The Choy Li Fut martial arts system has spread throughout the globe, with schools on almost every continent. All are recognized as an important part of the Choy Li Fut family because they are the pioneers that helped spread the art of Choy Li Fut throughout the world. Over time, in addition to the development of new techniques and other martial-arts styles, as with many martial arts, Choy Li Fut has developed into several lineages that may differ in training and style, and even differences in historic perspectives. It is these developments that caused differences in forms and the application of techniques between branches and schools and contribute to the heated discussions regarding the history of Choy Li Fut. Choy Li Fut schools can trace their lineage from the schools started by the original 18 disciples whom Chan Heung sent out in 1848. Many schools can easily trace their origins from these four main branches: the King Mui / Chan Family Choy Li Fut Branch, the Fut San / Hung Sing Choy Li Fut Branch, the Jiangmen 江門 or Kong Chow 岡州 Choy Li Fut Branch, and the Buk Sing Choy Li Fut Branch.
King Mui Choy Li Fut/Xinhui Choy Lee Fut (京梅陳家雄勝蔡李佛始祖拳舘/新會洪聖舘蔡李佛始祖拳館) The mainline transmission is referred to as King Mui (京梅), because the founder's family came from the King Mui village, and it is where Chan Heung 陳享 officially started teaching Choy Li Fut in 1836. Today, Chan family descendants prefer to use the term, "Chan Family" tradition, because the modern-day successor (Keeper of the Style) was Chan Yiu-chi 陳耀墀, the son of Chan Koon-pak, and grandson of Chan Heung. Notable none Chan family student of Chan Yi-chi was Hu Yuen-chou 胡雲綽, instructor of famous Choy Li Fut master
Doc-Fai Wong 黄德輝 considered by many as a 5th generation successor and inheritor of the King Mui lineage. After Chan Yiu-chi 陳耀墀 his son Chan Sun-chiu became the inheritor and Keeper of the style. Following the passing on April 22, 2013, of Chan Sun-chiu (Keeper of King Mui Choy Li Fut)陈燊樵, all the descendants and known students become his current successors of the 5th generation of the King Mui lineage, they are; Chan Yong-fa and Niel Willcott. Chan Siu Fung, the founder's sixth-generation grandson, becomes a disciple of Grandmaster Doc-Fai Wong.
Jiangmen or Kong Chow Choy Li Fut 岡州蔡李佛 In 1898, Chan Cheong-mo 陳長毛 founded the Sei Yup (four counties) Hung Sing School in Kong Chow 岡州 City now called Jiangmen. He learned Choy Li Fut from Chan Heung when he was a child. After Chan Heung died, he continued to study from Chan Heung's eldest son, Chan On Pak 陳安伯. He invited Chan On-pak's younger brother Chan Koon-pak to be the head instructor and assisted in teaching Choy Li Fut at the school. Some of Chan On-pak's other students were Yuen Jic, Mun Leung, and Mak Seih-guan. In 1906, Chan Koon-pak went to Canton (Guangzhou) and Chan Cheong-mo 陳長毛 officially took over the school and became the head instructor of the Jiangmen Hung Sing School. Before Chan Cheong-mo 陳長毛 died in 1953, his adopted son and successor Chew Kam-wing 赵锦荣 was appointed to be the keeper and head instructor of the Hung Sing School in Jiangmen city. Chew Kam-wing 赵锦荣 taught in the Jiangmen Hung Sing School until the Chinese government banned traditional kung fu teaching. All of his students eventually stopped practicing and no longer taught Choy Li Fut. Chew Kam-wing 赵锦荣 taught his sons Choy Li Fut privately; unfortunately his sons were not up to the standard that was required for passing down the traditional teaching. Only few of the senior students of Chan Cheong-mo 陳長毛 are still alive in China. In Hong Kong, Wong Gong 黄江 is the last one. In Jiangmen city, there are Wong Kan-fu 黄勤富, Lui Sieh-gen 吕社根, and the old keeper Chew Kam-wing 赵锦荣. Wong Gong 黄江 was born in 1928, and he is a native of Jiangmen city. He studied
