MR. LAU
This unassuming little Asian man sweeps
the floors at the Golden Dynasty all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet in Chinatown.
Almost everyone will see him shuffling along with his broom and dustpan and
walk right past him, never knowing that he is, in fact, the last living master
of the legendary martial art known as Siu Kune Do, the Way of the
Mocking Fist. Born in Guangdong Province in China, Lau was sent as a
youngster to study at a Peking Opera School, where he first learned martial
arts as well as acrobatics, music and dance. After his ten-year contract
expired, Lau, then nineteen years old, spent the next few years wandering
around China to learn the secrets of wushu from the masters. He wound
up in a monastery under the tutelage of the Laughing Monk, the 150-year-old
founder of Siu Kune Do. When his master died unexpectedly (although
considering his age, it shouldn't have been that unexpected), Lau was accused of murder and so he fled the country and made his way to San
Palillo. In addition to his job as a sweeper, Mr. Lau runs a small secret dojo
in the restaurant's basement, passing on the secrets of his art to a new
generation.