Choy Li Fut Kung Fu

HISTORY

As with most styles of Chinese Kung Fu/Wushu ,CHOY LI FUT also has its roots in Shaolin and was actually developed as a seperate and specialized dynamic fighting style by one Chan Heung (1806-1875).

Chan Heung lived in the China of the 1830's and first followed the standard teachings of the Shaolin style under his uncle, who began teaching him at an early age. Later though, he became disillusioned by some aspects of the 'temple' style and travelled to visit and learn from remote hermit monks who were known for their 'kung fu' skill.

This journey took Chan Heung almost eleven years to complete and at the end of this he had lived and trained with three great masters ;

From these teachers Chan Heung had learned enough to formulate his own devastating new system which he named CHOY (after Choy Fook), LI (after Li Yau San) and "FUT/FO" which means BUDDHA in Chinese. One aspect of the style which Chan Heung learned from Choy Fook (the green grass monk) was the art of "Buddhist Palm Hand" and this features strongly in Choy Li Fut of today.

This Choy Lay Fut/Tsai Li Fo style of fighting was then passed down the generations of the family CHAN and then later spread more widely through and beyond China.Nowadays it is practised in many places around the world where the focus is still on a practical and dynamic level of skill.

Choy Li Fut Training :

The first stage of important basic training is stance and movement training. The stances in Choy Li Fut are often difficult for beginners to grasp at first. However, as the legs and hips and waist become suppler and stronger, so the stances become easier.It is because of this that the very first form or set that one learns deals almost only with stance and position.

Choy Li Fut masters of the past have also developed very particular striking techniques and many techniques are used both in offence or defence. This makes the Choy Li Fut practitioner very versatile. Two of the very strong and dynamic boxing types of Choy Li Fut are the 'long fist' and the 'buddhist palm'. There are though very many forms for students to learn eventually, including a huge variety of traditonal Chinese weapons (see Wushu Weapon Training). The heaviest of all Martial weapons, the Nine-Dragon Trident, comes from the Choy Li Fut system.

Nowadays great teachers such as Grandmaster Doc Fai Wong continue to enrich us with their knowledge of this most diverse yet strong system of chinese martial arts.

It is because Choy Li Fut was developed in a time of war and very real danger that it contains such realistic and practical methods. However, to achieve a high standard requires many years of strong training with a good school. With determination we can achieve anything !

CHOY LI FUT : STRENGTH IN CLASSICAL FORMS

One of the most recognised and admired aspects of Chan Heungs system are the very long and exhausting "training sets" and forms. These range from Sandbag sets for Hand Conditioning, to forms which, for example, focus on depth and strength in stance or correct and effective palm-striking, and many many other fundamentals of a dynamic style of fighting.

However, the ancient forms (there are 96 major Choy Li Fut Forms) passed down from Chan Heung through Chan Koon Pak, Jeong Yim, Woo Van Cheuk, Lau Bun, Wong Gong, Wong Doc Fai and Jason Wong, to name but a few, have also been developed to strengthen and develop the 'internal power' - CHI.

There are so many forms in the system that a full detailed listing would be 'years' of work to set up on this page, but, we have included some "must-learn" forms which are taught throughout the world in Plum Blossom Federation Schools, under Grandmaster Doc Fai Wong.

NG LUN MA (Five Wheel Stance Form)
This is the first long form which a student will learn after first practising many small routine steps and movements. The Ng Lun Ma set is designed to teach a student correct use of the major stances in Choy Li Fut, which are Dui Ma (Cat), See Ping Ma (horse), Ding Ji Ma (Bow Stance), Sieh Ma (Defence stance), Nau Ma/Tau Ma (Twist Stance) and follows repeated sequences of these stances, interspersed with sweeping steps or sometimes a kick. However, essentially Ng Lun Ma is only concerned with one important thing - building strong legs!

NG LUN CHUI(Five Wheel Fist Form)
The second form in the Choy Li Fut system this form introduces much more hand technique and students learn to quickly switch direction to fight multiple opponents. (This is one of Choy Li Fut's main features).
The 5-Wheel Fist form begins as Ng Lun Ma with repetition sequences focused on essential stances and block, grasp and strike combinations. The second half of this form, however, introduces many swift, individual hand techniques moving in fast combinations and the second half usually takes considerably longer than the first to learn. Most of the major fist strikes are contained within Ng Lun Chui but some Open Hand techniques only appear later in more advanced Forms such as Sup Ji Kau Da (Cross Pattern Boxing) and Fut Quan (Buddhist Palm Set).

HUNG SING LONG FIST FORM (Cheong kuen); This form is sometimes called the 'pulling' or 'stretching-out' form because the techniques used are thrown very long using fully the twist of hips and shoulders. The Hung Sing Longfist is a long and very tiring form and really builds up the condition of students. It also introduces practical application of power in certain devastating strikes.It is an excellent form for building "Chui Hop Ging Yao" (correct displacement of energy).

watch this space..........more details follow !