kung fu with his father as a child and later became a disciple of Chan Cheong-mo 陳長毛. With his teacher Chan Cheong-mo's 陳長毛 permission, he continued his studies from Chan Yen, the chief instructor of King Mui Village's Hung Sing School. Chan Yen learned Choy Li Fut from his father, Chan Yau-kau, who was a student of Chan Heung. In 1949, the communists took over mainland China. Before Wong Gong 黄江 moved to Hong Kong, both of his teachers told him to continue teaching in order to keep the Choy Li Fut system alive. In Hong Kong, Wong Gong 黄江 is still actively involved in teaching Choy Li Fut. Chew Kam-wing 赵锦荣 now is in his mid-80s, and he and his classmates had a meeting, and all agreed that he should pass on his Keeper's position to Wong Gong 黄江. All the senior members of Chan Cheong-mo's 陳長毛 students believed Wong Gong 黄江 had achieved the greatest success in the teaching of Choy Li Fut. On February 16, 2006, Chew Kam-wing 赵锦荣 officially signed the certificate of Jeong Moon-yen to Wong Gong 黄江 as the new keeper of the Sei Yup Hung Sing Kwoon (Four Counties Hung Sing school). The Kong Chow lineage of Choy Li Fut was created by Wong Gong in 1989. Wong Gong 黄江 named his lineage "Kong Chow 岡州" (Gangzhou) because before the Republic of China, the district of Choy Li Fut's hometown Xin Hui 新会 and Jiangmen were known as Kong Chow 岡州. When cities in China were updated to their modern names, the old Kong Chow district became part of the city of Jiangmen. Also well known was the Hung Sing School in the Gong Moon district founded by Chan Cheong Mo, which also became part of Jiangmen. The branch of Choy Li Fut called Kong Chow is now officially renamed the Jiangmen branch of Choy Li Fut. Wong Gong 黄江 was officially given the title "Keeper" by the former Keeper of the Hung Sing School in Jiangmen, Chew Kam-wing, in February 2006. Now passing this to his son Mr Wong Choy in June 2017. Wong Gong's 黄江 other teacher Chan Yen was from King Mui Village and had the Chan surname, but he was not a member of the founder's family. Because King Mui Village is now part of Jiangmen City, Chan Yen's teaching are considered to be in the Jiangmen lineage. In other words, since all of Wong Gong's 黄江 teachings are passed down are from the entire Jiangmen area, officially his lineage is now called the Jiangmen branch of Hung Sing Choy Li Fut.
The "Hung Sing" name in Fut San, China 佛山鴻勝蔡李佛拳館 • In 1848, the 1st Fut San Great Sage Kwoon, was founded by Chan Din-foon, a student of Chan Heung. The Great Sage Hung School "洪聖舘" = Pronounced as Hung Sing Kwoon. • In 1851, the 1st Fut San Hung Victory School was founded by Cheung Hung-sing 張炎(張洪勝), a student of Lee Yau-san, Chan Heung, and Monk Ching Cho Wo Sheung 青草和尚. Hung Victory School "洪勝舘" = Also pronounced as Hung Sing Kwoon. • The difference between Chan Din Foon's Great Sage Hung Sing 洪聖 and Cheung Hung Sing 張炎(張洪勝) Hung Victory Hung Sing "洪勝" is although they are both pronounced as Hung Sing, is that Chan Din Foon's Great Sage Hung Sing is in reference to an individual as in 'The Great Sage Hung Wu' and Cheung Hung-sing 張炎(張洪勝) Hung Victory Hung Sing "洪勝舘" is in direct reference to the primary goal of the Hung Mun/Tian Di Hui secret Society. The slogan of their goal was as follows: "
The Hung" (洪) will be "Victorious (勝)" in overthrowing the Qing Empire to restore the Ming back to power". Their goal was finally accomplished in 1911 with the fall of the Qing Dynasty in the Xinhai Revolution. • In 1867, upon Cheung Hung Sing's return to Fut San, Cheung Hung-sing changed the name of his original Hung Victory school to avoid being captured by the corrupt Qing Empire. So, he replaced the first word of Hung "洪" (meaning The Great Sage Hung) to another Hung "鴻" meaning (Goose/Swan). Therefore, the new name of Cheung Hung-sing's school would be the Fut San Hung Sing Gun (佛山鴻勝舘). Instead of giving his school a completely new name, Cheung Hung-sing 張炎(張洪勝) changed the first word, but kept the Victory (勝) in his name because it was a word highly used by the Hung Mun Secret Society and Tian Di Hui (Heaven and Earth Society). In the mountains of Guangxie, there were 100 secret society tongs with more than 60 of them using the word Victory (勝)in their names. The Fut San Hung Sing branch 佛山洪勝舘/佛山鴻勝舘 has some differences in the Choy Li Fut蔡李佛 under Chan Heung Great Sage (洪聖舘) curriculum. In fact, they do not share the same forms at all. The reason for this is Chan