Accompanying children's growth today may be a cold and emotionless video game and a foreign maid with a language barrier. In the 50s and 60s, without computers or mobile phones, maybe not even television, Seven Little Fortunes' playmates were Seven Little Fortunes -- a brethren of disciples who spent day and night together.
Despite the gradual passing of time, the fraternal love endured. After seven to ten years of "slave contracts", a year of apprenticeship, then the film industry, their master was Yu Jim Yuen all the same but their experience differed. Some worked as stunt doubles, some stunt coordinators, some in lead roles.....even so, Seven Little Fortunes' relationship remainted close. Second sister Yuen Po says, "After school, we never said goodbye just because we graduated. Instead after leaving we missed those days even more."
Growing Up Together, Like A Family
The disciples met every three months. The ones with a family would bring their other half and children to attend. The disciples sat at one table while the families sat at another. They had casual chats, talked in detail about their school life and reminisced children memories. On the Lunar 2nd, they would also go to Si Mo's Prince Edward Road home for a Lunar New Year visit to express the filial piety. Yuen Po says, "Back then even if the school days were hard to take, once we came out we would really miss them. Every time we met and talked about the past we were truly very happy and savored it a lot."
Even though children always had conflicts, they would very quickly go on as they were. The students' relationships were like a family. Even in their adolescene they never had any awkward and overboard behavior, in comparison to the "14 year old mother" nowadays their relationships were obviously more innocent and valuable.
Remembering the friendship between opposite sexes, Yuen Po laughs, "When we were at school, boys and girls were all in the same room, we trained together, played together. Of course some guys and girls would be particularly good friends, but only because they grew up together. So far no pair has married. Because we did everything together, Master's supervision was very strict and the training was very tough, we absolutely never had any other thought."
Sharing Joy And Pain, Honor Comes First
The school life valued team spirit, group life without individualism, selfishness was not permitted. Growing up under such an environment, one after another honorable people were trained. Back then Sammo Hung Kam Bo docked on the big pier of Golden Harvest and had all the success, yet he did not forget his brethren as he always brought seven or eight fellow disciples with him to work. Little Brother Yuen Tak was one of them. After years of hard work, Yuen Tak finally became a well known martial art coordinator.
Once, Sammo ran into a junior disciple in the U.S., saw that he was down on his luck and working a small job in a restaurant kitchen. Sammo immediately financed a restaurant for his brother. Seven Little Fortunes' childhood although seemed distant, their humanity remained rich. (13)
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