CLF Schools

[extrajoseph]

Choy Lee Fut, Choy Li Fut, Choi Lei Fut, Choy Lay Fat, etc. (CLF) Schools

In CLF there are 4 main branches or schools:

1) Hung Sing, meaning Great Sage. This was the name of Chan Heung’s first school in King Mui Village. This is the eldest branch and is still being maintained by Chan Heung’s descendants.

2) Hung Sing – It has the same sounds as above but has different characters meaning Heroic Victory. This branch was passed down by Chan Heung outside King Mui Village, other than Cheung Ah Yim’s lineage.

3) Hung Sing – Again it has the same sounds but different characters and this time meaning Grand Victory. This branch was passed down by Cheung Ah Yim (or Cheung Yim) who went to Fatshan to set up his school there. Cheung was an outstanding disciple of Chan Heung.

4) Buk Sing – Meaning Northern Victory. This branch was passed down by Tam Sam in Siu Buk district of Guangzhou (Canton or Kwongchow), hence called Buk Sing. This branch was the youngest of the four mentioned.

Nowadays, there are break-away schools such as Buk Sing Fut Gar and Tsoi Li Ho Fut Hung which do not have the name CLF in their titles at all but nevertheless they all acknowledge their lineage to Chan Heung, the founder of CLF.

Please let me know if you can think of other branches that I have left out. Also, just for interest, how many ways are CLF written in English?

[premier]

Yes. I think those are the main branches in Northern America, but Chan Heung's great great grandson, Chan Yong Fa lives in Australia and has branch of his own, which is known in USA as "Chan Family Choy lee fut". There's a lot of schools of that branch in Europe, South America, and some even in USA.

[Kung Lek]

hi Joseph.

Tsoi Li Ho and Cai Li Fo actually are romanizations of the words Choy Li Fut.

Bak Sing Fut Gar also uses the name Choy Li Fut or is used in tandem with the Choy Li Fut name IE: he practices Bak Sing Fut Gar, a style of Choy Li Fut.

peace

Kung Lek

[Fu-Pow2]

Howdy...just curious which branch do you belong to? And also do you know which one Wong Ha belongs to?

[extrajoseph]

Fu-Pow2,

Wong Ha is a very well respected teacher from Hong Kong who is now living in Canada. He was a student of Chan Yiu-Chi (Grandson of Chan Heung) and Tong Shek (Student of Chan Yiu-Chi) so he can be considered part Great Sage and part Heroic Victory Hung Sing. I came from a similar back ground but one and two generations behind.

Chan Yong-Fa is pure Great Sage Hung Sing since he is the great great grandson of Chan Heung. His small group of indoor disciples called themselves Wing Sing Tong (Hall of Everlasting Victory), a name given by Chan Heung to his family. Some called it Chan Family CLF to highlight their lineage, they all mean the same thing.

Josep

[extrajoseph]

Kung Lek,

I can understand Cai Li Fo being a Pinyin romanization for CLF, what dialect is Tsoi Li Ho and what is "Fut Hung" stand for?

Most of the romanizations for CLF are based on various Cantonese dialects and I am aware that different people want to use different romanizations to set themselves apart.

Joseph

[premier]

Thanks for the information. Very interesting. Does this mean, you're Great sage hung sing branch yourself?

[extrajoseph]

primier,

I studied with teachers from both Great Sage and Heroic Victory Hung Sing so I know a little above both, they are very similar but Great Sage has more weapon and fist forms and more internal Lian Kung (training exercise) techniues like Tai Gig Kung (some called it Luohan Qigong) and Noi Nim Sou Fa (Inner Sticky Hands - close fighting with chin na and take downs) etc. They also have a lot of Wooden Dummy stuff that other schools do not have.

Joseph

[iron_silk]

Since Wong Ha also learned from Chan Yiu-Chi (the grandson of Chan Heung) then shouldn't his style also be considered of Family style?

I mean I assume Chan Yong-Fa also came through Chan Yiu-Chi as with Fu Hang Ng (I am sorry if the spelling is incorrect)

I was just curious, thank you!

[iron_silk]

I meant to address the message to Joseph...sorry about that!

[extrajoseph]

Wong Ha only learned from Chan Yiu-Chi for a short time, most of the time he was with Tong Shek in Hong Kong, but you could say he is part of Chan family lineage.

Joseph

[iron_silk]

if Tong Shek was Wong Ha's senior, then wouldn't Tong Shek's master be Chan Yiu Chi?

and do you mind if I ask how come you know so much about Wong Ha?

[extrajoseph]

If you read my earlier postings, I have given you the answers already.

Have a nice day.

[iron_silk]

oh yes I see that now...so then how does it make Wong Ha part Heroic victory? is it from Tong Shek that it is so?

Thank you for your patience.

[extrajoseph]

In the past, although Hong Kong and Kwongchow (Guangzhou) is only a short distance away, they are like 2 foreign countries especially during the Cultural Revolution. It was not easy nor desirable to keep in touch. Both these old masters left China very early (Tong Shek is no longer with us), so they have lost contact with Chan Yiu-Chi for a large part of their life. Meanwhile they kept on studying and refining their art with others but still regard Chan Yiu-Chi as their teacher, hence I say they are part Great Sage and part Heroic Victory Hung Sing.

Protocol in traditional Chinese martial arts required us to be more subtle in flushing other people's lineage. It is really non of our business. I may be wrong in my assumptions, others closer to these two masters may be able to corerect my mistakes.

You sound very young to me and I envey your youth and directness.

Josep