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History - Ly, Minh-Hung

 In those days, killing was not immediately punishable by the law because it was very difficult for the government to control. The Vietnamese authorities let the groups handle themselves, adopting a “one eye open, one eye closed” attitude. Under these circumstance, Master Lam Hao worried that, if a branch belonging to one of his students was overtaken by another group, it would give the entire family, or school, a bad name. After all, a branch not only represented itself but the main school as well.

One exception was made to this rule. In 1949 Master Lam Hao’s Si-Dai (younger kung fu brother) Say Suk, opened a branch called Lien Huu Martial Arts School. Although Master Lam Hao did not allow his own students to open branches, Sak Suk was a student of his father, Master Lam Yu Lan. Moreover, Master Lam Hao did not want fighting among the Hainan people, so he allowed the branch to open. Both schools were in the same building in Vietnam with the main school on the 4th floor (top of building) and the new branch on the 2nd floor of the building.

By the early 1980s, Vietnam's political climate had changed. There were fewer cases of blackmail occurring and the government became more effective at catching and punishing criminals. It was then that Master Lam Hao changed his view on the subject of opening branches and allowed his students to do so. One school opened immediately in Saigon. It was the Hai Lien Martial Arts School, led by Master Lam Tran.  Unfortunately, after two years of operation the school was closed because the Vietnamese government wanted to convert the building into a government office.

In 1995, when Master Lam Hao was ready to retire at the age of 93, he passed the leadership to Mr. Lam Van Ky, who was in his mid-60s. Master Lam Van Ky had been a good student of Master Lam Hao for over 45 years.

On June 5th, 1999, our school opened its first branch North America: the Shaolin Kung Fu Centre.  Master Minh-Hung Ly had been tirelessly and continuously promoting our school to introduce its style to Canadians from all walks of life.  He obtained excellent feedback from different martial arts communities and from students searching for traditional martial arts training to promote their health.  With 30+ years of training experience in the tiger style system, Sifu (Master) Ly has not only imparted personal training to hundreds of students, but has also digitized the training material into DVDs, so that people can also follow and learn from their home.

In 2001, Sifu Ly received the official stamp from Master Lam Van Ky at the main branch in Vietnam.  This stamp is a symbol representing the entire tiger style system, and is used exclusively to certify Instructors and masters that pass the grading set out by Sifu (Master) Minh-Hung Ly. 

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