Lau Family Hung Gar
Birmingham, United Kingdom
Sifu Mark Houghton
Martial artist, actor, stuntman and producer, Mark Houghton (the
Chinese refer to him as Ho-Mak. The Ho comes from “Houghton” and the “Mak”
after Karl Maka, the bald actor from Mad Mission (1982) aka Aces Go
Places). Grand-Master Houghton is orginally from Nuneaton, United
Kingdom. Spurred on by Bruce Lee movies, Mark began studying judo
when he was 14 years old and then moved on to karate, then he
dabbled in Tang Soo Do and Taekwondo looking for suitable art. None
of these arts satisfied him and so he looked in the Chinese martial
arts. He studied for a month or so at the Lau Gar school in Temple
Street, Birmingham but met a Chinese man Willie Wong (Ah-cheng Wong)
and the two became close friends.
Mark discovered that his friend also studied kung fu. Mark told Willy
that he wanted to study martial arts and ended up working at
Williy’s parent's hotel in Malaysia in his early teens and was
adopted by Willy’s Chinese family so he could stay in the country
with them. In Malaysia, Mark began training in White Crane Kung Fu,
but later, after watching Mad Monkey Kung fu (1979), one of Lau Kar
Leung’s (Liu Chia-Liang) films, Mark chose to study Hung Gar. Mark
first learned Hung Gar for free under Sifu Ho Kam Wai in Johor
Bahru, but only after a week of training, which consisted of standing
in a horse stance for hours and if he moved being beat with a cane.
He then had to use his forearms to strike a thick 15-20 inch
diameter bamboo hollowed out and filled with lead until his forearms
swelled and bruised and his hands shook from fatigue. At the end of
the week, Mark came back for more and Sifu Ho saw his dedication and
took him on as a student. In his early twenties, Mark moved back to
the United Kingdom and opened his first Kung Fu School.
When he was 27 years old Mark moved to Hong Kong to train under his
famous film hero and Hung Gar kung fu master, Lau Kar Leung. He soon
followed his master’s path into the Hong Kong movie industry
becoming one of the best western bad guy’s in Hong Kong cinema. Mark
Houghton can be seen on screen in over 60 movies working as an
actor, stuntman and stunt fight coordinator. While working in the
entertainment industry, he also worked as a bodygaurd, a dangerous
job that gave him over 400 stitches from knife and parang wounds.
With the blessing of Master Lau Kar Leung, Mark Houghton opened his
kung fu school in Fanling, East of Hong Kong, in 2005. He was 43
years old. Due to the numerous injuries caused by doing stunt work,
Mark Houghton retired from films in 2000 and went on to teach. In
2005 when he was 43 years old, he opened his kung fu school in
Fanling, East of Hong Kong. Grandmaster Lau Kar Leung named the
school. It was the Grandmaster’s wish that his student Ho Mak (Mark
Houghton) pass on his style of Hung Kuen to others. Mark Houghton
taught at his school until 2012 when, due to his injuries from
stunts, he closed the school, unable to continue teaching.
On Mark’s 51st Birthday, March 8, 2013, Sifu Lau Kar Leung and Mark
had lunch together. Sifu Leung told Mark that his health was failing
and that he wanted Mark to continue spreading Lau family Hung Gar
and to continue fighting in films. Mark promised to continue to
spread Lau family Hung Gar to future generations. 3 months later on
June 25, 2013, Sifu Lau Kar Leung passed away.
Click to watch trailer
Mark Houghton has kept his promise to his Sifu and is teaching again with schools in Hong Kong, China, Singapore, United Kingdom, France, and Austria. He has also finished the production of Hands Of Lau a documentary about training a new generation of Lau Family stuntmen and woman and about Hong Kong fight action. In 2016 Mark produced, co-directed, and fight coordinated a documentary about himself called I Am The White Tiger (2018). He also opened his own film production company with his daughter, White Tiger Film Productions HK. Mark has several projects in the works including China Heist and Sweet and Sour and his Sifu’s last script, The Story of Luk Ah Choy, which Mark hopes to produce one day. Mark is currently busy building up the New Lau Family Stunt Team and looking for new action actors to become future stars.
