Chiu Chi Man (趙志民) — Seven Star pillar

Chiu Chi Man (趙志民 / Zhào Zhìmín) was a 6th-generation Seven Star Praying Mantis master and, with his contemporary 黃漢勛 Wong Hon Fan, one of the two principal pillars of post-WWII Hong Kong Seven Star. Both Chiu and Wong studied under 羅光玉 Luo Guangyu (1888–1944) at the Hong Kong Chin Woo (精武), and after Luo's death they were the two senior Seven Star teachers in Hong Kong. Where Wong's name is attached to a vast published series of books, Chiu's primary legacy is the lineage of teachers he trained directly — most consequentially Lee Kam Wing (李錦榮), who took Chiu's Seven Star transmission worldwide.

Place in the lineage

升霄道人 (legendary) → 李三剪 → 王雲生 → 范旭東 → 羅光玉 (1888–1944) → 趙志民 Chiu Chi Man (with peer 黃漢勛 Wong Hon Fan) → 李錦榮 Lee Kam Wing (b. 1947) → contemporary 7th- and 8th-generation teachers worldwide

What he gave the art

• The Chiu transmission of the Seven Star curriculum — taught in Hong Kong from the postwar era onward.

• Senior disciples who took the line outside Hong Kong, the most famous of whom is Lee Kam Wing, who trained under Chiu from age 15 (1962) for ten years before opening his own school in 1972 with Chiu's encouragement.

• A continuing presence in the Hong Kong / international Seven Star community through Lee Kam Wing's International Seven Star Mantis Lee Kam Wing Martial Art Association (HK HQ; branches in the UK, US, Germany, Italy, Hungary, France, Australia, South Africa).

See also

Praying Mantis (螳螂拳) — the style overview

七星螳螂 Seven Star Mantis — branch deep-dive

Luo Guangyu (羅光玉) — Chiu's HK Chin Woo teacher

Wong Hon Fan (黃漢勛) — Chiu's peer pillar at HK Chin Woo

Lee Kam Wing (李錦榮) — Chiu's foremost student

Sources

[1] Lee Kam Wing International Seven Star Mantis Martial Art Association, Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra member listing — hkco.org — references Chiu Chi Man as Lee's primary teacher.

[2] Lee Kam Wing, Wushu4u biography (wushu4u.com) — names Chiu Chi Man as Lee's teacher (10 years from 1962, age 15).

[3] Master Wong Hon Fun (黃漢勛), Northern Shaolin Style (northernshaolinstyle.com) — Wong / Chiu / Lin Pak Yim Luo Guangyu lineage relationships.