According to oral traditions, the Kwong Sai Jook Lum (江西竹林) style traces its origins to the temple Jook Lum Gee (竹林寺) in Kwong Sai (江西) province. The monk, Som Dot (三達祖師), created this new martial art system in the 18th century after witnessing a praying mantis combat in nature. He tested his skills and they proved fruitful. With the aid of the abbot, Som Dot successfully crafted his own unique approach to combat. 

He passed the art on to Lee Kun Ching (李官清), later known as Lee Siem See (李禪師; a name that can be translated as "Zen master Lee"). Lee Siem See would travel to Southern China and spread the art amongst the general population. In Guangdong, his student, Cheung Yiu Chung (張耀宗), would later return with him to Kwong Sai to complete his training at Jook Lum Gee. The art would continue it's legacy through various teachers through an unbroken lineage eventually to Gin Foon Mark as illustrated below.

"Those of us who teach here have been doing it for many years and have been trained in everything from karate and akido to boxing so we are a well-rounded practical bunch when it comes to application and Jook Lum."

We emphasize real time application of the techniques and the foundation behind them. Here with the Philadelphia Pai, Joe is interested in teaching what works in the real world, in real time; not the theoretical. As passed down to him per tradition, Joe teaches as he learned from Mark Sifu. Practicing to swim next to a pool will never yield an ability to swim—jumping into the water is necessary.  MORE