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Choi Lei Fut

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蔡李佛
Choy Lee Fut
Pinyin: Cài Lǐ Fó
Yale Cantonese: Choi3 Lei5 Fat1
Also transliterated: Choy Li Fut
Choy Lay Fut
Choi Lei Fut
Choy Lai Fut
Choy Ley Fut
Choi Lei Faht
Tsai Li Fo

Like other southern Chinese martial arts, Choy Lee 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.

As a Southern Shaolin style with Five Animal techniques, Hung Kuen is a close relative of Choy Lee Fut and is said by some Choy Lee Fut branches to be the style that Chan Yuen-Wu taught founder Chan Heung. The stances of Choy Lee Fut are as wide as those of Hung Kuen, but higher—though not as high as those of Wing Chun, another southern Chinese martial art—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 Choy Lee 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 Gar and Wing Chun both hold the torso perpendicular to an opponent, to allow for the full use of both arms. By contrast, Choy Lee Fut holds the torso at an angle to the opponent to reduce the target area exposed to him.

Choy Lee 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, "yik" when throwing punches "Wah" was 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.

Like many martial arts, Choy Lee 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. There are three main branches of Choy Lee Fut. However, there is a fourth branch, (a third Hung Sing branch) which was run by Chan Koon Pak who used the "Heroic Victory" the line that was continued on by Chan Cheong Mo.

  • The Hung Sing (洪聖)[1] lineage of the Chan family
  • The Hung Sing (雄勝)[2] (Chan Koon Pak) lineage of Chan Cheong Mo
  • The Hung Sing (鴻勝)[3] lineage of Cheung Yim
  • The Buk Sing (北勝)[4] lineage of Tarm Sarm

The popularity of Choy Lee Fut is strong in Hong Kong, Canada, the United States, and growing elsewhere. In the late 20th century, the style was popularized in the Canada and the United States by such masters as Wong Ha (黄虾),Dino "Jew Tien Loong" Salvatera (www.hungsing.com), Doc-Fai Wong (黄德輝) http://www.plumblossom.net, Lee Koon Hung and his younger brother, Li Siu Hung http://www.leekoonhungkungfu.com, Mak Hin Fai http://www.makskungfu.com, Tat Mau Wong http://www.tatwong.com, and Paul Chan (陳郁) http://www.hongluck.org

History

Chan Heung (陳享)[5] was born in Guangdong Province, China in 1805 or 1806. His birth date according to the Fut San Hung Sing Kwoon is listed as 1815. At the age of six or seven, he began to study Kung Fu from his uncle, Chan Yuen-Wu (陳遠護),[6] a master of Southern Shaolin. So proficient as an adolescent that he could defeat any challenger from nearby villages, Chan Heung was ready to learn more. So he began training under another Southern Shaolin master, Lee Yau-San (李友山),[7] founder of Lee Gar, the Lee Family style. After only four or five years of training, it became apparent that Chan Heung was ready to move on once again. So Chan Heung set out to find Choy Fook (蔡褔),[8] who is said to have been a monk on Luofu Mountain. After several years of training under Choy Fook, Chan Heung returned to his home village of Ging Mui (京梅)[9] in the county of Xinhui.

Cheung Yim's Hung Sing "鴻勝" Choy Lee Fut lineage is slightly different to that of Chan Heung. Cheung's lineage started with Li Yao San, then on to Chan Heung, and finally Monk Ching Cho (on Mt. Pak Pai) completed Cheung Yim's training. After words Cheung Yim went on to establish his own school, and develop his gung fu his way.

The history of the Cheung Yim lineage

Cheung Yim (張炎)[10]a.k.a. Cheung Hung Sing (張鴻勝) was an orphan cared for by his uncle. At this time according to the Fut San Hung Sing Kwoon manager (Huang ShenJiang) Cheung Yim had been a disciple of Lee Ga Master Lee Yau San. When Cheung Yim was twelve, his uncle (Cheung Kwan) had obligations that meant he would no longer be able to take care of Cheung Yim.

So he took Cheung Yim to his old friend Chan Heung in the hope that Chan would be able to take the boy in as a live-in student. However, village rules forbade Chan Heung from teaching martial arts to non-family members. Unable to take care of the boy by accepting him as a student, Chan Heung instead hired Cheung Yim to do odd jobs at his martial arts school. Cheung Yim took the opportunity to observe Chan Heung’s lessons and practiced in secret what he had gleaned (cf. Yang Luchan). One night, Chan Heung came upon Cheung Yim practicing. Impressed by the boy’s motivation, Chan Heung taught him secretly for several years before the other villagers found out and expelled Cheung Yim.

