10 Elements of Choy Lay Fut
By Sam Ng and Philip Ng
This article originally appeared in the2002 July/August issue of Kungfu Qigong Magazine
The Choy Lay Fut system utilizes an alphabet of ten basic movements along with adaptive and flexible concepts of body placement to give its practitioner the technical efficiency and power necessary to overwhelm a violent adversary. This core set of ten basic strikes (commonly referred to as the ten elements) permeates throughout all of the handsets and fighting combinations within the Choy Lay Fut system. Each of these ten strikes, or elements, maintains its own unique characteristics. Just as a jab in boxing differs both in generation of power an line of attack from a hook, each element within the Choy Lay Fut system also maintains its own distinctiveness in both structure and power formation.
The Choy Lay Fut system teaches its practitioners flexible concepts of movement and simple methods of power generation to offensively overwhelm his/her opponent. There are no blocks practiced in Choy Lay Fut. Each movement in the system is trained as an attack or a "destruction". Instead of blocking an incoming strike from an opponent, the Choy lay fut practitioner will either evade (or redirect) the strike to counter attack or destroy the incoming limb with a strike of their own. And all of the strikes found within the system are directly related to, or is a variation of, one or more of the fundamental strikes found within the Choy Lay fut ten elements.
These ten adaptive and flexible techniques are the fundamental building blocks of the Choy Lay Fut system. Once proper structure, power generation, and technical execution are fully familiarized, each element is free to flow and fit together seamlessly with each other during combat. Though sequences are learned to better acquaint the practitioner with the functions of each element, in actual combat the strikes learned are not executed in rigid or unchanging manner. The practitioner is instead free to utilize each element liberally to serve the needs of the situation.
The 10 Elements
The ten elements are- kum, na, gwa, sau, chop, pow, kup, biu, ding, and jong. Each element by itself maintains a number of variations and different applications. Though variations exist within each element, each variation still maintains the overall characteristics of technical execution and power generation particular to the element from which they are derived. As variations differ within each element group, a common variation found within the majority are what is dubbed, the "extended" and "compacted" variations. One should not misinterpret "extended" as long-range and "compacted" as short-range, since both variations can be executed at either range depending on the angle of entry. The practitioner’s structure adjusts accordingly when executing different variations of each element during practice and combat
Structure of the Elements
The following sequences should not be taken as a step-by-step tutorial on how to defeat an opponent throwing a punch or grab at you. Rather the following sequences should be viewed as general illustrations of each element’s structure during use. To see the subsequent examples as any more than that would freeze these techniques into a rigid routine unusable in actual combat. The sequences of these techniques are not fixed. As stated previously, a Choy Lay Fut practitioner will use each of the ten elements freely in combat to flow and fit together as dictated by the circumstances within the fight.
As illustrated above, each element maintains its own unique characteristics in both execution and generation of power. Though each element maintains its own structure, their effectiveness lays in their flexibility to flow in conjunction with each other to form seamless combinations. During actual combat the practitioner is free to utilize each element liberally to fit the needs of the given situation. The ten elements serve as the basic foundation with which the Choy Lay Fut method is built. When combined with the structure, concepts, and principles that govern the actions taken in the Choy Lay Fut method, these ten simple movements become overwhelmingly efficient weapons readily able to incapacitate any opponent.
About the Authors
Sam Ng is a 5th generation practitioner of the Choy Lay fut system created by Great Grandmaster Chan Heung. Sifu Ng has been practicing Choy Lay Fut for over 30 years. Philip Ng is a 6th generation practitioner and instructor of Choy Lay Fut Gung Fu under the supervision of his father and teacher Sifu Sam Ng. Both authors can be contacted through the Ng Family Chinese Martial Arts Association website.
Sam Ng is a 5th generation practitioner of the Choy Lay fut system created by Great Grandmaster Chan Heung. Sifu Ng has been practicing Choy Lay Fut for over 30 years. Philip Ng is a 6th generation practitioner and instructor of Choy Lay Fut Gung Fu under the supervision of his father and teacher Sifu Sam Ng. Both authors can be contacted through the Ng Family Chinese Martial Arts Association website.
Hung Sing Martial Arts Association
Choy Lay Fut Kung fu - Chinese Kickboxing
Phone: 1-815-549-6323 Address: 665 N. 5th Ave. Kankakee, IL