Heung and Cheung Hung-sing separately developed the Choy Lee Fut system. Chan Heung had was he started in King Mui and Cheung Hung-sing's system consisted of Lee Gar, Choy Lee Fut, and Fut Gar Kuen that he learned from the Monk Ching Cho (Green Grass). The Fut San Hung Sing branch has fewer hand sets; eight as their primary core. The Fut San Hung-sing branch is known for its aggressive fighting methods, such as continuous non-stop combination and exaggerated side-stance techniques, as well as some aggressive weapons forms. This curriculum was designed so anti-Qing rebels could quickly gain practical proficiency in unarmed and weapons combat. The primary sets taught at the Fut San Hung Sing Kwoon/Great Victory School started with five forms. One form the Monk Ching Cho passed down to Cheung Hung-sing was called the In and Out Bagua Kuen, which contained 1080 moves. Cheung Hung-sing taught this to Chan Ngau-sing who later broke the set up into three smaller forms. The first was Cheung Kuen (not the same as anything from King Mui), the second is Ping [Ji] Kuen (not the same as Chan Heung's Ping Kuen), and Lin Waan Kau Da Kuen (not the same as Chan Heung's). Those three, together with Sup Ji Kuen, were the original 4 possessed by Lau Bun's lineage and described as being part of Futsan since its inception; the Lau Bun Lineage also noted that a great many of the same Techniques were repeated many times throughout Sup, Ping and Lin Waan Kau Da so they also combined all of the Techniques from Sup, Ping and Kau Da into a new Form, without any Repetition in this new Form, named Sup Ji Kau Da Kuen (taught alongside the originals). The rest of the 8 forms came later and some were lost to time. Some of them are carried in Hong Kong's Chui Kwong Yuen lineage of Fut San Hung Sing Choy Lee Fut 佛山鴻勝蔡李佛拳 and some were preserved on the lineage of Northern Shaolin Master Chan Kwok-wai 陳國偉. Those rare eight forms are: Tai Ji Kuen (Great Fist; equivalent to the King Mui Form of that name), Ping Ji Kuen (Level Fist; part of Bagua Kuen), Tin Ji Kuen (Heaven's Fist; equivalent to the King Mui Form of that name), Gok Ji Kuen (Nation's Fist; equivalent to the King Mui Form of that name), Sup Ji Kuen (Cross Pattern Fist), Cheung Kuen (Long Fist; part of Bagua Kuen), Lin Waan Kaau Da Kuen (Continuous Fighting Fist; part of Bagua Kuen), and Fut Ga Jeung (Buddhist Family Palm; the original in Fut Gar proper, pre King Mui influence, is still considered a Cultivation Exercise instead of a Form but some other Futsan Lineages use it as a Form). In addition to the eight, an apparatus training form called Che Kuen (Pulling Fist) is taught. The Wooden Dummy (Ching Jong) apparatus of the Fut San Hung Sing branch is referred to as the "Side Body Balance Dummy" designed to mimic the Fut San Hung Sing style side body opening salutation. They have a variety of unique weapon and hand sparring forms to teach the practical use of the system. Some of Jeong Yim's 張炎 students include Chan Ngau-sing, Wong Say 黄四, Yuen Hai 阮系, Tarm Narp (Nap), Lui Charn (Chaun) 雷粲, and Lay Yun. Lay Yun was a student of Cheung Yim 張炎 . Choy Yat-kew was a student of Lay Yun. Kwan Man-keng was a student of Choy Yut-kiu. Kwan Man-keng formed the Hung Sheng (Sing) Chinese Koontow and Lion Dance Society in Singapore in 1965. Chia Yim-soon 谢炎顺 is the disciple of Kwan Man-keng and succeeded him as the 掌门人 Hung Sheng (Sing) Chinese Koontow and Lion Dance Society in Singapore. Fong Yuk-shiu was a student of Lay Yun, disciple of Cheung Hung-sing. Some of Fong Yuk-shu's students were Chan Hon-hung and Lum Siu-larp. Some of Chan Yiu-chi 陳耀墀 (Chan Heung's grandson) students were Woo Van-cheuk (Hu Yuen-chou), Kong Yeung, and Li Iu-ling were some of Chan Yiu-chi's students. Li Iu-ling established a Choy Li Fut school in Sydney, Australia 1975. In 1977 Li Iu-ling returned to Hong Kong, where he received the news that Chan Yiu-chi's 陳耀墀 grandson, Chen Yong-fa, was hoping to leave China. Li Iu-ling helped Chen Yong-fa to migrate to Australia in 1983, then handed his school over to him. Li Iu-ling later returned to Australia in 1986. Yuen Hai 阮系 was a student of Cheung Yim 張炎. Yuen Hai 阮系 was the teacher of Lau Bun 劉彬. Lau Bun 劉彬 established the Wah-Keung Kung Fu club of Choy Lee Fut which later became the first Hung Sing Choy Lee Fut school in America in 1935. the Buk Sing style in the tradition of the
