Bagua Zhang: Master Ho Ho Choy's Biography

Ho's early age Ho is a Cantonese, born in 1911, in a village of Guang Dong province, China. At the age of 18, he learnt Hung Kar Southern Shaolin from his uncle. At Tianjin Ho came to Tianjin as salesman at the age of 26. He got married there. Mrs Ho's family was very rich. In the morning, Mrs Ho pull the baby to the park to watch Ho and Gao practice. One snowy day, Ho crashed when riding a motorcycle on the way to office. He broke his left arm. A doctor Chan cured him. Ho decided and started to learn bone setting. Gao is a heavy smoker. He lived in a stone house beyond the entrance of the park. This house belongs to the guardsman of the park. Under his pillow, placed his bundles of manuscript. These manuscript created many different interesting stories.

Ho was introduced by that guardsman, Mr. Wong, to learnt from Gao. At the first day of teaching, Gao said to Ho: 1. 'I learnt from an old Taoist, he has long beard to his chest, longer than me.' 2. 'I have to swear when I learnt, I must teach out all complete sets.' 3. 'One palm developed to eight, eight multiples to be 64, then one developed to six, total 384 palms. ' In Gao 's early age, he was a hawker, once, his leg was broken by a mule cart. After years of practice, Ho had finished most of the forms and techniques. Gao told him there were 12 animals form in Ba Gua. They are different from Hsin Yi. There were also 8 small animals in post heaven and 8 big animals in pre heaven. Ho started to learn, and he felt that tiger form is difficult for him because his size is small. He was interested in monkey form. At a fight with a Taiji teacher in the park, Gao used 'Stretch palm' (Tam ? ), struck his stomach that the teacher was hurt and rushed in a taxi to run away. He died three days afterwards. A group of fellows of that teacher came to Gao's son for revenge. Wu Meng Xia called upon classmates to drive away those gangs. Gao retreated immediately to the village to avoid police. He lived in a back yard of Mr. Hon's herb clinic in Wu Ching village. He never returned to the city. The most impressive story is when Ho decided to return to southern China to avoid communist revolution, he came to say good bye. In his last dinner, Gao still taught him by using chopstick that how the 64 palms could be performed in long cudgel. Ho would normally stay in the clinic overnight to continue studying. His last theories taught to Ho included three points: 1. Herbs compartmented drawers Theory: is to memorize the standard forms of 10 and 64 palms. Then one can mix them in leisure, the example referred to the Herbs in the compartmented drawers ???. The herbalist named the medicine and combined them into a prescription. Ho maintained this concept throughout his life. I think this can also be applied to when we have have the buffet dinner. There are so many different dished on the trays (palms), you select and put on your dish. That's your favourite and that is a series form. 2. Teach students individually with different techniques like a doctor using different medicine and treatment according to different response and situation of patients. 3. Decide class fee like renting a mule cart. Gao had appointed succession branches for his direct indoor student. 'Jit Chung' for Wu Meng Xia, 'Yit Chung' for Zhang Jun Feng and 'Tao Chung' for Ho Ho Choy. Ho left Tianjin in 1949 and Gao passed away in 1951. C.S. Tang Bg Gao