Budo international Martial Arts Magazine Jul.-Aug. 2014 | Page 199

Fire is one of the five elements in
the Hung Gar system. Techniques,
which are allocated to the element of
fire, usually find their way to the mark
straightforwardly, as for example the
so-called
chain-strike
does.
Generally speaking, fire techniques
symbolize the element’s explosive
character and they often are
associated with the tiger style

respectively
tiger-techniques.
Looking at the nature of a tiger’s
attack more closely, one recognizes
that a tiger tends to attack
straightforwardly and with razor
sharp claws. The work with the Qi is
also important in the execution of fire
techniques, as it also requires an
explosive type of power. Watching a
Hung Gar practitioner exercising

typical fire techniques, the image of a
spirited warrior who is using a very
direct kind of fighting techniques
arises. In traditional Chinese
medicine the element fire is linked
with the organs heart (ying organ)
and small intestine (yang organ).
Especially the heart has a significant
position in traditional Chinese
medicine, similar to the one allocated