Great Grandmaster Ming Lum was born in Chung San, Canton, China in 1926, but he grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was known as Gung Fu’s Godfather to two generations. Grandmaster Ming Lum started his martial arts training while in grade school at the Chungsan Language School in Honolulu where he trained Fat Gar (Buddha Family) with Grandmaster Lam Dai Young, one of three of the best at that time. He also trained Jujitsu with Grandmaster Henry Okazaki and Judo with Kenny Kawatachi during 1940-1941 just before WWII broke out. In 1955 he moved to San Francisco, California. In 1957, Grandmaster Lum began to study with Choy Li Fat Grandmaster Lau Bun. In the 1960’s he was the first to introduce the Shaw Brothers Gung Fu Film’s in San Francisco area. He was also the first to bring Chinese stylist to participate in karate tournaments and he opened the doors for a non-Chinese to learn Gung Fu in the San Francisco area.
Grandmaster Ming Lum had received numerous recognition awards and was inducted in the 1992 AMAPA Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into the Hawaii Kenpo Jujitsu Society Hall of Fame in 1999 as well as numerous other halls of fame.
He was truly a man of his word and his deeds always matched what he said. Grandmaster Lum was highly respected around the world among laypersons and martial artists alike. In addition to his many duties, community responsibilities he also served as one of the first senior advisors of the Hawaii Kenpo Jujitsu Society since it’s founding in 1995.
Great Grandmaster Ming Lum was council, advisor and public relations extraordinaire to virtually every martial arts promoter and tournament promoter in California. Great Grandmaster Ming Lum actually formed the cultural goodwill bridge between Asia and the United States because he was knowledgeable about virtually every style of martial art taught in China and he was acquainted with all of the Great Grandmasters on both continents.
Great Grandmaster Ming Lum was responsible for hundreds, if not thousands, of success stories in the martial arts. Working closely with the San Francisco Chinatown community and the City of San Francisco to bring each closer to the needs and understandings of these contrasting cultures.
On November 5, 2011, Great Grandmaster Ming Lum passed away and the martial arts world lost a great martial artist and ambassador.
