Everyone on this forum talks about Sifu Dave Lacey because of his contraversial views, yet very few people know or talk about his equally capable identical twin brother Vince.
It is interesting to see the two contrasting ways the twin brothers tackled the question of the history and the founder of CLF. They make fascinating readings, especially when one realized that they have the same up-bringing, the same teachers and the same tradition.
Sifu Vince Lacey:
http://www.buksing.com/personal_message.html
Sifu Dave Lacey:
http://www.pantherfist.com/controversy.html
This is how Sifu Vince Lacey sees the issue:
One Family - Choy Lay Fut
“There is only ONE Choy Lay Fut, whether it’s the Chan family, Hung Sing or Buk Sing with its roots from the Shaolin Temple, with styles including Hung, Lau, Choy, Lee (Lay) Mok, Fut Gar, etc. The founding father from the beginning, Chan Heung, should be given the credit and respect he deserves. All three branches of Choy Lay Fut have something valuable to offer-no branch is better or superior, only the individuals behind the system.
As long as we believe and agree that Great Grandmaster Chan Heung is the Founder and Jeung Hung Sing (Jeung Yim) is the founder of the Hung Sing Kwoon (school) and Tarm Sarm (Tam Sam) is the founder of Buk Sing Kwoon, there is no need to fight among yourselves as to who has the real version of the History of Choy Lay Fut! We are all ONE family-Choy Lay Fut!”
This is how his identical twin brother Sifu Dave Lacey sees the issue:
The Segregation of Choy Lay Fut
”In 1839 Cheung Hung Sing founded the first "Hung Sing Gwoon" martial arts school in Futsan. His popularity and martial arts reputation attracted many students and he was known to everyone as "Choy Lay Fut Hung Sing". Hence Chan Heung and Cheung Hung Sing separately propagated Choy Lay Fut - Chan in King Mui village and Cheung in Futsan. In time, both used their martial arts knowledge to develop their own individual forms and methods of training. Thus Choy Lay Fut martial arts gradually segregated into two branches - that of Chan Heung and Cheung Hung Sing. That did not mean the Choy Lay Fut that Chan Heung and Cheung Hung Sing taught were two different Styles - they both came from the same roots!
Because of the propaganda by the Chan Family branch to promote Chan Heung as the sole founder of Choy Lay Fut martial arts, they not only denied Cheung Hung Sing's role in Choy Lay Fut, but also his existence in King Mui Village (Chan village) where Chan Heung taught martial arts to his fellow clansmen (those of the Chan family name). This was seen by the Futsan Hung Sing Gwoon as a deliberate scheme orchestrated by the "CHAN FAMILY" Choy Lay Fut branch in King Mui Village to discredit any revelation by the Hung Sing branch about Cheung Hung Sing's direct involvement in the development of Choy Lay Fut fighting arts and his rightful title as the style's "Chong Pai Jung Si" (Founder).”
One advocated unity while the other blamed the Chan Family and advocated segregation and a new founder. Life is stranger than fiction, their opposing points of view reflected and summarised exactly the various points of views on this forum. After lengthen debates, it became quite obvious that it is not about historical truth (no one cares about that), it is about what you are being taught to believe by your teacher or your tradition.
As far as I am concerned, I am with Sifu Vince Lacey and I am for unity and against segregation, I am for a blame-free one big CLF family with the same ancestry. What are your views on this and what is the position of your school? Are you on Vince or Dave's side?
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