• A Note About History and Lineage
• The Founder Wu Mei
• Grandmaster Xia Peng
• Sifu Lo
• Sifu Berman
• Lineage Chart
Sifu Lo
Seventh-generation Sifu Lo began his study of martial art at the age of eleven, and during the next ten years was exposed to judo, karate, aikido, the East Indian art of vada, and the southern praying mantis gongfu of Master Gin Foon Mak. In 1973, he heard that an exceptional martial artist, an elderly man who taught a style never before seen, had opened a class in New York’s Chinatown. Naturally curious, Sifu Lo went to take a look.
He entered the classroom at the old Five Tigers School and saw a small, elderly gentleman, seated, dressed in a dark business suit, watching a few young students practicing. Their movements seemed a little strange, a little awkward, and they had the odd habit of stomping their feet as they moved; Sifu Lo was respectful, of course, but was frankly unimpressed. Suddenly, the elderly gentleman rose, and said, “None of you are doing Wu Mei! This is Wu Mei Pai!” The students cleared the floor, and their teacher took center stage. He inhaled, and suddenly he took on the demeanor of a man of forty. As he began to move, his feet thundered against the floor, and his hands seemed to appear and disappear, leaving after-images, like video-ghosts, hanging in the air. His movements were other-worldly, and Sifu Lo felt his heart rise into his throat. This was the most advanced martial artist he had ever seen, and he knew then and there that he had found his teacher.
Sifu Lo became the Grandmaster’s disciple, and in 1978 founded the Wu Mei Institute of Physical Culture* on Sigung’s behalf, and began teaching under his auspices. In 1983, Sigung transmitted his lineage to his son, Sifu Han Ting Peng, and to Sifu Lo, and “folded his hands”, entrusting the future of Wu Mei Pai to his two most able disciples.
*At Sigung’s insistence, his organization is known in Cantonese as Ng Mui Gin San Hohk Yuhn, literally, Wu Mei Institute of Physical Culture.