Choy Li Fut

Overview

Choy Li Fut 蔡李佛 (cai li fo) is a martial arts system founded in 1836 by Chan Heung 陳享. Choy Li Fut was named to honor the Buddhist monk Choy Fook 蔡褔 (cai fu) who taught him Choy Gar, Li Yau-San 李友山 who taught him Li Gar, and his uncle Chan Yuen-Wu 陳遠護 who taught him Fut Gar, to honor the Buddha from which the art was named.

It is a powerful and dynamic martial art that combines techniques from various Northern and Southern Chinese kung-fu systems; the powerful arm and hand techniques from the Shaolin animal forms from the South, combined with the extended, circular movements, twisting body, and agile footwork that characterizes Northern China's martial arts. It is a characterized as a external style, combining soft and hard techniques as well as incorporating a wide range of weapons as part of its curriculum. Choy Li Fut is an effective self defense system and contains a wide variety of techniques, including long and short range punches, kicks, sweeps and take downs, pressure point attacks, joint locks, and grappling.

"Choy Li Fut is the most effective system that I've seen for fighting more than one person and is one of the most difficult styles to attack and defend against. It is the only style (of kung fu) that went to Thailand to fight the Thai boxers and hadn't lost" - Bruce Lee

The Founder Chan Heung

Chan Heung 陳享 was born on August 23, 1806 (7 moon 10th day of 1806 of the lunar calendar), in King Mui 京梅 (Jing Mei), a village in the San Woi 新會 (Xin Hui) district of Guangdong 廣東 province. He is also known as Din Ying 典英 and Daht Ting 逹庭.

At age seven, his uncle Chan Yuen-Wu 陳遠護 a famous boxer from the Shaolin temple in Fujian 褔建, China started teaching him Fut Gar 佛家, literally "Buddha Family," which specializes in palm techniques and for this reason is also known as Buddhist Palm. When Chan Heung was fifteen Chan Yuen-Wu took him to Li Yau-San 李友山, Chan Yuen-Wu's senior classmate from the Southern Shaolin temple.

According to legend, the monk Gee Sin Sim See 至善禪師 is said to have been one of the legendary Five Elders; Ng Mui五梅大師, Fung Doe Duk 馮道德, Miu Hin 苗顯 and Bak Mei 白眉道人; who survived the destruction of the Shaolin Temple sometime during the late Qing Dynasty.

The founders of the five major family styles of Southern Chinese martial arts; Hung Gar, Choy Gar, Mok Gar, Li Gar and Lau Gar, were respectively, Hung Hei-Gun 洪熙官, Choy Gau Yee 蔡九儀, Mok Da Si (Mok Ching-Kiu) 莫清矯, Lau Sam-Ngan 劉三眼, and Li Yau-San 李友山; and all are said to have been students of Gee Sin Sim See 至善禪師.

Chan Heung spent the next four years learning the Li Gar style under Li Yau-San's instruction.

Impressed with Chan Heung's martial arts abilities Li Yau-San suggested he then train with a Shaolin monk called Choy Fook 蔡褔 to learn Choy Gar, a Northern Shaolin style, as well as Chinese medicine and other Shaolin techniques.

Choy Fook had learned his martial arts from Choy Gau Yee, the founder of Choy Gar.

Choy Fook 蔡褔 lived as a recluse on Lau Fu 羅浮山 mountain and no longer wished to teach martial arts. Chan Heung set out to Lau Fu mountain to find him. Choy Fook, had been the seriously burned and his head had healed with scars. This gave him the nickname "Monk with the Wounded Head 爛頭和尙". Using that description, Chan Heung eventually located the monk and handed him a letter of recommendation from Li Yau-San 李友山. However, Chan Heung was disappointed when Choy Fook turned him down. After much begging Choy Fook agreed to take the young man as a student but only to study Buddhism.

One morning, when Chan Heung 陳享 was practicing his kung fu, Choy Fook 蔡褔 pointed to a heavy rock and told him to kick it into the air. Chan Heung exerted all of his strength as his foot crashed against the rock, sending it twelve feet away. Instead of being complimented, Choy Fook placed his own foot under the heavy rock and effortlessly propelled it through the air. Chan Heung was awestruck by this demonstration. Again he begged Choy Fook to teach him his martial arts. This time the monk agreed, and for nine years Choy Fook taught Chan Heung both the way of Buddhism and the way of martial arts.

