Choi Lei Fut
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| 蔡李佛 | |
| Choi Lei Fut | |
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| Cantonese Yale: | choi léih faht |
| Mandarin Pinyin: | Cài Lǐ Fó |
| Also transliterated: | Choy Li Fut Choy Lay Fut Choi Lei Fut Choy Lai Fut Choy Ley Fut Choi Lei Faht Tsai Li Fo Choy Lee Fut Choy Lee Fat |
Like other southern Chinese martial arts, Choi Lei Fut features Five Animal techniques based on the tiger, dragon, crane, leopard, and snake but is distinguished from other southern styles by long, swinging, circular movements and twisting body motions more indicative of northern styles.
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[edit] History
[edit] Chan Family Lineage
Chan Heung (陳享)[1] was born in Guangdong Province, China in 1805 or 1806. At the age of six or seven, he began to study Kung Fu from his uncle, Chan Yuen-Wu (陳遠護),[2] a master of Southern Shaolin - the Buddha Style Fist or Fut Ga Kuen.
So proficient as an adolescent that he could defeat any challenger from nearby villages, Chan Heung was ready to learn more.
At the age of 15 he began training under another Southern Shaolin master, Lei Yau-San (李友山),[3] founder of Lei Ga (Lee Family Style. Lei Yau San was Yuen Woo's sihing or elder brother at Shaolin Temple. After only four or five years of training, it became apparent that Chan Heung was ready to move on once again.
Chan Heung was then referred to the Shaolin monk Choi Fook (蔡褔),[4] who lived on Luofu Mountain. After several years of training under Choi Fook, Chan Heung returned to his home village of Ging Mui (京梅)[5] in the county of Xinhui. He had learned and formed a new system combining his knowledge of 3 martial arts and called it "Choi Lei Fut" in honour of his teachers.[6] He did not personally believe in fighting because of his personal Buddhist beliefs although his students fought and believed in the Revolution.[citation needed]
[edit] Jeung Yim Lineage
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Jeung Yim (張炎)[7] was just a young child when his parents were killed, and so he was placed under the care of his uncle. According to Huang Shenjiang, manager of the Fut San Hung Sing Kwoon, the uncle's name was Jeung Kwan and Jeung Yim (known as Jeung Hung-Sing) was at this time a disciple of Lei Ga master Lei Yau-San. At the age of 12, Jeung Yim's uncle incurred obligations that made caring for his young relative no longer a possibility.
Kwan, as some sources claim his name to be, took Jeung Yim to his old friend Chan Heung in the hope that Chan would be able to accept the boy as a live-in student, and thus Yim would be cared for and fed. Unfortunately, village rules forbade Chan Heung from teaching martial arts to non-family members. Unable to take care of Yim by accepting him as a student, Chan Heung instead hired Yim to do odd jobs at his martial arts school. Jeung took the opportunity to observe Chan Heung’s lessons and imitated Heung's moves in secret (cf. Yang Luchan). One night, Chan Heung came upon Jeung Yim practicing. Impressed by the young man's motivation and abiliies, Chan Heung taught him secretly for several years until the other villagers finally found out. They expelled Jeung Yim for not being a village family member. Because Yim did not have the Chan family name the village did not want him learning the Chan Village Style (which in later years would be known as Choi-Lei-Fut).
And so, in 1831 at the age of seventeen, Jeung Yim (Hung-Sing) left Ging Mui, but not before Chan Heung gave him a letter of introduction, money for food, and instructions to seek out the monk Ching Cho (青草)[8] at the Zhajian Temple on Mount Bapai in Guangxi Province. Here, Jeung Yim (Hung-Sing) was free to give himself over completely to Ching Cho teachings, and with no distractions or other people to distract him, was free to practice what his teacher, the Green Grass Monk, had to teach him: knowledge of Fut Ga Kung Fu. During this time the young apprentice also made traditional Chinese medicine a promise of commitment to the Green Grass Monk (his teacher) to help in the overthrow of the Ching Government. Yim's teacher (sifu), the Green Grass Monk, bestowed upon him his new revolutionary name, 'HUNG-SING'.
Jeung, now Jeung,Hung-Sing, returned to Chan Heung and shared with his old mentor some of the things he had been learning from the Green Grass Monk over the last decade. Chan Heung hired Jeung once again, but this time as a teacher rather than a menial student worker, enabling Jeung Hung-Sing to stay for 1–2 years; at which time he left to open his own school in Foshan in 1839. There Yim continued his martial arts development with the infamous HUNG MOON SOCIETY known as THE REVOLUTION and opened his fist school, Hung Sing, named after the Hung Society. Jeung Yim originally called his fighting style 'HUNG's FIST', but later changed its name to the now popularized 'Hung', meaning 'Great' or 'Glorious', for fear of being arrested and executed as a member of the Hung society.
