It is typically mislabeled as solely an external martial art, relying on brute physical force rather than the cultivation of qi or chi, although traditionally, the student progresses steadily to an internal focus. In Cantonese, Hung is pronounced "hoong", and gar is "gah". This particular character 'hung' (洪) should not to be confused with the characters for 'red' or 'hero', which are homonyms. There are two common uses for this character. The first and most common is an adjective used to describe things that are vast or overwhelming, but commonly used to describe -- as the water radical on its left-half indicates -- a flood. The second use is as a surname.
In fact, the style is commonly attributed to Hung Hei Gwun (洪熙官), a Fujian tea merchant who learned his art from a monk named Ji Sin Sim Si (至善禅師) (pron. Gee Seen Sim See), allegedly one of the survivors of the destruction of the Fujian Shaolin Temple. Hung then traveled to Guangdong, bringing the art with him. As always, in a historical tradition such as that of Chinese martial arts, where one's legacy is transmitted by oral and physical traditions, much as in dance, and because much was destroyed over the chaos that befell China over the last 200 years, and most of all, since most practitioners in the non-Chinese world do not read Chinese, written documentation is hard to come by that would verify the exact origin of this tradition.
The hallmarks of the hung gar style are deep, low stances, particularly the horse stance (sei ping ma 四平馬), and strong hand techniques, in particular, the bridge hand (kiu sau 橋手), and the versatile tiger claw (fu jaau 虎爪). The student traditionally spends anywhere from months to three years in stance training, often sitting only in horse stance between a half-hour to several hours at one time, before learning any forms. Each form then might take a year or so to learn, with weapons learned last. However, in modernity, this mode of instruction is deemed economically unfeasible and impractical for students, who have other concerns beyond practicing kung fu.
Traditionally, there are at least three unarmed forms that constitute the core of hung ga instruction. The first, gung ji fuk fu kuen (工字伏虎拳) (lit., the i-pattern crouching tiger form, sometimes called in English taming the tiger) is a long form that trains the student in the basic techniques of the tradition while building endurance. Gung ji is often attributed to Ji Sin Sim Si. The second, fu hok seung ying kuen (虎鶴雙形拳) (literally, the double form of tiger and crane) builds on the experience of the first form and adds more 'vocabulary' to the hung ga practitioner's repetoire. The tiger-crane form is attributed to Wong Fei Hung (黃飛鴻). The last form, tit sin kuen (鐵線拳) (iron wire form, pron. teet seen kn), builds the internal power of the student. This form is attributed to a man nicknamed Tit Kiu Saam (鐵橋三) (lit., Iron Bridge Three).
Some lineages (see below) also teach an intermediary form between the tiger-crane form and the iron wire set called ng ying kuen (五形拳), also called ng ying ng hong kuen (五形五行拳), also sometimes called sap ying kuen (十形拳) (sup ying kn, or ten forms). Ng ying means five forms, referring to the five animals (tiger, panther, crane, dragon, snake) -- and ng hong refers to the five elements (metal, earth, water, wood, and fire). This form serves as a bridge between the external force of tiger crane and the internal focus of iron wire. Due to the different lineages in hung gar, some schools may teach only the first two forms, some may teach only the core three, and still others the four (which they call the 'four pillars of hung gar'), and indeed, others may teach several dozen, even.
The Southern stylist traditionally learns at least two basic weapons as well: staff (gwan, pron. gwunn 棍) and single broadsword (daan dou 單刀). These weapons are the favorites of the South. Some may also learn their close cousins, the spear (cheung 槍) and straight sword (gim 劍). Other weapons include the butterfly swords (wu dip dou 蝴蝶刀), the chain whip (biin 鞭) and the halberd (guaan dou 關刀, named after Kwan Yu (關羽), a hero of the classic Romance of Three Kingdoms. However, over the years, and according to different lineages, more weapons and sets, including two-man sparring sets, have been created, borrowed and/or added to the core by different people to meet different demands, and so, instruction will likely vary by the school and lineage.
This martial art is widely practiced in Southern China, Taiwan, and increasingly the Americas and Europe. Part of the reason why hung gar is so popular and has so many lineages may have to do with the political history of Southern China. Southern China (Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi) has historically been a backwater where refugees, criminals, and other colorful characters have fled, including rebels and the politically radical. The destruction of the Fujian Shaolin Temple, which one source describes as a hotbed of anti-Qing activism, could only have inflammed existing Han Chinese sentiments against their Manchurian rulers. This coincided with a period of tremendous rural economic displacement in Southern China. As secret societies capitalized upon popular rural discontent and devestating poverty, their ranks swelled, increasing the need to train their adherents in martial arts for numerous armed insurrections against the Qing, culminating in the calamitous Taiping Rebellion of the mid-19th century. This may account for both the popularity of Southern Chinese martial arts as well as the tremendous variance in lineages. Another reason is that the provinces that have been home to hung gar, Guangdong and Fujian, have been home to travelling, trading peoples who propagated their art abroad.
Fleeing the poverty and war-stricken South, migrants from Guangdong Province constituted the majority of Chinese overseas for the last 150 years. As they traveled, they brought this martial tradition, and many others, with them abroad. Hung gar has several lineages, the most famous of which is probably the Lam family of Hong Kong, which descends from the legendary hung gar stylist and traditional healer, Wong Fei Hung, and his most famous student, Lam Sai Wing (林世榮), a former pork butcher. But in the US, among the most foremost teachers are Bucksam Kong (Gong Bak Saan) of Hawaii and Los Angeles, Frank Yee (Yii Jii Waih) of New York City, who descends from the Deng Fong lineage; Y. C. Wong of San Francisco, of the Lam Jou (林祖) lineage; Kwong Wing Lam (Lam Gwong Wing) of Sunnyvale, CA; Chiu Chi Ling (Jiu Jii Ling) of Alameda, CA; and John Leong of Seattle.