choy lay fut

[shaolin_animal]

I read on another website that choy lay fut was a modern martial art. Is this true? Is choy lay fut effective? Is it connected in any way to shaolin? Can it build a foundation that will help for shaolin? Thank you for your help.

[emre]

It's recent in the sense that it was created in the last couple of hundred years, but no, it's not modern Wushu.

It's a combination of 3 styles that the founder studied. It has deep stances like Hung Gar and more extended hand movements than other Southern styles.

It's a good style for learning gongfu basics. If you found a good teacher, go for it.

[Gawenka]

My sifu explained to me that choy lee fut and shaolin do not go hand in hand. I got the impression that the two styles were enemies of some sort. Has anybody else heard something similar to this? I'll make sure to ask him for more info.

[emre]

That's quite odd, since one of the 3 styles that Choy lay fut is supposed to have been derived from is Northern Shaolin and the other 2 are Southern styles that themselves are descendants of Shaolin.

[Gawenka]

I guess I think of Choy Lee Fut as more of the bastard child of Shaolin. I mean think about it. Shaolin has been evolving for well over a thousand years. To have someone think they can better a style like Shaolin by combining it with other styles just proves that they were never Shaolin in the first place. They just never learned how to bend and adapt like a young sapling. Im just saying that perhaps that is why I have heard of some animosity between the styles.

[Maestro]

"I guess I think of Choy Lee Fut as more of the bastard child of Shaolin. I mean think about it. Shaolin has been evolving for well over a thousand years. To have someone think they can better a style like Shaolin by combining it with other styles just proves that they were never Shaolin in the first place. They just never learned how to bend and adapt like a young sapling. Im just saying that perhaps that is why I have heard of some animosity between the styles."

i thought that was pretty damn funny..where do you guys get this ****?

back to the original topic;
"Is choy lay fut effective? Is it connected in any way to shaolin? Can it build a foundation that will help for shaolin? Thank you for your help."

is choy lay fut effective? yes. how effective, as with any martial art, is up to you.

is it connected in any way to shaolin? yes, directly if the lineage is correct, chan heung, the founder learnt from his uncle yuen woo, who was a shaolin student, afterwards he learnt from yuen woo's senior disciple li yau-san. after studying with li yau san he was said to have studied with shaolin monk Choy Fok, whom he studied shaolin gung fu and buddhism with, for 8 years on lau fu mountain. thusly combing all his knowledge to create the said style, Choy Li Fut; choy in honor of choy fok, li in honor of li yau san and fut meaning buddha in chinese in honor of buddhism.

can it build a foundation that will help for shaolin? Absolutely. although, shaolin gung fu isnt taught the same as most martial arts, because shaolin was for the monks they could train full time, therefore they had alot of time to work in stances, running, strength training, forms, drills etc etc therefore, since you dont learn all of that in class, you have to make up for it as much as you can at home, while at the same time, maintaining proficiency in your particular art, im just saying this cause alot of people depend on the style like a crutch, martial arts forms and drills and such can only take you so far, you have to take your own initiative to gain the speed, power, agility, focus, energy.. etc etc neccesary for your techniques to devaste your opponent, like they are meant to.

amitabha