The Meaning of Kung Fu ….. A real life story about David Lam (personal details amended to protect privacy)

Intro.

My name is David Lam Wing Keung and I was born in a poor peasant farm in Shantou, Guangdong province, PRC. My parents were separated when my father came to HK as an illegal refugee who later obtained an amnesty.

We joined my father as a young teenager but I struggled at school as I only spoke “Pu Tong Hua” (Mandarin), “Chiu Chow” and strongly accented Cantonese and zero English. Also the education systems were very different.

My father passed away and I had to give up study to work and care for mother who was often ill... we had few friends and hunger and uncertainty were our constant companions.

My Big Break

I was an odd job apprentice at a furniture shop in Wan Chai when I was asked to deliver furniture to this home which turned out to be the home of Sifu Gary. We struck up a conversation and he asked me for my name and I told him and he said "your Chinese name means ever strong.." He smiled and said that’s a good name for a Kung Fu student.

It was several weeks later that Sifu came by to my shop to buy more furniture and he asked me to learn Kung Fu from him and I duly agreed.

So This is Kung Fu

Sifu taught at many places from gyms to private homes and even at his home with glorious views of HK's hills and bays and an enchanting skyline. One day I was enjoying the view when Sifu asked me if I knew the true purpose of Kung Fu.

He explained that .. KUNG FU IS THE JOURNEY THAT ORDINARY PEOPLE MAKE TO REALIZE THEIR MANY EXTRAORDINARY GIFTS AND TALENTS AND TO GO ON TO SERVE HUMANITY WITH DISTINCTION."

He asked me to name 3 persons I most admired so I told him. Never in my wildest dreams would I have guessed what would follow.

Pinch Me ..Is this for Real?

One Sunday I was asked to join Sifu for lunch and he introduced me to one of his guests Mr. Suen ..one of the 3 people I admired most. Mr.Suen is an international icon, an industrialist, property tycoon and a pillar of HK society.. I just felt so overwhelmed.

I was asked if I would one day like to work for Mr.Suen.. I said I did not realize he needed an apprentice mechanic.. and everybody laughed .. they meant his ultra prestigious real estate firm that only hired the cream of college graduates who served blue chip clients.

Transformation

Over a seven years period Sifu made things happen for me. First he assigned me Wayne as my “Si Hing” (elder brother in Kung Fu class). Wayne is a New Yorker who lives for 2 things ..martial arts and his job. Wayne was a college wrestling champion from the U.S and had to spend time in China as an engineer on a Sino-us J.V.

Wayne and I got along so well inspite of my non existent English and his truly terrible “Putonghua” (Mandarin). We ended up sharing a flat together. So I became his English student and he my “Putonghua” (Mandarin) student. We learnt so much from each other not just languages but culture, history, politics.. I can go on.

Then I enrolled for my A-levels and with Sifu's help secured work in a HK-China export/import company. I began as a gofer/runner.. moved on to general admin and eventually to sales/marketing.

Sweat, Sweat, Sweat

I passed my A-levels, greatly improved my English(yes) some people say I now have an American accent...received my 1st degree black belt in Bak Mei Kung Fu from GK international Kung Fu academy.. and went on to graduate First Class (hons.) in my external Bachelors Degree in marketing from Open University.

That’s just for starters. Seven years from the time I met Sifu and began this journey of self improvement I secured a job at Mr. Suen's real estate firm.. and I am enrolled at the world class EMBA program at HKUST.

It seemed like only yesterday when I was asked if I knew what Kung Fu meant and what it can do for me... then I could not string together a sentence in English.. now most of my clients are native English speakers and I handle them with great courtesy and confidence.

Conclusion

Truly kung fu is my life.. it gave me my breaks and it taught me to grasp every opportunity to better myself.... to not fear the unknown. I WANT TO SHARE THIS SECRET OF THE MEANING OF KUNG FU WITH AS MANY PEOPLE AS I CAN FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.

Yours truly,

David Lam

* Sifu gave me this name because like the original David he wanted me to defeat the giant opponents in my life and go on to be a great leader of men.