Interview with Sensei Francis Hong - 6th dan Goju Ryu

Back in 2003 I was fortunate enough to meet Shihan Francis Hong, which has it's own weird little story behind it, and I could tell you all about him, but instead I asked Francis if he would mind doing an interview. Here it is... Enjoy.

Hi Sensei Francis, how are you? Thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions for us at KarateTips.

Firstly would you tell our readers when and where you first started practicing martial arts and how old you were?

I was raised in Chinatown, Singapore, and in 1964 at the age of 9, I begin to learn Southern fist Kung Fu from one of my father's friends. He owned a Kung Fu dojo, and the class was conducted by a young instructor from Malaysia. This was the first encounter with martial arts at a young age.

Why did you begin karate?

In early 1970, when I was in Secondary 2, my classmate was learning Goju-ryu Karate at Metropolitan YMCA from a Japanese Sensei by the name Sensei H. Maekawa. One day, I approached my classmate and asked him to bring me along to MYMCA to watch him train. The class had about 50 students, although I was learning Kung Fu, I was really impressed by the training and I registered for the next enrollment that evening.

Do you remember your first karate lesson? What did you learn?

In my first karate lesson, it was taught by one of the senior black belts, the instructor taught us the normal basic movement such as an introduction to the Goju-ryu style, basic knowledge of Rei, karate etiquette, basic blocks, strikes, punching and kicking techniques, different types of stances etc.

Please describe your shodan grading.

I took my first Dan in April 1973. There were are about six of us. I was quite nervous and excited, because I had been looking forward to this day. When my name was called, I performed the kihon, idoshiki and 3 katas followed by free sparring, breaking of wooden planks with roundhouse kicks and jumping high kicks. Lastly I had to break two bricks either with a shuto uchi or punch. It was a tough grading and I managed to pass my first Dan.

What is the best thing about karate today in your opinion?

My opinion of the best thing in Karate is it helps a person in the character building, self-esteem, self-confidence.

What's been the most difficult part of your training?

My most difficult part of my training was Kata. In the early days of my karate training, I did not like to train Kata. It was boring, and I had to practice kata because of gradings. Through the encouragement of my Sensei I gradually learned to appreciate and became interested in kata training. Since then I enjoy practicing kata.

When were you appointed to be the Singapore National Karate Coach? Please tell us how you reached this position.

I was appointed in 2001 for a 2 year term. Before me we had a local senior Japanese instructor as National Coach. Because of the new requirement by the Singapore Sport Council that all Coaches in National level must possess a level 2 or 3 Coaching Accreditation Certificate by the Singapore Sport Council, I achieved my Level 3 National Coaching Accreditation.

Do you coach kumite, kata or both?

I coach both the Kumite and Kata players but later in the intermediate stage, Shihan Richard Ng took over the coaching of kata.

Aren't you also a National Referee? Please tell us how you became a referee.

I was a qualified APUKO referee and kata judge from 1987 till 1992, but because of politics, I missed my renewal and the license expired. I took up refereeing again in 2001.

Please tell us about a little about your karate club and where you train.

Zen Shin Ren Karate-do was formed in 1987, after our dojo in YMCA was shut down. We needed a new identity and the name Zen Shin Ren came into the picture. The main objective of Zen Shin Ren is to promote Goju-ryu in Singapore and at the same time to liaise with the neighboring countries which practices Goju-ryu. I took over the Club as its Chief Instructor in 1998.

Where would you like Zen Shin Ren to be in 5 years?

In 5 year's time, I would like my students to compete in Sea Games and Asian Games. Zen Shin Ren membership to reach 500 and to be one of the top karate clubs in Singapore.

Thank you Francis. I think I speak for all KarateTips members when I say that we appreciate you taking the time for this interview. Good luck with your dojo!

Editor's Note: If you're wondering about the "weird little story" behind how I met Sensei Francis this is what happened. In 2002 Sensei Francis became a one of my KarateTips customers. I forget now which product he bought, but I checked in with him about his purchase and we chatted back and forth a couple of times regarding that, to make sure his download went ok, etc. Anyway, I really didn't know anything more about him other than his name, email and location.

In 2003 I attended the Kobe Osaka International World Cup in Greece, and at one of the official's dinners I found myself sitting right next to the delegates from Singapore, who I'd never met. We talked about the gasshuku, the tournament, and karate in general. At the end of the evening we exchanged contact information. When I got back home to the United States I thought I'd flick the Singapore delegates a quick email following up about what we talked about.

Lo and behold as I typed in the email address, Outlook resolved the email address to a "Francis Hong"... from my previous customer records. Of course I added a "P.S." telling Francis about my discovery. He too realized at that point that we'd previously "met", but only after he had returned to Singapore!