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Chan Recollects His First Visit to His Future Sifu in His Autobiography, I Am Jackie Chan: “We Pushed Our Way Down to Nathan Road. .. and Then Down a Maze of Side Streets. Finally, One Last Turn Brought Us into a Street Lined with Tenements Whose Windows Were Dark and Shuttered. the Sign Before Us Proclaimed the Building We Were About to Enter as the China Drama Academy, a Name That Told Me Nothing. ” the Future Star Goes on to Describe a Small Courtyard and Rooms Beyond That – Nothing Like What One Imagines Existed on the Roof of Mirador Mansion, Assuming the Post’s Account Is Accurate.

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“The Order Was Never to Be Challenged. If a Brother Who Was More Senior Told You to Do Something, You Did It. If You Told a More Junior Brother to Do Something, He Did It. and If Master Gave a Command, Everybody Jumped. the Order Was Enforced by the Fact That Anyone Who Disobeyed It Was Beaten Soundly, Either by the Master’s Cane Or, Among Students, by the Simpler (But Not Any Less Painful!) Means of a Hard-Swung Fist. ”

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Upon His Parents’ Emigration, Yu Became a Literal Father-Figure to the Future Martial Arts Star. Yu Apparently Had Reservations About Adopting Chan as His Godson, Due to His Mischievous Behaviour, but Accepted Sensing the Boy’s Potential. Not That This Made Life Easier for Chan – Yu Expected His “Son” to Set an Example and Train Twice as Hard as Other Students.

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Chan Recalled: “I’d Spent a Decade with This Man, This Distant and Domineering Figure, and Never Received More Kindness Than a Dry Smile or a Pat on the Head. .. I Felt No Pain, and Had No Tears at Our Parting. but Still, This Stiff Ending, This Hollow Goodbye – It Somehow Left Me Feeling a Deep and Unquenchable Sense of Loss. ”

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Although He May Not Have a Place on Hong Kong’s Avenue of Stars, Yu Left Behind One of the Most Impressive Legacies of Any Figure in Asian Cinema. in Training the “Three Dragons”, He Was Indirectly Responsible for Some of the Greatest Hong Kong and Martial Arts Films of All Time. as His Most Famous Student Concluded, “It Could Be Said That Master Yu Wasn’t Just My Godfather, but One of the Godfathers of the Cantonese Movie Industry. Not a Bad Legacy, Wouldn’t You Say? ”

He Trained Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao, but Who Was Martial Arts Master Yu Jim-Yuen, the Forgotten ‘Godfather’ of Hong Kong Kung Fu Cinema?

Q: Does Bruce Lee’s Legacy Have a Dark Side?

Given His Outsize Influence on Hong Kong and Martial Arts Cinema, Yu Is Something of a Forgotten Figure. He Supposedly Trained His Charges at Kowloon’s China Drama Academy but Records Are Spotty About the Establishment’s Actual Name or Location. the South China Morning Post’s Brief Obituary for Yu Refers to His School as the “Chinese Opera Research Institute” and Describes It as Being on the Rooftop of Mirador Mansion in Tsim Sha Tsui. Another Website Erroneously Places the School in Lai Chi Kok, Probably Mistaking Its Location for That of Lai Yuen Amusement Park Where Chan and His Schoolmates Would Sometimes Perform.

By Elena Rostova

• Oct 8, 2026 • 7 min read

He Trained Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao, but Who Was Martial Arts Master Yu Jim-Yuen, the Forgotten ‘Godfather’ of Hong Kong Kung Fu Cinema?

Direct Answer • Key Takeaway

Does Bruce Lee’s Legacy Have a Dark Side?

Elena Rostova

Lead Health, Wellness & Medical Journalist

Elena Rostova holds a Master's degree in Public Health Journalism. She covers groundbreaking medical research, holistic wellness trends, mental health awareness, and nutritional science.

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