Jeong Yim (Jeong Hung-sing) has produced many excellent Choy Li Fut fighters. From the Buk Sing Choy Li Fut branch - Tam Fei-pang, Lun Ji, Chan Nien-pak, Kong On, Kong Heng, Lee Chow, Mah Yan, Lau Kuru-tong, Lung Tse-cheung, Chang Choy, and Nip Chi-fei, were all students of Tam Sam. Nip Chi-fei established a Bak Sing Choy Li Fut school in Ipoh,
Malaysia, and Chang Choy established a Buk Sing Choy Li Fut school in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Kong On also learned from 周龍/Chow Loong (also commonly written as Jow Lung), the founder of
Jow Gar (not
Chow Gar, which is an unrelated style of Southern Kung Fu), and Ku Yu-jeung (Gu Ruzhang). Kong Hing learned from his father Kong On. Li Hung was a student of Lai Chou and Lung Tse-cheung. The Lacey brothers, David and Vince Lacey were students of Kong Hing who established the first Buck Sing Choy Lay Fut in Perth 1966. David Lacey also opened a Buck Sing School in Melbourne in 1989. The Kong Style of Kong Hing and Kong On, specifically, is also taught in its original form by Schools directly part of the Kong Family's own Organisation—Schools such as, for example, Kong Hing Koon in
Perth, Western Australia.
Other lineages Chan Koon-pak had many other students besides his son, Chan Yiu-chi. There are only a few students of his, Ngan Yiu-ting 颜耀庭, Fong Yuk-shu 方玉书, Wong Fook-wing 黄福荣 and Leong Gwei 梁贵, whose teaching legacy is still around today. Though their initial training in Choy Li Fut was in the Fut San kwoon, Wong Fook-wing 黄福荣 and Leong Gwei 梁贵 were later students of Chan Koon-pak. Poon Dik 潘狄 studied under Wong Fook-wing 黄福荣 and Leong Gwei 梁贵. Poon Sing 潘城 was Poon Dik's son and studied directly under him. Lee Koon-hung 李冠雄 studied under Poon Sing, as well as Yun Yim-cho, Chow Bing 周炳,Leung Sai 梁世, Leung, and So Kam-fook So Kam Fook 蘇金福,. Tai Lam was a student of Chow Bing and Lee Koon-hung. Mak Hin-fai, Tat-mau Wong, John Wai, Li Siu-ming and Li Siu-hung (brother of Lee Koon-hung), were all students of Lee Koon-hung 李冠雄. After Lee Koon-hung's passing, Tat-mau Wong became godson of Poon Sing learning directly from him.
Jeong Yim Few authenticated facts are known about Jeong Yim (張炎), but his legacy and influence on the development of Choy Li Fut can still be felt today. Jeong Yim's actual birth and death dates are not confirmed, but it is rumored that he lived between 33 and 69 years of age. Like all great martial artists, the myths, stories, and legends which surround them are often mistaken and confused as facts. Jeong Yim's 張炎 successor Chan Ngau-sing 陳吽盛, stated that the author Nim Fut San-yen created a popular fictional story (
Wǔxiá) written during the period to increase the awareness of Choy Li Fut and revolutionary activities. This story was called,
"Fut San Hung Sing Kwoon". Chan Ngau-sing 陳吽盛 knew the author, pen name
Nim Fut San Yen, personally. Such stories have no basis in historical fact. Popular Wǔxiá novels, like Wan Nian Qing and the mythology of anti-Qing organizations such as the Heaven and Earth Society, were spreading wildly through China since the early 19th century. All of this is not officially documented. No written historic records can be found about Jeong Yim. According to the Chan Family History Book (the "Big Book"), the only historically documented fact showing a relationship between Chan Heung 陳享 and Jeong Yim 張炎 is the date of 1867, when Jeong Yim was sent to reopen the Fut San school as the successor to Chan Din-foon 陳典桓. The heated controversy surrounding Jeong Yim is in regards with the history and development of Choy Li Fut. Various Choy Li Fut branches have differing versions of how Choy Li Fut was founded and/or created. The various versions of history regarding Jeong Yim, and his influence on the development of Choy Li Fut, can be found in the text about Jeong Yim. == Death of the founder ==