When he was twenty-eight, Chan Heung 陳享 left Choy Fook and returned to King Mui village in 1834, where he revised and refined all that he had learned. In 1835 Choy Fook gave Chan Heung advice in the from a a special poem known as a double couplet.

龍虎風雲會,   The dragon and tiger met as the wind and the cloud.

徒兒好自爲,   My disciple, you must take good care of your future.

重光少林術,   To revive the arts of Shaolin,

世代毋相遺.   Don't let the future generations forget about this teaching.

In 1836 he formally established the Choy Li Fut system, named to honor the Buddhist monk Choy Fook 蔡褔 who taught him Choy Gar, Li Yau-San 李友山 who taught him Li Gar, and his uncle Chan Yuen-Woo 陳遠護 who taught him Fut Gar, to honor the Buddha from which the art was named.

Chan Heung set up the first Choy Li Fut martial arts school at the local family temple of his village. As his reputation spread, hundreds of people from nearby villages came to learn Choy Li Fut. Shortly after Chan Heung established his new school, the Opium Wars broke out in China. Chan Heung joined the army in Canton to fight against the British invaders. After China's defeat in 1842, he returned home to his family in King Mui.

Political corruption within the Manchurian-controlled Ching dynasty 清朝 had contributed to China's defeat. Between 1847 and 1850 many Chinese leaders formed secret societies to combat the Ching. Under the leadership of Hong Xiu-Quan 洪秀全, the Triad Rebellion broke out against the Imperial forces in Guangxi 廣西. Hong's rebels defeated the Imperial troops in 1850 and for the next two decades the Tai Ping Tian Guo 太平天國 kingdom ruled the Han Chinese people.

Expansion of the System

During this era, Chan Heung 陳享 left his home in King Mui with his wife and two children, and seized the opportunity to set up many Choy Li Fut 蔡李佛 schools in Southern China to help spread revolutionary ideas against the Manchu government. He gave his followers a special signal for future battlefield reunions: Whoever belonged to the Choy Li Fut system would cry out "yak" when striking with the palm, "wak" when thrusting with a tiger claw hand, "ha" when striking with the fist, "sik" when striking using a backfist, and "dik" when kicking.

Chan Heung had eighteen original Choy Li Fut 蔡李佛 disciples, known as the eighteen Lohan 十八羅漢. In 1848, the original eighteen started branching out to teach Choy Li Fut throughout Southern China. The first disciple to teach Choy Li Fut outside of King Mui was Lung Ji-Choi 龍子才, who opened a school in the town of Xunzhou 潯州 in Guangxi 廣西 province. Soon after, Chan Din-Foon 陳典桓 initiated the first Hung Sing Choy Li Fut school in Fut San 佛山 (Foshan).

Some of the other original eighteen disciples who promoted the new kung fu system were: Chan Din-Yao 陳典尤 in Nan Hai 南海; Chan Dai-Yup 陳大揖 in Guangzhou 廣州; Chan Din-Sing 陳典承 in Zhongshan 中山; Chan Mau-Jong 陳謀莊 in Panyu 番禺; Chan Din-Bong 陳典邦 in Dong Guan 東莞; Chan Din-Wai 陳典惠 in Kaiping 開平; Chan Din-Jen 陳典珍 in Taishan 台山; Chan Sun-Dong 陳孫棟 in Enping 恩平; Chan Din-Dak 陳典德 at Heshan 鶴山; Chan Dai-Wai 陳大威 in Zhaoqing 肇慶; Chan Sing-Hin 陳承顯 in Xinhuicheng 新會城; Chan Yin-Yu 陳燕瑜at Jiangmen 江門. And admirable tasks were performed by Chan Dai-Sing 陳大成, Chan Din-Seng 陳典勝, Chan Mau-Wing 陳謀榮 , and Chan Din-Gung 陳典拱, who taught Choy Li Fut in twenty-six villages in the King Mui 京梅 area.

Historically all Choy Li Fut schools ultimately have the same origins, but because of the anti-Manchu government revolutions of the mid-1800s and the ensuing chaotic political situations that existed in China, various name changes and changes in leadership created the belief that there were two completely separate Hung Sing Choy Li Fut schools.

The Hung Moon 洪門 political party represented all revolutionary factions, including all Choy Li Fut representatives. Choy Li Fut schools chose to write the name of their schools in various ways to hide their affiliation with the outlawed Hung Moon 洪門 political party and to protect themselves from government persecution.

