Style of the Week IV: Choy Li Fut

Choy Li Fut is a Chinese martial art derived from both Shaolin kung fu and styles of southern China. It was originated by Chan Heung, who gave the system its name in 1836. The name is a tribute to his three teachers. It is also incidentally the style i have trained in for the last five years.

Like many martial arts, the lineage of the style since Chan Heung has fragmented and diversified in the last couple of centuries, but regardless of the particular branch Choy Li Fut has retained certain distinctive characteristics. One is the set of circular "long-arm" strikes that are added to the normal repertoire of straight strikes. In practice, these can be incorporated into sparring at a range somewhat intermediate between boxing range and kicking range, and if you're careful with your footwork they can be surprisingly effective because of the unusual angles at which these strikes arrive. The second characteristic is the footwork. Though Choy Li Fut teaches fairly low, solid stances, the forms also emphasize quite a lot of angular movement and rapid advancement and retreat. In less stylized form, this footwork can also be applied to sparring as a way to transition to a throw, or to chamber a kick while appearing to retreat.

Choy Li Fut is a very comprehensive system, encompassing ground fighting, joint locking, sanda-style kickboxing, and a ridiculous number of forms, especially for traditional Chinese weapons. The school at which i train also teaches modern submission grappling, so it's a style that's evolving in some circles (our students and instructors participate in grappling and pankration tournaments). There's a lot of debate these days in the traditional martial arts world about the applicability of techniques, and that's especially true with CLF because it is a system with a heritage of combat. But it's also true that Choy Li Fut forms, done properly, look really cool. Here's a decent performance of a Choy Li Fut spear set: