James Cama was a closed door disciple under Grandmaster Leung
and eventually became the first student to finish the whole system and be certified to teach the art of Fut Sao Wing Chun. Sifu Leung taught the
system secretly for so long and because training was difficult at times,
many students never finished the whole system. In fear of the art
becoming extinct and with GM. Leung's blessing, Sifu Cama decided to
open the gate and teach the art publicly.
(Continued at bottom.)
Lineage 1:Hsu Yun (Gao Jhi Fut Sao) -> Henry Leung (Chi Man) -> James Cama
Continued from the Top:
The following info was submitted to eWingChun about James Cama and Fut
Sao Wing Chun (presumably from his website before it went down). It is
included here for you, but does not relate directly to the book:
"Sifu James Cama began his martial arts training in Karate at age 7
under his cousin. At age 9 trained formally at Sun Duk Son's Mu Duk Tang
Soo Do as a young man into adulthood: Hung Gar Kuen under Bucksam Kong
& Chester Chin. Ying Jow Pai: Leung Sum. Go Ju Ryu Karatedo. Peter
Urban, Kayo Ong, Meitatsu Yagi, Wing Chun, Moy Yat. Yip Man's lineage
and Fut Sao Buddha Hand Wing Chun, grandmaster Henry Leung. Sifu Cama
met grandmaster Leung by chance when one day he received a booklet in
the mail from a friend who owned the Oriental Enterprises. a home based
martial art equipment company. In the booklet was a full page
introduction about Buddha Hand Wing Chun and Henry Leung, a branch of
Wing Chun he had never heard of before.
Immediately he became curious and phoned his friend asking him to
introduce him to Henry Leung. His friend responded by saying that in no
way, shape or form would he be able to meet master Leung because he was a
closed door instructor, but that he might be able to train with one of
his senior students. The friend gave Cama to address to the Friendship
Restaurant located on Delaney Street in NYC. Cama rushed down to the
location and entered the restaurant and quickly noticed it was occupied
with some bad element for customers. At the counter was a Spry looking
older Chinese gentleman who asked Cama what he needed. Cama asked for
Peter who was Henry's student. He informed Cama that Peter would be
there in a while.
After three hours of waiting, the Chinese man asked Cama what it was
that he wanted. Cama explained that he was looking for Kung Fu
instruction. The man placed an old Wing Chum book in front of Cama and
asked if that was what he wanted. Excitedly Cama replied. "Yes, that's
it!" The man told him to come back the next day at noon. Cama did as he
was told and returned the next day at noon, hoping to meet Peter, but
instead the Chinese gentleman was there again. This time he handed him a
bucket and a mop and ordered him to do the floor and wait on the
customers.
After several weeks of mopping the floor and waiting on tables, the day
came when the Grandmaster Leung invited Catna down into the basement for
his first lesson. G.M. Leung asked Cama if he had any previous training
in the martial arts. Cama made the mistake of telling his new sifu about
his background G.M. Leung then instructed Cama to attack him with any
thing or any way he wanted to. Being already accomplished in the martial
arts, Cama figured he could easily score a few strikes on the small
framed Leung and attempted to do so, but quickly found himself on the
floor. Having not even seen what GM. Leung had done Cama knew for sure
this was the man he needed to learn from.
Years passed by and Cama became a closed door disciple under GM. Leung
and eventually became the first student to finish the whole system and be
certified to teach the art of Fut Sao Wing Chun. Sifu Leung taught the
system secretly for so long and because training was difficult at times,
many students never finished the whole system. In fear of the art
becoming extinct and with GM. Leung's blessing, Sifu Cama has decided to
open the gate and teach the art publicly.
History
Fut Sao Wing Chun was brought to America in 1961 by Grandmaster Henry
Leung, (Hong Lei, Chi Man) who trained and learned the whole system
under the Great Master Gao Jhi Fut Sao the venerable Hsu Yuri, also
known as "great penetration" and "nine finger Buddha hand," Hsu Yun was
the Dharma - successor of all five Buddist Ch'an sects of China who lived
to be one hundred and twenty years of age.
There have been several books written on the great master Hsu Yun two of
which are pictorial biographies which were composed by one of his top
disciples the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua. The books tell stories about
the life and times of the great master as he traveled extensively
throughout China teaching and helping whomever he could. Also within the
stories are the tragedies and sufferings he endured as well as the
victories and amazing esoteric powers that he acquired during his
lifetime. One amazing story that took place in 1917 when the master was
seventy eight years old tells how in the spring, eight workers were
hired to transport a huge Buddha statue from Kuan Yin Pavilion to
Chicken Foot Mountain in Junggwo, a journey that would take quite a few
days though treacherous mountain terrain, to places where no people had
previously gone.
One day while passing through Yen Jen (Wild Men) mountain, the workers
ot the idea that there were gold and gems inside the Buddha, which in
influenced all the other workers to not carry the large Buddha any
further. They all began saying that they had no strength left to do so.
They raised their fee and would not listen to reason, complaining that
they were being taken advantage of. The master Hsu Yun noticed a boulder
nearby that was several pounds heavier than the Buddha statue. The
master pointed to the enormous boulder and said, "Is this rock not
heavier than the Buddha?" The workers quickly agreed that it was in fact
two times heavier than the Buddha. The master then gripped the boulder
with his two hands and raised it high over his head. The workers were
completely awed by this amazing feat of strength. They began to say this
venerable master is a living Buddha and were more than happy to carry
the Buddha through the mountain and were generously rewarded by the
master upon reaching their destination. It was said : The Dharma
protectors silently lent their aid.
LISTEN WITH YOUR ARMS AND ABSORB ALL THEIR TECHNIQUES
In a small village in Canton China the Leung family would have a boy
born to the world two months remature. Henry (C i Man) Leung survived,
but being born premature creat health problems for the young boy. The
Leung family were devout Buddhist and were highly respected for their
charitable deeds. Henry's father was a good friend of the venerable Hsu
Yun (Gao Jhi Fut Sao) and brought the boy to him in order to strengthen
his health and spirit. Gao J hi took a liking to the young boy and
taught him the Young Virgin Hei Gung light skills. As he grew stronger
Henry was taught Gu Yee Chuan (Ancient Chivalrous Fist) which was the
forerunner to Fut Sau (Buddha Hand) Wing Chun Kuen. Henry was younger
and smaller than the rest of the other disciples. They constantly would
abuse young Henry during sticky hands (Chi Sao) by pinching is chest.
One day he came crying to Gao Jhi who comforted him and told him,
"Listen with your arms and absorb all their techniques." Before long,
the victim became the "Victor." Within a years time young Henry had
mastered all their hand techniques and made Gao Jhi proud.
Henry Leung would be made a successor to the Gu Yee Chuan lineage of Gao
Jhi Fut Sao. In honor of his Sifu Gao Jhi Fut Sao, Grandmaster Leung
renamed the style Fut Sao Buddha Hand Wing Chun Kuen.
Grandmaster Leung landed on the shores of New York City in 1961.
Realizing he had in his possession a very rare and effective style of
Wing Chun and not forgetting his sifu's instructions not to teach the
art of Fut Sao casually, he decided not to teach commercially and began
to hand pick his students always teaching them behind closed doors."