Choy Lee Fut (蔡李佛) is a mixed Northern and Southern Chinese system of Kung Fu that was founded back in 1836 by Chan Heung (陳享) who had studied Choy Gar under the monk Choy Fook (蔡褔) and Lee Gar under the guidance of Lee Yau San (李友山) as well as Fut Gar under his uncle Chan Yuen Wu (陳遠護). The name Choy Lee Fut honours Chan Heung’s teachers as well as Buddha and the systems roots in Shaolin (少林). Be
ing a mixed Northern and Southern style, Choy Lee Fut combines the agile and aggressive footwork of the North with the strong and powerful hands typical of the South. Although it is considered an external style of Chinese Martial Arts (CMA), Choy Lee Fut incorporates both soft and hard techniques, traditional weapons, and it is well known in the martial arts world as an effective self-defense system. According to a book by Jesse Glover – 𝑩𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒆 𝑳𝒆𝒆 – 𝑩𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝑾𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑪𝒉𝒖𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑱𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝑲𝒖𝒏𝒆 𝑫𝒐 – Bruce Lee (李小龍) has been quoted as saying:
"𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒚 𝑳𝒊 𝑭𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰'𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏. [𝑰𝒕] 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒚𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕. 𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒚 𝑳𝒊 𝑭𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒚𝒍𝒆 [𝒐𝒇 𝒌𝒖𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒖] 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒃𝒐𝒙𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒕." High praise indeed, though it does of course depend on how you feel about Bruce Lee and his standing in the world of martial arts. Si Fu Edmond Ng (伍厚德), based in Newcastle upon Tyne and whose team you will recognise from the annual Chinese New Year celebrations, was one of the first instructors to bring Choy Li Fut to the UK, way back in the mid 1970’s. Under his guidance, several of his students have gone on to open their own schools or kwoons (館), passing on the skills and knowledge of this near 180 year old system. It was with great privilege that Si Fu Ng gave his blessing to Chief Instructor Alex Poon to head up his own kwoon. Alex Poon began his training as a young child under his father who was a class mate of Si Fu Ng in Hong Kong before they emigrated to the UK. Learning the basics of self-defense from his father and watching Si Fu Ng’s team perform demos over the years fuelled Alex’s desire to learn more. He continued and expanded on his studies under Si Fu Ng and rapidly rose through the ranks to become one of the Dai Si Hings (大師兄) or big brother – in Choy Lee Fut everyone is part of a family, from the head of the school to the newest beginner. As well as Choy Lee Fut, Alex Poon also currently trains in kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) under the expert eye of Instructors John Atkins and Mal Trotter at Newcastle’s AFC (Advanced Fighting Centre). It is with great respect to Si Fu Edmond Ng and in honour of his father – the man who started his love of martial arts – that Instructor Alex Poon brings Choy Li Fut to Fitness 2000, Sunderland’s premier gym.