Yim's new style incorporated the Choi Ga style from Choi Fook, the Lei Ga style (which was widely known and practiced in southern China at the time) from Lei Yau-San, Hung-Sing's first teacher, and the Fut Ga style from the monk Ching Cho, the new fighting style became known as Choi Lei Fut in the years to come (a name likely given in the 3rd generation period).
[edit] Three Ancestors
[edit] Choi Fook 蔡褔
Depending on the branch of Choi Lei Fut, Choi Fook, a monk from the Shaolin Temple of Fujian, is said to have been a master of Southern Shaolin Kung Fu from Fujian province. Choi Fook had learned this from Choi Gau-Yee, founder of Choy gar. Choi Fook was not related to Choy Gau-Yee though he was his student. Choi Gar is said to have the longest range of the five major family styles of the southern Chinese martial arts. Either way, Choi Fook is considered a source of Choi Lei Fut's long-range northern characteristics like its swift, mobile footwork.
[edit] Lei Yau-San 李友山
Said to be a student of Jee Sin while others believe him to be a student of Li Sik Hoi-one of the 5 Ancestors of the Hung Mun, Lei Yau-San is known not only as a teacher of Chan Heung, and recently discovered of Jeung Hung Sing as well, but as the founder of Lei Ga (李家)[9] which, like Choi Ga, is one of the five major family styles of the southern Chinese martial arts.
Lei Ga is a middle-range style which emphasizes palm-heel strikes.
[edit] Fut Ga 佛家
Fut Gar (佛家),[10] literally "Buddha Family," specializes in palm techniques and for this reason is also known as Buddha Family Palm, Buddhist Palm, or Buddha Palm. Monk Ching Cho Woh Seung was responsible for spreading the Fut Ga system throughout Guandong. Both the left and right hand are used in attack and defense. Long and short-range footwork is employed.
[edit] Main Characteristics
As a Southern Shaolin style with Five Animal techniques, Hung Kuen is a close relative of Choi Lei Fut and is said by some Choi Lei Fut branches to be the style that Chan Yuen-Wu taught founder Chan Heung.
The stances of Choi Lei Fut are as wide as those of Hung Kuen, but higher - though not as high as those of Wing Chun - trading off some of the stability and root of Hung Kuen stances to allow more mobile footwork. In order to generate the characteristic whipping power of Choi Lei Fut, the hips and shoulders must be decoupled. Though Hung Kuen also features whipping power, particularly in its crane techniques, the hips and the shoulders are more frequently locked in the same plane, resulting in a "harder" form of power. Hung Ga and Wing Chun both hold the torso perpendicular to an opponent, to allow for the full use of both arms. By contrast, Choi Lei Fut holds the torso at an angle to the opponent to reduce the target area exposed to him.
Choi Lei Fut is a characterized as a "soft-hard", "external" style. The curriculum was designed so that anti-Qing rebels could quickly gain practical proficiency and also incorporates a wide range of weapons. Several common movements have specific sounds (kiai) associated with them—for example, "ha" when throwing punches, "yak" when launching palm strikes, "wak" when used when using a Tiger Claw and "dik" when kicking—supposedly so that friendly forces could recognize each other in battle and to force the practitioner to coordinate his breathing patterns with his movements.[citation needed]
Like many martial arts, Choi Lei Fut has diverged into several lineages that differ not only in terms of training and emphasis but also on what they see as the true history of the style.
The style has not gained popularity in mainland China and by some it is still seen as merely an amalgamation of southern and northern techniques and is not really seen as a separate style. Due to the nature of the style, it is said to be preferred by traveling merchants[citation needed] who could easily exchange techniques with others while traveling.
The popularity of Choi Lei Fut is strong in Hong Kong, Canada, the United States, and growing elsewhere,[citation needed] and in the late 20th century, the style was popularized in the Canada and the United States. It is also one of the fighting styles used by the Outworld ninja Ermac in the Mortal Kombat video game series.
Choi Lei Fut, together with Hung Gar and Wing Chun, are given the name "The Three Great Martial Art Schools of the South" because of their origin and popularity in Southern China.
