GM Kang Sin Sin
(International Wing Chun Martial Art - Indonesia)In Hong Kong, the late GM Kang Sin Sin was known by his Cantonese Dialect name Kwong San San or Kong Sun Sun. Born in Banjarmasin, Kalimantan, Indonesia on June 26, 1939, he was a very naughty boy and always liked to try new things. This behavior brought him away out of Indonesia and landed him finally in Hong Kong before eventually coming back again to Indonesia.
He was a very strong minded person, and though he was very mischievous, he always had this one principal that he held the most, never to be disrespectful to elderly. So as mischievous as he might be, he never showed any disrespect to older people. His mother was a single parent and must took care of her children all by herself, and he was fully aware of it. This led him to be a person who always stood up for himself and made him independently moved from one place to another for studies and also for works all by himself.
He was sent to China to study in the Chinese Government owned school in the era of the Mao Zhe Dong ruling. There were many interesting stories while he studied there. One story that we very much remember was how he and his classmates stored their own feces and used it as fertilizer and water to be sprayed on to the garden. The harvest from the garden will then be collected by the students for their meals every day. So if there was not enough harvest from the garden, then all of the students might not have enough meals. The feces was carried hanging by the pole on shoulders by 2 people (front and rear) or with a cart. So when the wind blew, the smell of the feces would hit strongly the rear person who carried the feces. When he told us this story, we all laughed till our stomach hurt. He was also often punished by his teachers because he always got up late, fought all the time, etc.
He moved from cities to cities in China until he landed his feet in Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, the late GM Kang Sin Sin studied Wing Chun from GM Chu Shong Tin and the late GM Leung Sheung, and finally from the Great Grand Master Ip Man himself.
Before learning Wing Chun, the late GM Kang Sin Sin also studied other martial arts such as Shan Dong Kung Fu style, Judo, Karate, Western Boxing, etc. Nonetheless, the late GM Kang Sin Sin was very fond of the Wing Chun principals, which among one of them was the idea of not fighting power with power. He felt that this style of martial arts was very unique and effective. This was the martial art that he could use until he died. He compared Wing Chun with other style of martial arts, and after knowing Wing Chun, he decided that he would never turn back.
He often told us some of his stories while he was staying in Hong Kong, about how he managed to steal times during his working hours in the Hong Kong Airport to go to the toilet and practicing the Siu Nim Tao while having smoke inside the toilet. About how he used Wing Chun in real fights. About how he still went to practice during the big storm in Hong Kong and became the only disciple who came to school. And about he represented Chu Shong Tin's Wing Chun school in a match against Leung Ting. And because of this fight, Ip Man called him over to teach him Wing Chun directly. He even once practiced the Muk Yan Jong form for 5 hours non-stop during the practice with Ip Man.
The late GM Kang Sin Sin came back to Indonesia in 1978 and he stayed in Bandung, Indonesia. He started teaching Wing Chun to the first batch of students. Many people learned Wing Chun from the late GM Kang Sin Sin, but most of those people didn’t manage to stay until finished, because his teaching style was very thorough and accurate, while he insisted on high discipline and strong persistence from his disciples. He didn’t like to rush his teaching because he wanted to create a good foundation for his students and the skills of a lifetime. As a result, only a few students finally managed to master the complete skills and techniques taught by him.
Until the moment before he passed away, the late GM Kang Sin Sin still had a very extraordinary skill. At the age of over 70 years old, his hands were blazingly fast with very high accuracy. The forms of Wing Chun that he played looked even better and better by the time he was old. He kept telling us to practice Wing Chun anytime and anywhere we could. Even when he drove a car, he turned the steering wheel using the Wing Chun hands forms.
There was one incredible story from a disciple of the late GM Kang Sin Sin whom had followed him for many years. When the late GM Kang Sin Sin was trying to reverse park his car, suddenly there was another car approached very fast and stole the same parking lot. The late GM Kang Sin Sin didn’t manage to stop his car on time and crushed that other car. The car driver, a big-tan-scary guy, then got out of his car, came toward and spoke offensively to the late GM Kang Sin Sin. This guy then got angrier, and with the window opened, he grabbed the late GM Kang Sin Sin shirt’s collar. Looking that his shifu was treated that way, this student of him who was sitting beside him on the front passenger seat, quickly opened his seat belt, then opened his side of the door and jumped over the car bonnet, wanted to help the late GM Kang Sin Sin. But surprisingly, what the student found was, the other guy was already lied down on the pavement with his hands strangled by the late GM Kang Sin Sin in one hand while the late GM’s other hand's fist was on to this guy’s face. Then the late GM Kang Sin Sin said: “Weren’t you taught any ethic?”.
These were some of the great stories of the late GM Kang Sin Sin. We, all of his disciple, hope that his teaching shall be preserved and spread by all of his disciples and the next generations to come.
He left us peacefully on April 27, 2010. May his memory lives with us forever.