From the different styles of Chinese martial arts the Hung Tao Choy Mei, which had been founded by Zhou Long at the beginning of the last century, has a reputation as one of the most effective and complex. Because of this fact, it is a very rare occasion that some one is promoted to the rank of a Sifu.
On 19.01.2008 one of such a rare occasion took place. Or, to be correct, it was an even rarer occasion, because four martial artists were appointed.
In the SHAOLIN HUNG CHOY school of Sifu Frank Greinacher in Gevelsberg, Germany, many national and international prominent martial artists gathered to take part in the traditional Sifu ceremony.
The ceremony started with a traditional Zhou Jia Lion dance, during which the eyes of the Lion were opened, what infuses him symbolically with life. The Zhou Jia Lion dance is a rare style of Lion dance. The dancers of the Shaolin Hung Choy have mastered besides the Fu Hoe Shan Shi also their old, style-specific lion.
Following the dance, the martial artists to be appointed Sifu entered the highly decorated hall, according to their martial art's age. In lead was Thomas Warthe (TCM practitioner and head of the department of TCM of the SHAOLIN HUNG CHOY), followed by Eugen Helmut (head of the ZHOU GUAN Schwelm), Alexander Tschernjawski (head of the ZHOU JIA KUNG FU Assn. Haßlinghausen) and Leonardo Tarantino (instructor at the SHAOLIN HUNG CHOY).
They saluted to the master of ceremonies, Sifu Ek Eng Guan from Singapore, who has especially travelled to Germany to lead this ceremony; to Sifu Seet Chor Thong (head of the NIA KWANG YING YONG TANG, Siegen) and to their Sifu Frank Greinacher, who were seated beside the school-altar. Following that, a formal oath-taking at the altar took place, which was closely observed by the present witnesses, Sifu Alexander Czech (CHINESE KUOSHU INSTITUTE, Neu-Ulm), Sifu Gerhard Milbrat (MEI HUA TANG LANG, Lüdinghausen), Sifu Tim Otte (WAN FU, Hamburg) and Sifu Michael Streit (CHIN WOO, Bochum).
