kuoshu Federation (now renamed “China Kuoshu, Dragon and Lion Dance Federation”) and was elected an executive committee member. He started to give Hakka kung fu lessons at the federation and developed his own style of teaching.

八十年代,李天來已成家立室,還常常跟師父練功,亦開始以朋友身份一些水警同事交流。教法上按師父傳下的法則,如走馬、搓手對樁、散手。另一方面,李天來開始鑽研客家拳術,常常造訪老前輩,又積極搜集相關資料。直到1996年一批志同道合的警察同事,組職成立「香港警察中國武術會」,不定期與內地公安部門進行武術交流。2003年正式加入中國國術總會(現稱「中國國術龍獅總會」),當上執委成員,在會內開設客家功夫班,慢慢形成自己的教學風格。

In 2007 Li Tin Loy retired. In the same year he founded Hong Kong Tung Kong Chow Ka Preying Mantis Li Tin Loi Martial Arts Association. He is a strict teacher and demands his students to have their feet firmly on the ground; to be truthful; to constantly seek to improve themselves; and to be devoted to studies. He frequently recites his master’s words, “To master this kung fu style the most important thing is to overcome boredom and put in hard work.” He also likes to use the following adage from Jingshi xianwen: qingfeng pian to describe his style, “treasure sword is sharpened through endless grinding, [the same way] plum blossoms acquire its scent after a bitter winter.” Li’s students often enter martial art competitions in China and overseas, frequently winning awards and accolades. In 2015 he co-founded Hakka Kung Fu Culture Research Society, for which he also serves as convener.

2007年李天來退休,同年成立香港東江周家螳螂李天來拳術會。李天來授武要求非常嚴格,認為凡習武必須腳踏實地,實事求是,不斷充實自己,並苦學勤練。他常常引用葉瑞師傅生前說的話︰「練好這門功夫,最緊要捱得悶,吃得苦,勤練功。」並以《警世賢文:勤奮篇》「寶劍鋒從磨礪出,梅花香自苦寒」來去形容這門功夫。李天來的弟子常參加國內外的武術比賽,皆獲殊榮。2015年他以召集人身份,成立客家功夫文化研究會,繼續積極推廣客家功夫文化事業。