Master Chow Long was born in China in 1890. He was the oldest of five brothers (Chow Biu, Chow Hip, Chow Hoy, Chow Tin). The five brothers were taught Hung Gar Kuen (Hong Jia Quan) by their uncle Chow Hung. Chow Long was also taught Choy Gar Kuen (Cai Jia Quan) by master Choy Kau Gung later on. Chow Long and Chow Hip moved to Canton in order to earn a living. But soon Chow Long decided to make his fortune overseas so he went to Malaysia in 1910. That’s where he got to know abbot Hong Yi by chance. He taught him Bei Pai Wushu, which is practised in North China. Chow Long returned to China in 1915. At this time general He Fu Qiao organized a tournament to find the best instructor for his army troops. At these tournaments there were whether rules nor protective equipment. It was Chow Long who emerged victorious, so he got appointed chef trainer of the troops. In order to guarantee an extensive education, Chow Long sent for his brothers. They were meant to join the army and to help him with the education of the troops. This was the birth of Chow Gar Kuen. Chow Long took the advice of abbot Hung Yi to heart and combined all the techniques he had learned to a new system.

With the help and the knowledge of his brothers, a new Kung-Fu system was being created: Chow Gar Kuen, the family style of the Chow. He called his form of Kung-Fu “Hung Tou Cai Mei” out of respect to his masters, which means as much as “Hung Gar is the head and Choy Gar is the body”. This results form the fact that he had primarily learned Hung Gar and then Choy Gar. This new system became popular very soon, because all of his brothers supported it intensively. The first school was founded in Xinhui (the birthplace of Chow Long) in 1917 in order to teach people outside of the military as well. The school was named Chow Ren Yi Tang. Unfortunately master Chow Long wasn’t able to enjoy the success of his Kung-Fu style for long. He died in 1919 at the age of 24 from a protracted pneumonia. Because of his early death there aren’t any photographs of him.