[edit] Technical Aspects of 3 the branches
[edit] Chan Family
The Choy Lee Fut system has over 190 forms classified into three levels of instruction. The training includes fist and weapon form, both single and two person, wooden dummy forms for hand techniques and weapons, sand bag techniques and forms, Qi Gong, lion dance, and traditional Chinese medicine.
The external sets are harder and faster; designed with the intent of conditioning the muscles, bones, and connective tissue. The internal sets are slower and more relaxed. They were designed promote improve the health of the internal organs, improve the breathing, and improve the posture; all leading to a healthier stronger body.
[edit] Hung Sing 鴻 勝
Though still characterized by the whipping power indicative of Choi Lei Fut, the Jeung,Yim "HUNG SING" (鴻 勝) branch maintains a loose alignment between the hips and the shoulders, imparting a "looseness" to generate its power. Also known for its aggressive fighting methods such as onslaught combinations and side stance techniques, and many weapons forms because they felt this was a warfare system, the Hung Sing has a small amount of hand sets (8) in their Primary Core. They are: Taai Ji Keun (Great Fist), Ping Ji Keun (Level Fist), Tin Ji Keun (Heaven's Fist), Gok Ji Keun (Nation's Fist), Sup Ji Keun (Cross Pattern Fist), Cheung Kuen (Long fist), Lin Waan Kaau Da Kuen (Continuous Fighting Fist), and Fut Ga Jeung (Buddha's Palm) make up the original curriculum along with the additional training form Che Keun (Pulling Fist). The Wooden Dummy (Ching Jong) of Hung Sing is referred to as "Side Body Balance Dummy) due to Hung Sing being characterized as side body version by their opening salutation. Also they have a variety of both weapon and hand sparring forms to teach the usages of the system. Weapons forms are usually hidden hand forms.
[edit] Buk Sing
Founded by Tarm Sarm and Ku Yu Cheung, Northern Shaolin, Buk Sing Choy Lay Fut focused on direct combat rather than forms and weapon routines. The Buk Sing lineage features a shorter syllabus comprising only a handful of routines—Sup Jee Kuen (十字拳), Ping Kuen (平拳), Kau Da (扣打), Seung Gaap Daan Gwun (雙夾單棍)—as compared to the dozens in the syllabuses of the other branches. Buk Sing techniques are generally 'rawer' and more aggressive than their equivalents in other branches of Choi Lei Fut. In fighting the focus is on blitzing the opponent with rapid, advancing movements rather than engaging with him. One example of Tarm Sarm's approach is the "side body" (偏身) stance, which takes the idea of reducing one's exposed target area by to its logical conclusion: turning the torso 90° away from the opponent.
[edit] Notes
| Chinese | Pinyin | Yale Cantonese | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ^ Chan family Hung Sing | 洪聖 | Hóng Shèng | Hung4 Sing3 | |
| ^ Jeung,Yim(Hung Sing) | 鴻勝 | Hóng Shèng | Hung4 Sing1 | |
| ^ Chan Heung | 陳享 | Chén Xiǎng | Chan4 Heung2 | |
| ^ Chan Yuen-Wu | 陳遠護 | Chén Yuǎnhù | Chan4 Yun5 Wu6 | |
| ^ Lei Yau-San | 李友山 | Lǐ Yǒushān | Lei5 Yau5 Saan1 | |
| ^ Choi Fook | 蔡褔 | Cài Fú | Choi3 Fuk1 | |
| ^ Ging Mui | 京梅 | Jīngméi | Ging1 Mui4 | |
| ^ Jeung Yim Jeung Hung-Sing |
張炎 張鴻勝 |
Zhāng Yán Zhāng Hóngshèng |
Jeung1 Yim4 Jeung1 Hung4 Sing1 |
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| ^ Ching Cho | 青草 | Qīngcǎo | Ching1 Chou2 | literally "Green Grass," his monastic name |
| ^ Choi Ga | 蔡家 | Cài Jiā | Choi3 Ga1 | literally "Choi Family" |
| ^ Lei Ga | 李家 | Lǐ Jiā | Lei5 Ga1 | literally "Lei Family" |
| ^ Fut Ga Fut Ga Jeung Fut Jeung |
佛家 佛家掌 佛掌 |
Fó Jiā Fó Jiā Zhǎng Fó Zhǎng |
Fat1 Ga1 Fat1 Ga1 Jeung2 Fat1 Jeung2 |
Buddhist style; literally "Buddha Family" Buddhist Palm; literally "Buddha Family Palm" literally "Buddha Palm" |
[edit] Current Masters of Choi Lei Fut
Buk Sing:
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