Hello everyone I'm a young man from finland and I've been thinking of trying some MA. there are almost too many MA's to choose from, but I guess kung-fu is the one which turns me on, me being the typical kung-fu movie fan(although I did play ninja when I was little, so ninjutsu might work too ). has anyone heard about Choy Lee Fut kung-fu? I thought I'd give it a try but I don't know crap about martial arts. Basically I want to know what kind of reputation it has around the world and if someone can be arsed to give me an overview of it (how it differs from any other kung-fu style) it would make my day surprise surprise the people who run that place tell me it's a good style and really popular in asia, but noone falls for that. what I need is neutral opinions from people who aren't trying to steal my money :I
Will they give you a trial class? If they will, take it and make your own judgment, or give more details of the class. If they refuse to give you a trial class, or even to let you sit in and watch one, I'd recommend you avoid it like the plague.
thanks SoKKlab, thats all I needed to hear now I'll just have to find out if the teacher(or master or sifu what ever you call it) there is good. how long will it take for me to be able to defend myself with kung-fu? if its 2 times a week 2hours.. I'm talking about the normal hooligans that might try to kick my ass just for the heck of it in a bar or on a street will it take years to learn anything or will a half year of training help ? and about the looping strikes, when I think of it, aren't they abit unpractical ? what are the good and bad sides of them ?
Choy Lee Fut, as far as I am concerned is the best kung fu style I have ever trainied in. It can be a very practical style if taught correctly, it is a very popular style in South East Asia, where most of the full contact fighters over there are CLF fighters, it is probally the most popular style in Hong Kong. Yes the style does use long swinging punches, but these can be used in numerous way, not just for attacking, ie blocking, opening your opponents guard up etc. If you attacked someone with a long swinging punch you will see it coming a mile off and be able to deal with it easily, you have to be able to use these type of punches by setting your opponent up and then finishing them with it. The trade mark punch of this style is the Sow Choi(Sort of Diagonal Rondhouse) and is mainly use to finish a fight off once the opponent has been softend up using other more straight line techniques such as Charp Choi(Panther Fist strike). Beleve me the style can be very practical, it was designed to be taught quickly to reveloutionaries in China so it had to be able to stand up for itself. I strongly beleve you would be able to defend yourself with some success within 6 months As you are in Finland, the school there is probaly a branch school of the Chan Family(Family descendents of the Founder) http://www.clfma.com if you are looking for a style comparison, then think of Wing Chun kung fu with its Short range linear techniques, three hand forms, two weapons and one dummy form, Choy Lee Fut would be the exact opposite in every way, with its Long range Circular techniques, over 100 hand and weapon forms, and in the Chan family lineage over a dozen dummy forms. It was because of these styleistic differences that these two very practical and popular styles came to blows during the 50's and 60's in illegal rooftop fights in Hong Kong. Bruce Lee himself as Wing Chun fighter back then, fought against the CLF style on many occasions, and according to one of his first students Jessie Glover he had great respect for the style and said it was one of the best styles out there for fighting more than one person. Go on check the school out, it couldn't hurt and you may find something you will stay with and enjoy for the rest of your life. I have.
Pretty good advice so far. A couple of things I would add/correct. There's not a great emphasis on leaping techniques. While some jumps are incorporated, the great emphasis is on fast and mobile footwork coupled with devastating hands and our nine basic kicks. The system was founded not in the 1700's but in 1836 by Chan Heung, who learned from his uncle, then from Lee Yau San, then from the Shaolin monk Choy Fook. He combined their teachings to formulate CLF. To describe our strikes as haymakers is really not very kind! There's a lot more to it than that. Go to the website mentioned earlier ( www.clfma.com ) and have a look at the masters section. You will need to register for this, but it's free and just a process of getting a logon. Then you can view Master Chen Yong Fa (current keeper of the Chan Family CLF style) and some of his students training. That'll give you a good idea of what CLF is all about. (I'm even in there somewhere!) The Chan family Sifu's in Finland are very nice guys and very good at what they do. Obviosuly I'm biased (I'm a student and instructor under Master Chen Yong Fa!) but I think that CLF is certainly one of the best and most complete systems in the world. Go along to a class and see how it feels. If it feels good to you , and feels like it suits you, then go for it! You should be able to use it realistically in a very short time. However, if you want to get really good, you're in for a lifetime! If you have any specific questions I'll be happy to help if I can.