Many Choy Li Fut schools had a secret slogan during these times: "Hung 洪 Ying 英 Ji 至 Sing 聖 ; Ying英 Hung 雄 Wing 永 Sing 勝. " This translates as: "Heroes of the Hung Party are superior; Heroes always win." Chan Heung's followers adopted two words of the motto as their secret passwords “Hung Sing 洪勝” which meant "Hung Party wins" but because that was too close to the outlawed Hung Moon Party name, they changed the Chinese characters which sounds the same as Hung Sing 鴻勝, but when written means "goose winning".

Chan Heung's son, Koon-Pak 官伯, changed the Chinese character Hung 鴻 to Hung 雄 meaning "strong." From that time on, Choy Li Fut schools in Koon Pak's King Mui area designated themselves with the slogan Hung Sing 雄勝, meaning "Strong Winning," while the Fut San schools kept their "goose winning" Hung Sing 鴻勝 motto.

Fut San was a hot bed of political activities. There was a strong Manchu presence in Fut San, and battles between the Manchu government and the Hung Moon members were bloody and frequent. The Fut San Choy Li Fut School opened in 1848 under Chan Din-Foon 陳典桓 utilized the name "Hung Sing Kwoon 鴻勝舘" (using the "Hung 鴻" character that means goose) to avoid associating themselves with the Hung Moon 洪門 political party and to protect themselves from government persecution.

In 1850, Triad rebels under the leadership of Hong Xiu-Quan 洪秀全, broke out against the Imperial forces in Guangxi 廣西. Hong's rebels defeated the Imperial troops and for the next two decades the Tai Ping Tian Guo 太平天國 kingdom ruled the Han Chinese. When the Tai Ping Tian Guo government fell in 1864, the Manchu government regained power again.

The Fut San Hung Sing branch was extremely popular and this worried the Manchu government supporters as well as created intense rivalries between martial arts schools. Rumors and gossip of the school being affiliated with the Hung Moon 洪門 political party created even more tension between the Manchu controlled local government and the school. Originally, started by Chan Din-Foon around 1848, the school flourished up to the time of his death.

In 1867, Chan Heung believed that Jeong Yim 張炎, was the most capable student to be Chan Din-Foon's successor and was an opportune time to rebuild the Fut San 佛山 (Foshan) Hung Sing branch. Soon rumors and gossip spread quickly that the Fut San Hung Sing branch was going to be reopened by a hero named Jeong Yim.

The Manchu government quickly sent soldiers to try and shut down the school. Because the survival of the Fut San Hung Sing Choy Li Fut school depended on training fighters quickly and efficiently, initially Jeong Yim limited the number of forms he taught to just a handful. Enough to provide the students with all the proper techniques, including a few weapon forms. This ensured the survival of the school. Because Jeong Yim concentrated on teaching combat skills, some of the best CLF fighters came from the Fut San Hung Sing branch. As the school became more established, Jeong Yim would further educate his students with more advanced forms and techniques. Because of early combat training and the reputation Jeong Yim gained for reopening the school, the Fut San Hung Sing Choy Li Fut school soon became known as the Jeong Hung Sing school of CLF.

Jeong Yim

Few authenticated facts are known about Jeong Yim but according to statements made by Chan Ngau-Sing, the author Nim Fut San Yen created a popular fictional story written during the period to increase the awareness of CLF. The story was called Fut San Hung Sing Kwoon.

Chan Ngau-SIng knew the author personally. One can speculate that the story was most likely written to bolster the notoriety of the new successor to the Futsan school and to rekindle the spirit of revolution. The story may have had the desired impact at the time but the unforeseen consequences of it can be see throughout web sites of CLF schools who took the story as factual.

Jeong Yim's actual birth and death dates are not confirmed, but it is rumored that he lived between 33 to 69 years of age. Jeong Yim's parents were killed when he was young and he was placed under the care of his uncle. According to some versions of history, when Jeong Yim was older, his uncle could no longer take care of him so they asked Chan Heung if he could take him in. Other versions say that Jeong Yim was Chan Din Foon's senior student and when the Fut San School fell, he continued his training with Chan Heung.

Unfortunately, all of this is not officially documented. No written historic records can be found about Jeong Yim. According to the Chan Family History Book, (the "Big Book") the only historically documented fact showing a relationship between Chan Heung and Jeong Yim is the date of 1867, when Jeong Yim was sent to reopen the Fut San school as the successor to Chan Din-Foon.

The King Mui / Chan Family CLF Branch

This branch retains the name of the founder's family name and the city where Chan Heung officially started teaching Choy Li Fut in 1836.

