Kung Fu Choy Li Fut (Cai Li Fo) 蔡李佛

Choy Li Fut (Cantonese), 蔡李佛, or Cai Li Fo (Mandarin) Kung Fu is a traditional martial arts system based on Shaolin martial arts from the Shaolin Temple. It was founded in 1836 by Chan Heung, a well-known and highly-skilled martial artist of that period. Chan Heung had three teachers, two from the South and one from the North. Choy Li Fut is one of the few Kung Fu styles that is strongly influenced by both Northern and Southern Chinese Kung Fu, combining the long arm techniques of the South with the quick agile footwork that characterizes Northern China’s martial arts, making it one of the most complete and effective styles for health and self-defense.

Choy Li Fut , emphasizes relaxed, internal power rather than stiff, muscular force. This is not only more effective in combat, giving the smaller person an advantage, but is also better for the practitioner’s health as it develops the entire body.

Unlike many other martial arts, Choy Li Fut contains a wide variety of techniques, including long and short range punches, devastating kicks, deadly sweeps and takedowns, lethal pressure point attacks, joint locks, and grappling, making it one of the most well rounded and versatile fighting systems.

Choy Li Fut forms are circular, powerful, and as beautiful to watch as they are effective in combat. They often contain over 150 individual movements, each having a practical application in self-defense. Done at full speed, forms provide an excellent cardiovascular workout.

Each set covers many aspects and concepts of the martial arts and even provides dynamic 2 and even 3 person combat sets, giving the student the ability to develop a real time sense of the techniques in combat application.

To supplement standard training, there are interesting exercises and forms with different training devices and sophisticated wooden dummies. In this way the martial artist can strengthen his limbs even more effectively than fighting and gain higher speed, power and precision.

Choy Li Fut also has forms teaching the use of a large arsenal of traditional Kung Fu weapons, 53 to be exact, divided into long, short, twin, and flexible categories with the Nine Dragon Trident as the symbol of the Choy Li Fut system. There are even 2 and 3 person weapon combat sets to develop the full range and abilities of the practitioners with their weapons.

Finally, it includes internal training such as meditation and breathing exercises unifying the body and mind with traditional Chinese Martial Arts.

Choy Li Fut has proven itself effective through its conception during revolutionary times to the modern days of combat sports, and is still one of the world’s most popular Chinese Kung Fu systems. Famed for its effectiveness in the Chinese underground full contact martial arts tournaments, it’s traditional values and self-discipline and self-protection attitude provides Choy Li Fut as the perfect martial arts base for anyone looking to better themselves.

This is the Choy Li Fut Lineage Chart of Sifu Jordi Moya Pizarro, inheritor of the 6th Generation and disciple of Grandmaster Doc-Fai Wong, President of the Plum Blossom International Federation:

Choy-Fut-Lineage1