The Birthplace of Choy Lee Fut
The birthplace of Choy Lee Fut was King Mui, a village in Ngai Sai (or West
Bank of two coastal ledges) in Sun Wui district or county of Kwangtung province.
Since the Sung Dynasty (960-1280 A.D.), the region around the rugged coastal ledges
had been a stronghold of dedicated revolutionaries against the harsh and tyrannical
rulings of those in power. The inclination to the martial arts has always been
an integrated part of life and custom. This was the background to Choy Lee Fut's
coming into being.
The Clan of Chan
The West Bank or Ngai Sai area was divided into twenty-six villages of different
clans namely Chan, Lee, Cheung, Wong, Ho, Lok, Chung, Yeung etc. The clan of Chan
was particularly prosperous as its clansmen resided in five villages and King
Mui was one of them. The genealogical order of the clan were arranged as Sai,
Tak, Chok, Ko, Yee, Jik, Yuen, Sing, Tai, Din, Sun, Mo, Yin, Yik, Chuen, Fong,
Wing, Hau, Yin, and Leung. It was also arranged as Sai, Tak, Chok, Ko, Yee, Jik,
Yuen, Sing, Fong, Lap, Wan, Chor, Chun, Kok, Hin, Chin, Cheung, Hau, Yeung, Yau.
These were also the arrangement of two rows of spiritual tablets arranged in the
ancestral temple.
Chan Heung - the Founder
The founder of Choy Lee Fut, Chan Heung, was from King Mui. He was first taught
by fellow clansman, Chan Yuen Wu for some ten years. Later, Chan Heung was referred
to Lee Yau Shan with whom he spent several years. Finally, Chan Heung went to
Lau Fou Shan ( Mount Lau Fou), where he spent some eight years with a monk named
Choy Fook. As Chan Heung had absorbed a great deal of kungfu, he thought it only
right to create a system of his own, drawing on his long years of learning under
his mentors. Being a man of principles, he paid due respect to his teachers by
naming his creation Choy Lee Fut. Choy and Lee being the surnames ( or last names)
of his two mentors Choy Fook and Lee Yau Shan who both had taught him authentic
Siu Lum kungfu. The Fut (Buddhism) comes from the fighting art of the Buddhist
devotees.
The Offsprings of Chan Heung
Chan Heung had two sons, On Pak and Koon Pak. Chan Koon Pak also had two sons,
Man bun and Yiu Chi. Chan Yiu Chi had two sons, Wan Hon and Sun Chu, and a daughter,
Chan Kit Fong, who now resides in the U.S.A.
Chan Koon Pak - the Successor to Chan Heung
Chan Koon Pak, the second son of Chan Heung, was a very adept and intelligent
person. At a rather young age, he had mastered the art his father had passed onto
him. But Chan Koon Pak, chose to become a merchant and settled in Kong Moon. Under
persistent persuasion, he did come out for a stint as the head instructor of the
Choy Lee Fut school in Kong Moon. Chan Koon Pak later moved to Canton, where he
opened a kungfu school as a result of popular request. Countless number of people
had come to him for instructions; notably Ngan Yiu Ting, Wong Fook Wing, Wu Kee
Biu, Lee Hin Cheung, Choy Pak Tat, Choy Pak Hung, etc.
Chan Koon Pak was a disciplinarian and the same stern attitude to learning
was also impressed onto his son Yiu Chi. Chan Yiu Chi seldom turned his thoughts
off kungfu. Even when sitting idle, his feet could be seen practising. This kind
of incessant work made Chan Yiu Chi, an outstanding exponent of Choy Lee Fut.
He represented speed, power,agility and more.
The past Grandmaster Chan Yiu Chi
Perhaps less known to many people Chan Yiu Chi was also a classical scholar,
and he never bragged about or showed off his deadly kungfu skill. At the time
of his staying with his father, Chan Koon Pak in Canton, he engaged in the propagation
of Choy Lee Fut to the world at large. Requests were received regularly, asking
him to teach abroad in San francisco, Holland, the South Pacific and other overseas
countries where there were substantial Chinese population. As Chan Koon Pak was
in an advanced age, Yiu Chi did accept, as his father so desired, several posts
as kungfu instructor in many secondary and tertiary schools, trade unions, sports
clubs and worker's associations. His prominence in kungfu overshadowed his other
fileds of excellence ; that of poetry and classics.
Chan Yiu Chi was a fair and just man. He held no secret about the kungfu he
was well-known for. Any question was answered in detail and he analysed kungfu
objectively as a scholar of his standing would. Students showing potential were
also taught Chinese medicine as he was also a practitioner of traditional Chinese
medicine. It is worth noting tht as a practitioner of medicine, he never refused
consultation and only charged what the patients could afford to pay. Mr. Chan
Yiu Chi died in 1965. His deeds are still fondly remembered with affection.
A - C