So in 1831, at the age of seventeen, Cheung Yim left Ging Mui, but not before Chan Heung gave him a letter of introduction and instructions to seek out the monk Ching Cho (青草)[11] at the Zhajian Temple on Mount Bapai in Guangxi Province. Absent the distractions of secular life, Cheung Yim was able to give himself over completely to the things that the monk Ching Cho had to impart: his knowledge of Fut Gar Kung Fu Teaching Cheung Yim the "In and Out Bagua" which contained 1080 moves, and traditional Chinese medicine, a commitment to the overthrow of the foreign Manchu Qing Dynasty, and a new name, Hung-Sing ( 洪勝 / 鴻勝 -which had a double meaning of Victory to the Hung Mun), which reflected that patriotic ideal.

Monk Ching CHo was also known by a few alias', Monk Um Ging, and Cai Dezhong (Choy DakJung)but he was also well known for being one of the "5 Ancestors of the Hung Mun Secret Society. During that time many of the men in Southern China changed their names to include the name Hung (洪)to display their loyalty, and Cheung Yim's new name was very indicative of the mindset of that period.

Cheung, now Cheung Hung-Sing, returned to Chan Heung and shared with his first teacher the things he had learned from his second. Together Chan Heung and Cheung Hung Sing developed many more "new" techniques based off of the Fut Ga Cheung Yim learned. Chan Heung hired Cheung once again, this time as a teacher rather than as a menial/clandestine student, enabling Cheung to stay for the year or two until he left to open his own school in Foshan in 1839. Because it incorporated the Choy Gar style from Choy Fook, the Lee Gar style from Lee Yau-San, and the Fut Gar style from the monk Ching Cho, their new style became known as Choy Lee Fut.

Cheung Hung Sing followed the instructions of Monk Ching Cho to establish contact with the Fut San Hung Mun headquarters, where he was in charge of training Hung Mun freedom fighters. In each revolution during Cheung Hung Sing's time the Hung Sing Kwoon and its members participated in every one going back from the Opium Wars of the 1840's, all the way up to 1949.

At the time of the Tai Ping Rebellion there were many Hung Sing Kwoon's flourishing in Fut San. In 1851, Cheung Hung Sing officially established and organized all the Hung Sing Kwoons and prepared them to go into battle. In 1864 the Manchu ordered the capture of Cheung Hung Sing and his students who all fled throughout the countryside. Cheung Hung Sing escaped into Hong Kong and returned to re-open his Hung Sing Kwoon in 1867.

Many of Cheung Yim's famous disciples were Yuen Hai, Lui Chun, Chun Mien, Wong Say, Li So, Cheung Sam Bing, Wong Fook, Lee Yan, and of course Chan Ngau Sing. In 1893, after returning home from his travels, Cheung Hung Sing fell ill, and ultimately passed away leaving Chan Ngau Sing as his 1st successor.

As the next head master of the Fut San Hung Sing Kwoon Chan Ngau Sing (1864-1926)took their school to new heights. In all of Southern China, the Fut San Hung Sing Kwoon was the largest and most structured martial arts schools with more than 13 branches and students numbering over 10,000. Until his own death, Chan Ngau Sing always taught all of his students personally. Some of his more famous disciples included Qian Wei Fang,Liang Hui Hua, Wu Qin, all became well known revolutionaries including martyrs for their cause, presidents and chairman of various labor organizations such as the Hair Cutters Trade Unions, Restaurant Unions, Farmers Unions, and so on.

Revolutionary Martyr Wu Qin for his valiant efforts in blowing up an enemy ship by swimming out to the boat earned him a position as Dr. Sun Yat Sen's personal bodyguard. He along with other Chan Ngau Sing's disciples were heavily involved with CPC (Communist Party of China) and the Fut San Labor movement. The Koumingtan was responsible the assassination of Wu Qin who was travelling by boat when he, his wife and bodyguard were gunned down. In or around 1939 at the time of the Japanese Invasion an ancestral tablet was discovered that listed Monk Ching Cho's name on it.

Finally in 1949 the Fut San Hung Sing Kwoon was again forced to shut its doors and cease practicing martial arts. However, this only caused the Fut San Hung Sing Kwoon to go underground with their training. Still, in the 1950's Premier Zhou En Lai instructed Hung Sing Kwoon student Chen Yilin to write an Article calling it "The 100 years beginning to end of the Fut San Hung Sing Kwoon" and Chen was also instructed to include the Green Grass Monk's name in it. Other written articles that tell of the Hung Sing Kwoon history can be found in the Historical Account of Guandong's Martial Arts.

