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Choy Li Fut
Cha Chuan And Muslim SystemsCha Chuan is a style of martial art that was developed by Muslims in China. Over ten centuries ago, China became home to ..... Master Chan Heung, Founder
The originator of Choy Li Fut is Master Chan Heung. Born in the Chinese province of Kwant-Tung on July 10 1806, Chan Heung started practicing Gung Fu when he was only seven. An uncle who had trained in the Shaolin temple taught Gung Fu to Chan Heung. Because Chan Heung was psychologically and physically mature for his age, he was quick to advance in the martial arts. Eight years later, when he was only 15, Chan Heung became the prominent boxer in his area.
At 17, Chan Heung trained under his uncle's senior classmate, Li Yau Shan, a Shaolin master. It only took Chan a few years to assimilate all of Master Li's teachings. Master Li came to Chan Heung one day and said to him, "Your uncle and I spent 20 years in the Shaolin temple. It is unbelievable how you could master all that we know in only half that time. Any further instruction will need to come directly from a Shaolin priest. But most of these monks have disappeared from the area. The only one I know of is a wandering priest named Choy Fok. Unfortunately, he is leading a life of seclusion and does not like to be bothered."
Chan Heung's thirst for more knowledge prompted him to look for the wandering monk. He set foot to Mount Lau Foo and searched for the Shaolin priest until he found him. Chan Heung had a letter of introduction with him, which he passed to Choy Fok. After the Shaolin priest finished reading the letter, he said to Chan Heung, "I gave up practicing martial arts a long time ago. So if you have come here to acquire skill and strength in boxing, I'm afraid that I cannot help you. I am just too old. The remaining years of my life are being devoted to a thorough research of Buddhism. You may stay and study our religion together if you wish." Chan Heung was neither troubled nor discouraged by the Shaolin priest's words. Instead he went down on his knees and humble accepted the monk's invitation to become Buddha's follower.
Chan Heung devoted most of his time to studying Buddhism. However, his interest in the martial arts remained. He practiced the Shaolin style of fighting that he learned during his free time. Story has it that one early morning, Chan was practicing in a thickly wooded field. He was doing foot sweeps against bamboo stumps and kicking rocks up into the air and shattering them to pieces as they fell. Without warning, the Shaolin priest Choy Fok appeared and asked, "Is that all you can do?" Choy Fok pointed to a 60-lb rock not far away and said to Chan, "Try your best to kick it up." Chan gathered all his power and swept his foot against the rock, sending it into the air. Chan was proud of his achievement and waited for the Shaolin priest to praise him. The praise never came. Instead, Choy Fok quietly and calmly walked over to another heavy rock and swept his right foot under it. The Shaolin priest spun around in an agile and flowing motion and sent the rock flying. The rock landed more than 12 feet away from where it had originally been.
Chan Heung realized that the Shaolin priest had powers that were super-normal. Chan implored the monk to teach him Gung Fu. Choy Fok had seen Chan Heung's perseverance and was pleased with Chan Heung's display of character and patience over the year so he took on Chan Heung as a student. Choy Fok taught Chan Heung everything he knew about Gung Fu in eight years that followed.
When Chan Heung was 29, he bade goodbye to Choy Fok and started his way back to his native village. He analyzed all the things that the monk taught him over the years as well as those that Master Li taught him. It was in 1835 that Chan Heung established a new art of fighting. He named his system after his two teachers, Cho and Li. Its suffix, Fut, means "Buddha," and he added it to the name as a sign of reverence to the Shaolin temple where his teachers had come from. Chan Heung became known as a boxing expert and his fame soon spread throughout the land. The village elders persuaded Chan Heung to build a school in a nearby temple and teach Choy Li Fut.
About Choy Li Fut
One of the most potent styles of Wushi, Choy Li Fut is a martial art that relies heavily on powerful hand and arm techniques. Choy Li Fut also has elements of eastern medicine and philosophy. Choy Li Fut has four main hand techniques namely, the straight punch, the back fist, the uppercut and the hook punch. The focus of Choy Li Fut is learning through the practice of its forms, specifically hands and weapons forms. Most of these forms have anywhere between 100 and 300 movements. Swiftness, balance and strength are three vital components of Choy Li Fut. This particular style of Wushu merges hard and soft fighting techniques, and many full contact fighters follow this system. In addition to the hand techniques, Choy Li Fut practitioners are also taught many weapons techniques such as double hook swords, staff and the nine-dragon trident, which is unique to Choy Li Fut.
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