Long ago, Jing Mo was started in Shanghai, China in March 1909, and the credit is given to the My Jong master and Chinese hero Fawk Yuen Gap (Ho Yuan Chia in Mandarin), who unfortunately passed away soon after in October 1909 from an illness. Many schools using the Jing Mo name have proliferated across the entire world, some connected with the main organization in Shanghai, others not.

Note that the name“Jing Mo” is the Cantonese rendering, and it might also be spelled“Ching Mo.” If people were to give the school a mandarin name, then they might called it“Jing Wu,” or“Ching Wu.” The spelling in the English language does not seem to be totally consistent, so we mention this just to dispel confusion.

Other renderings of the words“Tai Yook Woey” in English might be gymnastic association, sports club, physical culture association, and the like.

The Jing Mo Athletic Association was first brought to San Francisco in the early 1960’s by Grandmaster Wong Jack Man. The school was also called“The Chinese Physical Culture Association.” Grandmaster Wong is widely known among martial artists all over the world. From the early 1960’s to 1978, Grandmaster Wong taught martial arts in San Francisco’s Chinatown, his main gung-fu school located for many years at 880 Pacific Avenue. A large black sign with white Chinese calligraphy saying“Jing Mo Tai Yook Woey” hung above the entrance. The characters were written from right to left in the old Chinese style. He instructed students in the arts of Hsing-I, Tai Chi, Northern Shaolin, and various other styles of northern martial arts.