Foreigners help keep Kung Fu alive and kicking

On Hong Kong's Lantau Island, 77-year-old Gam Bok-Yin swiftly moves his fists and legs as he demonstrates the techniques of Hung Gar, a style of Chinese kung fu.

The Australian has his long white hair tied in a knot and is dressed in traditional Chinese attire. Behind him, dozens of Chinese students copy his moves, as they learn their own fighting traditions from a foreigner.

Gam has spent over six decades studying Hung Gar, or Hung Kuen, a centuries-old southern Chinese martial art, characterized by strong hand techniques, such as "bridge hand" and "tiger claw".

His connection to Hung Gar goes back to the 1940s in Sydney, Australia, when it gave him a second chance in life.

Gam, who also goes by the name Graham Player, was born with a disability that baffled his father and uncle, both medical doctors trained in Western medicine. He said he was put in a wheelchair and his hip was immobilized by a plaster cast that went from his waist to the bottom of his right leg.

"That's how the Western medical treatment remained for many years until I was 5 years old," he said.

An operation was suggested, but Gam rejected the idea as he was warned it might leave him with a limp.

Unexpectedly, a Chinese neighbor offered to help the young boy and asked Gam to copy leg movements and simple exercises he showed him.

Within just a few days, Gam said he experienced a remarkable change, and sensed feeling in his legs for the first time.

He persisted with the training. By the age of 8 he could take his first steps, and by the time he was 12 he could walk normally.