Documentation on this lineage can be traced through Doc-Fai Wong 黄德輝. His teacher Hu Yuen-Chou 胡雲綽, studied with Chan Ngau-Sing 陳吽盛 from the age of nine at the Fut San Hung Sing School. When Hu Yuen-Chou 胡雲綽 was 16 years old, his family moved to Guangzhou 廣州.

Chan Ngau-Sing wrote a letter to recommend Hu Yuen-Chou 胡雲綽 to learn from Chan Heung's grandson Chan Yiu-Chi 陳耀墀. Hu Yuen-Chou 胡雲綽 spent more than 20 years training with Chan Yiu-Chi 陳耀墀 and became one of the famous four instructors known as the “Four Great Heavenly Kings 四大天王” of Choy Li Fut in Guangzhou.

This lineage or branch is called King Mui 京梅, because the founder’s family came from the King Mui village. The Chan family members call this branch the "Chan Family" branch, because it is the teaching from Chan Yiu-Chi, grandson of the founder.

The Fut San / Hung Sing CLF Branch

The Fut San Hung Sing branch was started by Chan Din-Foon in 1848. Jeong Yim was the successor to the school in 1867. When Jeong Yim 張炎 died, his successor was Chan Ngau-Sing 陳吽盛.

Wong Say 黄四 and Yuen Hai 阮系were students of Jeong Yim.

Yuen Hai was Lau Bun 劉彬's teacher. Chan Bing-Tong 陳炳棠, Jew Leong 周亮，E.Y. Lee 李日華 and Doc-Fai Wong 黄德輝 were all students of Lau Bun.

Chin Wai Fong 錢維方, Tong Sek 湯錫 and Hu Yuen Chou 胡雲綽 were students of Chan Ngau-Sing. Ho Churng was a student of Chin Wai-Fong and Tong Sek. Ho Cherk Wa 何焯華 is the son of Ho Churng 何祥 and student of Ho Yee 何儀.

Dino Jew Salvatera was a student of Chan Bing-Tong, Jew Leong and Ho Cherk Wah. Frank McCarthy is a student of Dino Jew Salvatera and Lok Gee Hung 骆志洪.

This branch is called the Fut San 佛山 lineage because it is from the Hung Sing School of Fut San city, Guangdong 廣東 province. The Bak Sing CLF also belongs to this branch. Some people also refer to this branch as the Hung Sing branch or the Jeong Hung Sing branch.

The Jiangmen 江門 or Kong Chow 岡州 CLF Branch

In 1898, Chan Cheong-Mo 陳長毛 founded the Sei Yup (four counties) Hung Sing School in Kong Chow 岡州 City now called Jiang Men. He learned Choy Li Fut from Chan Heung when he was a child. After Chan Heung passed away, he continued to study from his eldest son, Chan On-Pak 陳安伯. He invited Chan On Pak's younger brother Chan Koon Pak to be the head instructor and assisted in teaching Choy Li Fut at the school.

In 1906, Chan Koon Pak went to Canton (Guangzhou) and Chan Cheong Mo officially took over the school and became the head instructor of the Jiang Men's Hung Sing School. Before Chan Cheong Mo past away in 1953, his adopted son and successor Chew Kam Wing was appointed to be the keeper and head instructor of the Hung Sing School in Jiang Men city.

Chew Kam Wing taught in the Jiang Men Hung Sing School until the Chinese government banned traditional kung fu teaching. All of his students eventually stopped practicing and no longer taught Choy Li Fut. Chew Kam Wing taught his sons Choy Li Fut privately; unfortunately his sons were not up to the standard that was required for passing down the traditional teaching.

Only few of the senior students of Chan Cheong Mo are still alive in China and around the world. In Jiang Men city, there are Wong Kan Fu, Lui Sieh Gen and the old keeper Chew Kam Wing. In Canada, Yan Jun Ho was teaching in Vancouver's Chinatown for over 30 years and he also retired from teaching Kung Fu.

Wong Gong was born in 1928 and he is a native of Jiang Men city. He studied kung fu with his father as a child and later became a disciple of Chan Cheong Mo. With his teacher Chan Cheong Mo's permission, he continued his studies from Chan Yen, the chief instructor of King Mui Village's Hung Sing School.

Chan Yen learned Choy Li Fut from his father Chan Yau Kau who was a student of Chan Heung. In 1949, the communists took over mainland China. Before Wong Gong moved to Hong Kong both of his teachers told him to continue teaching in order to keep the Choy Li Fut system alive.

