Kung fu kid come good
A retiree took up martial arts to defend himself in his younger days, and later, amassed a massive collection of books on the subject.
When retiree Leong Yin Chee could no longer put up with the incessant bullying he was subjected to as a child, he read up on martial arts and learned to defend himself. Now, he has a library’s worth of books on the subject.
IT seems like it only happens in Chinese martial arts movies, where a martial arts student is gifted a book on techniques by his sifu (martial arts teacher), from which he gleans guarded secrets of the art form.
He would then be entrusted to guard the book with his life to prevent it from falling into the hands of rival groups.
But for retired bookkeeper Leong Yin Chee, 67, books on martial arts are his “treasures” and he guards them jealously. He can’t bear the thought of losing them, although he admits that he has sold a few on weaponry in Chinese martial arts.
However, he did not “inherit” any of these tomes from his martial arts teacher or anyone else. He bought every single one from the time he was 15.
The books are his source of inspiration and knowledge, and he has relied on them to hone his skills on Chinese martial arts and karate.
Leong bought them from bookstores, warehouse sales and second-hand book dealers.
He has assorted titles on different martial arts forms, such as Karate Fighting Techniques, Barefoot Zen, Shaolin White Crane and Hapkido.
“I bought the martial arts books locally,” he said, adding that “some people would regard the old, used books as garbage. For me, they are priceless.”
The past 50 years have seen him collect 1,054 martial arts books (excluding martial arts magazines), which he paid some RM17,000 for. A nondescript catalogue chronicles his book purchases dating back to the 1960s!
The books have varied pricing, from RM1 for the cheapest, to RM50 for the most expensive, especially back in the day. Spending in excess of RM100 on a hardcover book isn’t uncommon these days.
Some 20% of his books are in Chinese, with the bulk in English. Some books, he reckons, may have a resale value of RM1,000 each, as they are out of print and in good condition.
He keeps his collection in a room in his house in Petaling Jaya, which has been converted into a library.
Leong said: “I even wrote my own martial arts book.” The book focuses on body strengthening and self defence techniques, with the information extracted from various sources, including newspapers and magazines.
He makes it a habit to jot down important tips and creates illustrations in a notebook.
Face-off with bullies
Leong’s passion for the martial arts developed because he was threatened and extorted.
“When I was 13, I was constantly bullied by thugs a few years older than me,” said Leong, who lived in Melaka then.
When the pain and bruises mounted after constant bashing from these gangsters, he decided to take up the suggestions of friends to learn martial arts, so he could defend himself.
Since his accountant father worked in Kuala Lumpur, he approached his grandmother for help.
When she heard about his woes, she was extremely supportive.
“My mother, a housewife, did not work and had no money. It was my grandmother who paid for my martial arts lessons monthly at the Chin Woo Association,” said Leong, who used to live in Bukit Cina, Melaka. During that time, gangsterism, he said, was rife in his neighbourhood.
The lessons in self defence were not in vain.
Six months later, he ran into bullies again.
This time around, he was prepared for a confrontation.
“I managed to defend myself and even returned blows,” he said.
Usually, two or three thugs would ambush him.
“Fortunately, they were not too tall or big-sized.”
Leong added that the bullies had no skills in the martial arts.
“When you whack one of them, the rest would run away.”
He took up martial arts for a year, after which he had to stop as his grandmother ran out of money.
Over time, his confidence grew as he honed his skills further.
During an interview with Star2, he was happy to show us his library of books. Then he brought out a special tool – a bamboo stick with a rope at one end.
He dangled the rope through a ventilation hole on the wall and tied it so that the bamboo stick was suspended above the doorway of his library.
Leong swung the bamboo stick and hit it with his hands whenever it came back towards him.
With repetitive blows, his hands became red.
“The bamboo stick is a training tool to harden my hand. I have been using it to train for 40 years.
It has dried blood stains from my injuries,” he said, adding that he would exercise with this stick 15 minutes a day.
Leong is sentimental about the bamboo stick. “I want to be cremated with it,” he said.
As for his books, he said he
would pass them on as his “legacy” to someone who can best appreciate them.
Keeping up with martial arts
Upon completing his high school education, Leong went to Kuala Lumpur to work as an articled clerk in an audit firm. In 1975, his family uprooted from Melaka and moved to Petaling Jaya, after which his father bought a house, which he now lives in with his family.
In his adult life, Leong no longer enrolled for self defence classes. He would attend martial arts exhibitions and tournaments, usually at Stadium Merdeka, and make friends with martial arts exponents.
“I would learn kung fu (Chinese martial arts) privately from them,” he laughed, adding that he had five friends who invited him over to their homes. He still keeps in touch with one of them.
A fast learner, he would pay attention to them and practise the moves.
“Sometimes, I would demonstrate to them what I learnt, and that would impress them. They did not think I would take them seriously,” said Leong.
Several years back, he also gave free martial arts lessons to a few youths, his decline of payment earning him free lunches as gratitude.
Asked if he still reads all his books, Leong assured me that he does.
He quipped: “I read and learnt well from them. The books can help increase one’s knowledge, but you need to practise the techniques by sparring with friends. Otherwise, the knowledge is useless. It’s like swimming on land!”
Two years ago, Leong even sought out YouTube to learn a few new tricks, viewing his favourite videos at least five times in a sitting.
These days, he is pleased to get occasional invitations from martial arts associations for events. A twinkle appears in his eyes whenever someone talks about martial arts, and he finds himself drawn into the world of kung fu fighting, even if only for a brief moment.
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