From 1949 to around 1998 the Fut San Hung Sing Kwoon remained quiet. Then in October of 2001 the Fut San held the 150th Anniversary of the Fut San Hung Sing Kwoon in which members from all over the world came to celebrate.

The history of the Chan Family lineage

The traditions of the Chan Family lineage maintains Chan Heung, the founder, spent 20 years learning his art from his three mentors: Chan Yeun Wu, Lee Yau Shan and monk Choy Fook, before combining his knowledge into one effective and comprehensive system. Chan Heung called it Choy Lee Fut to commemorate his teachers and the Buddhist origin of the art (Fut means Buddha in Cantonese). Please visit http://www.clfsd.com/hist.html for more information.


The three sources of Choy Lee Fut

Choy Fook 蔡褔

Depending on the branch of Choy Lee Fut, Choy Fook is said to have been a master either of Northern Shaolin or of Choy Gar (蔡家),[12] which was created by Choy Gau-Yee and is said to have the longest range of the five major family styles of the southern Chinese martial arts.

Either way, Choy Fook is considered a source of Choy Lee Fut's long-range northern characteristics like its swift, mobile footwork.

Choy Fook is said to have been a descendant of Choy Gar founder Choy Gau-Yee, possibly his son.

Lee 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, Lee Yau-San is known not only as a teacher of Chan Heung, and recently discovered of Cheung Hung Sing as well, but as the founder of Lee Gar (李家)[13] which, like Choy Gar, is one of the five major family styles of the southern Chinese martial arts.

The prominence of the leopard punch hand formation within Choy Lee Fut may be the influence of Lee Gar, a middle-range style which emphasizes leopard techniques.

Fut Gar 佛家

Fut Gar (佛家),[14] 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 Woe Serng was responsible for spreading the Fut Gar system throughout Guandong. Both the left and right hand are used in attack and defense. Long and short-range footwork is employed.

Technical characteristics of different branches

The Chan Family branch

Chan Family Choy Lee Fut emphasizes a soft, loose, flexible waist and faces the opponent at an angle to reduce the target area exposed.

The Cheung Yim branch

Though still characterized by the whipping power indicative of Choy Lee Fut, the Cheung Yim branch maintains a closer alignment between the hips and the shoulders, imparting a "hardness" to its power, though not to the extent of Hung Kuen.

The Buk Sing branch

Because it split off from the Cheung Yim lineage before founder Tarm Sarm could complete his training, 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.

The incompleteness of Tarm Sarm's training did nothing to diminish his fighting prowess. As such, the emphasis of Buk Sing Choy Lee Fut on combat rather than routines reflects the proclivities and training of its founder.

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 turning the torso to its logical conclusion: turning the torso 90° away from the opponent.

Notes

  Chinese Pinyin Yale Cantonese  
^ Chan family Hung Sing 洪聖 Hóng Shèng Hung4 Sing3
^ Chan Cheong Mo Hung Sing 雄勝 Xióng Shèng Hung4 Sing1
^ Cheung Yim Hung Sing 鴻勝 Hóng Shèng Hung4 Sing1
^ Buk Sing 北勝 Běi Shèng Bak1 Sing1
^ Chan Heung 陳享 Chén Xiǎng Chan4 Heung2
^ Chan Yuen-Wu 陳遠護 Chén Yuǎnhù Chan4 Yun5 Wu6
^ Lee Yau-San 李友山 Lǐ Yǒushān Lei5 Yau5 Saan1
^ Choy Fook 蔡褔 Cài Fú Choi3 Fuk1
^ Ging Mui 京梅 Jīngméi Ging1 Mui4
^ Cheung Yim
Cheung Hung-Sing 		張炎
張鴻勝		 Zhāng Yán
Zhāng Hóngshèng		 Jeung1 Yim4
Jeung1 Hung4 Sing1
^ Ching Cho 青草 Qīngcǎo Ching1 Chou2 literally "Green Grass," his monastic name
^ Chan Cheong Mo 陈长毛 Chén Cháng Maó Chan4 Cheong1 Moo1
^ Lui Charn 雷粲 Léi Càn Leui4 Chaan3
^ Tarm Sarm 譚三 Tán Sān Taam4 Saam1
^ Choy Gar 蔡家 Cài Jiā Choi3 Ga1 literally "Choy Family"
^ Lee Gar 李家 Lǐ Jiā Lei5 Ga1 literally "Lee Family"
^ Fut Gar
Fut Gar 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"

Masters of Choy Lee Fut

Chan Family branch

Chan Cheong Mo branch

Cheung Yim branch

Buk Sing branch

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