Alexander Fu Sheng CLF pics

[Jimbo]

Publicity photos for the 1976 movie New Shaolin Boxers (a.k.a., Choy Lee Fut Siu Ji/Choy Lee Fut Kid). On film, Fu Sheng looked almost as comfortable performing CLF as he did Hung Kuen. One odd thing (IMO) is his right hand in the photo of him posing in Sow Choi position from 0:44.

IMO, Fu Sheng was at his physical peak in terms of performing KF during this time period (1974 through 1976). In the empty-hand photos, he is dressed in movie Qing-era 'Shaolin disciple' costume, but the actual movie takes place during the early Chinese Republic. And although I would have preferred it to have been set in the late Qing Dynasty, and I would have liked the training sequences to have involved more than only forms; IMO, to this day, New Shaolin Boxers is still the best and most extensive representation of CLF in a KF movie. Which is surprising, considering that CLF is such a major southern style. Compared to Hung Kuen and Wing Chun, there is comparatively little representation of CLF in the movies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAJ__rO_n0M&sns=em

Note: The owner of the above vid does not allow it to be embedded.


And here is the movie's intro...

[mickey]

Greetings,

Thank you for the share, Jimbo.

Fu Sheng was discovered after taking second place in a Judo competition in Hawaii. It may have been his Judo training that gave him the kinetic maturation to hang in there with those who were in the business many years longer than he was.

mickey

[Jimbo]

Hi, mickey.

Yes, Fu Sheng had trained Judo, and also Karate as well, in Hawaii. He was something of a MA prodigy. According to reports, he picked things up extremely quickly, and had a great memory for movements. He was said to have been Lau Kar-Leung's favorite disciple. It's amazing how good he looked performing Kung Fu onscreen, considering he'd only had a couple to a few years' experience in Hung Kuen and CLF when he starred in the 'Shaolin Cycle' series of films. Certainly, his previous training in Judo and Karate helped, too.

He also had lots of natural charisma, and seemed to have excelled at the Shaw Brothers studios' acting school.

In his fight scenes in many of his earlier films, I always felt that Fu Sheng's movements looked more fluid and natural onscreen than some of his co-stars who had more years in CMA (Chi Kuan-Chun and Chen Kuan-Tai, for example). Especially in films like Disciples of Shaolin (my personal favorite), Heroes Two, Shaolin Martial Arts, and The Shaolin Avengers, for example.

[CLFNole]

Fu Sheng had some CLF training. His wife, Jenny's uncle was buk sing CLF and helped on the CLF Jai movie. I also heard he studied privately with some HK sifus.

[Jimbo]

Fu Sheng had some CLF training. His wife, Jenny's uncle was buk sing CLF and helped on the CLF Jai movie. I also heard he studied privately with some HK sifus.

Thanks for the info!

I hadn't been aware that his wife's uncle had been CLF or had helped on the film.

I have a feeling that Fu Sheng had probably been learning CLF for a good while before the CLF movie was filmed. His fighting movements in his Shaolin-era fight scenes appeared to me to combine his Hung style with some CLF. I'm aware that Hung Kuen contains some long, sweeping arm strikes like CLF, but I'm talking more about the flavor of his overall movements. Especially in Disciples of Shaolin. Observe the looseness, agility and freestyle nature of his movements compared to the more strict and rigid ones of Gordon Liu, for example. And I do realize that choreographed fight scenes are just that, and not necessarily an indication of one's actual martial achievement. But Fu Sheng still had to have had the ability to move that way to have done that. I'm sure the previous Karate training he had also helped, too; he seemed to like showing off more high, Karate-like kicks than typical southern KF guys from that era.

[CLFNole]

Personally I think Fu Sheng looked great on film and he had a great stage presence but I think when he actually performs sets he was way too stiff. If you look at Lau Kar Leung's hung gar it has somewhat of a CLF flare to it and doesn't look like most hung gar. It moves faster and more fluid. His father Lau Jaam learned CLF before following Lam Sai Wing so there was likely some influence there.