The origin of Choy Lay Fut is an extraordinary story, which was created by an extraordinary fighter. The creator was a man named Chan Heung who was born in Ging Mui, a province ofKwantung in China, on July 10th 1806. Chan had been practicing martial arts since the age of six, initially being introduced to Gung Fu by his uncle, Chan Yuen Wu who had trained in a Shaolin temple.
From an early age Chan displayed exceptional skills and determination and by fifteen years old he had earned the reputation of a great fighter and was the leading boxer in his area. It was during this time he heard of a great teacher, Li Yau Shan who had opened a martial arts school. Li had also been taught in a Shaolin temple, and was renowned for his talent. When he met Chan, he was impressed by his skill, recognised his potential, and yet identified his downfall as being arrogance towards his fighting. Li took Chan on as a student, and over the next five years cultivated his skills.
Chan was an impressive student and both Li and his uncle were astonished that what had taken them years to learn in the Shaolin temple, Chan had grasped in such a small length of time. They knew that to further advance Chan's fighting technique, he would have to learn from a Shaolin priest himself. Most of the Shaolin priests had since left he area, yet it was rumoured that one was still around. Chan went in search of the secluded priest, Choy Fook, who he knew had once been a great teacher of the martial arts. He set out for Mount Lau Foo in an effort to persuade and impress this priest into becoming his next teacher.
Chan was met by an elderly man who advised him the priest was out and that Chan was welcome to come inside and wait. Once inside the old man offered Chan some tea, and proceeded to chop some wood. Chan was amazed as the old man was chopping the wood with his bare hands. Aware of his own talents, Chan decided to display a skill or two of his own and promptly walked over to an old rice grinder and with a swift kick of his foot, knocked the rice grinder to the ground. Not to be out shone by this arrogant student, the old man - with one swift blow - chopped a corner off the rice grinder with his bare hand, eventuating it into a cloud of powder. It was somewhere around this stage that the old man admitted he was in fact the legendary Choy Fook. Chan was in awe of the strength that the old man possessed, and begged to be taken on as a student. Choy advised Chan that he was no longer a teacher of martial arts, but rather lived in seclusion practicing the way of Buddha. With determination being Chan's 'middle name' he continued to beg Choy to take him on. Realising this young mans potential, Choy agreed. The conditions were that Chan stayed at the temple for at least ten years, he had to learn to taper his fighting arrogance, and to dedicate his time to the study of Budda - and he had to kick the rice grinder back into place!
Over the years Chan proved himself as a dedicated student, and also spent a lot of time studying the way of Buddha. He was taught kung fu and the Shaolin style of combat, with the emphasis being placed on simplicity and discipline. Choy would not move onto a new technique until Chan had completely mastered the task at hand. It was soon that almost ten years had passed, and Chan left the priest a changed man, and a much more skilled and methodical fighter then was originally thought possible.
In 1836 after reviewing all the fighting methods he had been taught, Chan combined all his knowledge to found a new method he called Choy Li Fut. The name was created to honour his previous teachers; Choy (Choy Fook), Li (Li Yau Shan) and Fut (meaning Buddha.) This new fighting style placed emphasis on power and simplicity. Those who practice Choy Li Fut fight on the offence, rather then the defence. It uses a combination of hand strikes, weapons, and limb attacks.
The years to follow Chan's creation of Choy Li Fut saw him leave China and travelling to America, Hong Kong and Singapore to name but a few places. Whilst he as gone, the great Shaolin priest Choy had died. (Apparently he was one hundred and twelve year old.) To pay respect and homage to all that his master had imparted upon him, Chan decided to write it all down. He called the book The Choy Li Fuy Fighting Arts/The reasoning behind his writing was that no one could misinterpret his fighting style or how it had come about - and thus is the reason why Choy Li Fut is widely practiced to this day. KFS
