(Shaolin Sifu Chong Beng Joo passed away some years ago.
The following is an interview article published in 1983.)

Sifu Chong Beng Joo, 51, is the Chief Instructor of Shaolin KungFu at the Singapore Armed Forces Reservist's Association. He is married with 5 children (3 boys and 2 girls). However, none of them has any inclination to learn his Shaolin KungFu.

Sifu Chong was born in Kulai, Johore and was brought to Singapore when he was 3 years old. He studied here till Primary 6 and had to stop his studies when the Japanese attacked and occupied Singapore. When the war was over, he started working in an iron-molding firm. He was only 11 year old at that time. At work, he faced a lot of problems.

Though tall, he was slim in build and quite weak, so bigger and stronger boys often bullied him. This bullying must have left an indelible impression on him because 6 years later, at the age of 17, he began to train vigorously in Shaolin KungFu, mainly for self-defense.

Full-time training

His master, Reverend Sek Koh Sam, was an indisputable Shaolin warrior monk in the temple, which can still be found along Jalan Toa Payoh. For Sifu Chong and 17 other boys, it was "full-time" training. They lived and worked in the temple, looking after the place and doing odd jobs, which included chopping down trees for wood.

Training was held at least twice a day – the longer session in the wee hours of the morning and a shorter one in the evening. The trainees learnt the highly effective Shaolin fighting arts entirely under their master's instruction. Their master died in 1960 and Sifu Chong, being the most exceptional, took over the leadership.

From then on, there was no looking back for him. He has won many titles and awards. He is best remembered in the 1st South East Asia Pugilistic Tournament, held in 1969. In that tournament, he did not make use of many techniques but just a single blow to knock out his opponent in the 1st round. Needless to say, he emerged the winner and since that memorable tournament, he has been nicknamed the "Iron Fist".

Challenging and exciting

Talking about the art, Sifu Chong said that Shaolin KungFu consists of 3 main stances, with the same emphasis on both kicks and punches. He pointed up that one should learn the art for 2 main reasons – keeping fit and for self-defense and not solely for street fighting. Sifu Chong said that despite the importance of skill and fitness, values such as patience, humility and loyalty were even more important.

Comparing the art as it was in the past and as it is now, Sifu Chong is of the opinion that training was unquestionably harsher in the past. He said that the existing less rigid training was good because it kept the art uncomplicated as well as realistic. More people now appreciate the need for physical training unlike earlier times.

The present tournaments tend to be more challenging and stimulating because more techniques were utilized, like those of kicking, blocking and a range offensive/defensive techniques. In recent years, the trend was to go for better-rounded techniques in tournaments.

Sifu Chong said standards in Singapore were equivalent to that elsewhere in the world. He visited China's Shaolin schools and claimed there were not much difference in training and standards here and there.

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