Download CHOY LEE FUT KUNG FU Chan Heung, Founder of Choy Lee Fut

CHOY LEE FUT KUNG FU
Chan Heung, Founder of Choy Lee Fut
(1806 – 1875)
Choy Lee Fut (蔡李佛) as a distinct kung fu style has a colourful history of more than 170
years since its creation by Chan Heung Gung (陳享公) , in 1836, in Southern China. As a
revolutionary who fought during the Opium Wars and the Taiping Rebellion, Chan Heung
created Choy Lee Fut as an effective fighting style for use by revolutionaries in the battlefield.
The name Choy Lee Fut was chosen by Chan Heung in honour of two of his three mentors,
one a Shaolin master by the name of Lee Yau Shan (李友山 ), the other, a Shaolin monk
who survived the destruction of the Shaolin Monastery by the name of Choy Fook (蔡褔禪
師). Chan Heung added the word “Fut” (佛) meaning Buddha or Buddhist, in reference to
the legacy of the Buddhist teachings of the Shaolin Monastery.
Alan Yee – all rights reserved
The history of Choy Lee Fut, particularly in the first one hundred years of its founding,
parallels the chaotic period in China’s history from the revolutionary anti-Ching Dynasty
movements to the founding of the Republic of China through to the Japanese invasion of
China.
Chan Heung Gung’s second son Chan Koon Bak (陳官伯), inherited the leadership of the
Choy Lee Fut clan following the death of his elder brother Chan Onn Bak (陳安伯).
2nd Generation Great Grand Master Chan Koon Bak
(1857 – 1916)
Chan Koon Bak was responsible for setting up a large following in the Jiang Mern City and
Guangzhou City, where he established the Choy Lee Fut Hung Sing Ancestral School (蔡李
佛雄勝祖館). Some of his famous disciples included Chan Cheung Mo, Ngan Yiu Ting,
Choy Bak Tat, Choy Bak Hung, Fong Yuk Shu, Leung Kwei, Wong Fook Wing and Tam
Ging Fu.
Chan Koon Bak taught his son, Chan Yiu Chi (陳耀墀), who in turn taught his own son
Chan Wan Hon (陳雲漢 ) and adopted son and protégé Li Iu Ling (李耀齡) at the Choy
Lee Fut Hung Sing Ancestral School (蔡李佛雄勝祖館) in Guangzhou (廣州).
Alan Yee – all rights reserved
3rd Generation Great Grand Master Chan Yiu Chi
(1892 – 1965)
Chan Yiu Chi ’s kung fu was characterised by his lightning-fast footwork and his mastery of
the hard and soft. Chan Yiu Chi’s style was not showy but subtle, deceptively “soft” but
incredibly powerful, ever changing like a dragon and fast as a cobra.
The Choy Lee Fut lineage of the Li Iu Ling Martial Arts Alumni is that of Great Grand Master
Chan Yiu Chi (陳耀墀), passed on by his most illustrious “Golden Disciple” (金徒弟),
Grand Master Li Iu Ling.
Photo of Great Grand Master Chan Yiu Chi with his family, son Grand Master Chan Wan Hon (in black to his left) and
adopted son, Grand Master Li Iu Ling (in white to Chan Wan Hon’s left).
In accordance with the tradition laid down by my Shigung, Chan Yiu Chi, and in his memory,
we call our lineage Hung Sing (Sage’s/Hero’s Victory) Choy Lee Fut (雄勝蔡李佛).
Alan Yee – all rights reserved