In Hong Kong only Wong Gong is still actively involved in teaching Choy Li Fut. Chew Kam Wing now is in his mid 80's and he and his fellow classmates had a meeting and all agreed that he should pass on his Keeper's position to Wong Gong.

All the senior members of Chan Cheong Mo's students believed Wong Gong had achieved the greatest success in the teaching of Choy Li Fut. On February 16, 2006, Chew Kam Wing officially signed the certificate of Jeong Moon Yen to Wong Gong as the new keeper of the Sei Yup Hung Sing School.

Doc-Fai Wong is a student of Wong Gong. Wong Gong named his lineage Kong Chow 岡州 (Gangzhou) because in the old days, the district of Choy Li Fut’s hometown Xin Hui 新会 and Jiangmen were called Kong Chow 岡州 before the Republic of China. This branch or lineage is called Jiangmen or Kong Chow.

The Bak Sing CLF Branch

The Bak Sing 北勝 branch of Choy Li Fut 蔡李佛 can also be traced back to Jeong Yim 張炎 in Fut San. Jeong Yim's primary students were Chan Ngau Sing, Yuan Hai, Tam Lup, Lee Yan and Lui Charn (Chaun)雷粲. Lui Charn had a student named Tam Sam 譚三 (Tarm Sarm).

Tam Sam was originally a Hung Gar master and wanted to further his martial arts skill by learning CLF. He then became a student of Lui Charn. Due to an unfortunate incident between Tam Sam and another students, Lui Charn had no choice but to expel Tam Sam from the CLF school before he learned more forms. Thus in the Bak Sing lineage, there are only 3 CLF hand forms, one staff form, one mook jong form, and in later years, an original Bak Sing CLF form he created.

After his expulsion, Tam Sam asked some of Lui Charn's student to help open a new CLF branch in Guangzhuo, Siu Bak 小北 (little north) district and called it Siu Bak Hung Sing Choi Li Fut. Eventually it was shortened to Bak Sing Choy Li Fut. Tam Sam’s students referred to themselves as the Bak Sing branch of Choy Li Fut. A Northern Shaolin master of the Iron Palm named Ku Yu Jeung befriended and joined Tam Sam and thus added more techniques to the Bak Sing CLF curriculum.

What makes Bak Sing CLF a unique branch is that it concentrates on the application of CLF techniques rather than the practice of forms. Because the emphasis is on combat applications, the Bak Sing style, in the tradition of the Jeong Hung Sing, has produced many excellent CLF fighters.

From the Bak Sing CLF branch, Lee Chou, Kong On, and Lung Tse Cheung were students of Tam Sam. Kong On also learned from Chow Loong - the founder of Chow Gar, and Ku Yu Jeung. Kong Hing learned from his father Kong On. Li Hung was a student of Lai Chou and Lung Tse Cheung. Law Wing Sung was a student both Kong Hing and Li Hung, and Shane Lacey is son and student of his father Vince Lacey or Lay Wing Sang.

Death of the Founder

When the Tai Ping Tian Guo 太平天國 government fell in 1864, Chan Heung 陳享 left China for a few years, some say to America and other locations such as Malaysia and Singapore. At age fifty-nine he became the martial arts teacher for the Chan Family Association overseas. In 1867, Chan Heung returned home to King Mui, where he was able to see his own kung fu system gain tremendous popularity throughout Southern China. On the lunar calendar 8th moon 20, 1875, at the age of sixty-nine, Chan Heung died. He was buried in the village of King Mui.

After Chan Heung's death, his Choy Li Fut 蔡李佛 legacy passed on to his two sons, Chan On-Pak 陳安伯 and Chan Koon-Pak 陳官伯. Chan On-Pak the oldest brother, was born in 1839. His specialty was the spear. Chan On-Pak's control of the spear was so advanced that he gained the nickname yet "Cheung Ng Mui Fa" 一槍五梅花 or "Five Blossoms with One Lance."

In 1894, two of Chan On-Pak's students, Cheng Si-Leung 鄭士良 and Chan Siu-Bak 陳少白, helped the Tongmenghui, the revolutionary forces of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen 孫逸仙 fight against the communists and lay the foundation of the Republic of China (Taiwan). The younger son, Chan Koon Pak, left King Mui to become a merchant in Kong Moon 江門市(Jiangmen) City, where his fame as a martial artist spread quickly. He soon had no time to spend as a merchant and devoted all of his efforts teaching Choy Li Fut. In later years Chan Koon Pak established another large Choy Li Fut training center in Guangzhou 廣州.