Frequently Asked Questions
Question
What is the difference between Choy Li Fut and Karate / Taekwondo?
What is the difference between Choy Li Fut and Wing Chun?
What is the difference between Choy Li Fut and Judo?
What is the difference between Choy Li Fut and Kung Fu?
Why do I see several different spellings of Choy Li Fut on other websites?
Does Choy Li Fut have a ranking system?
Where can I learn Drunken Boxing?
I am a Black Belt in Taekwondo, if I join your school can I keep my present rank?
Answer
What is the difference between Choy Li Fut and Karate / Taekwondo?
The list is endless but I will attempt it: Choy Li Fut emphasizes relaxed, whip-like power generated from the waist and legs whereas Karate uses the shoulders and arms to produce power; Choy Li Futs techniques are always practiced with maximum power, travelling completely through the target whereas Karates techniques are practiced stopping short of the target but then the practitioner is told to deliver the strike through the target in actual application. I wont go into the logistics of input equal to output, you can figure that out.
[ Back to Top ]What is the difference between Choy Li Fut and Wing Chun?
Wing Chun and Choy Li Fut are both Southern Shaolin systems. Wing Chun, however, contains only a few of the great arsenal of Shaolin techniques and only 6 sets: sil lum tao, chum kiu, bue ji, wooden dummy, butterfly knives and long pole. Choy Li Fut, on the other hand, contains all the Shaolin techniques (both Southern and Northern) and 150 fighting sets including 52 different weapons. In other words, Choy Li Fut has everything that Wing Chun offers(including chi sao) and more, more, more.
[ Back to Top ]What is the difference between Choy Li Fut and Judo?
Judo is a throwing and grappling art from Japan which is based on a throwing and grappling art from China called Shuai Chiao or Sut Gao in Cantonese. Choy Li Fut includes Sut Gao in its training curriculum.
[ Back to Top ]What is the difference between Choy Li Fut and Kung Fu?
Choy Li Fut is Kung Fu. All of the Chinese Martial Arts have been collectively called Kung Fu for many years just like all Martial Arts in America have been collectively called Karate by the ignorant for many years now.
[ Back to Top ]Why do I see several different spellings of Choy Li Fut on other websites?
Cantonese has 3 different methods of romanization (using our roman alphabet to spell out the sounds of Chinese characters) in use so you may see Choy Li Fut written as: Choi Lee Fat, Tsoi Lei Faht, Tsoy Lay Fuht or any combination of these. This is one reason; another is that many Chinese who practice Choy Li Fut have been away from China and are unaware of the new official romanization or they may have moved to an English-speaking country before learning to speak English and simply made up their own method of romanization. Choy and Li are family names an are pretty standardized. Li you may recognize as the last name of Jet Li and Bruce Lee, these are both accepted spellings of this last name along with Lei but in reality there are no Chinese with the last name of Li who spell their name as Lay; we can only guess that this spelling came out of ignorance. The Mandarin or Pinyin romanization is Tsai Li Fo.
[ Back to Top ]Does Choy Li Fut have a ranking system?
I can only speak for the Plum Blossom International Federation of Choy Li Fut and Tai Chi when I say yes. Our ranking system was created by Grandmaster Doc-Fai Wong and resembles the systems used by Karate and Taekwondo schools here in the U.S. except that we use a red sash for Choy Li Fut and a blue sash for Tai Chi with colored fringe on the end of the sash to denote rank.
[ Back to Top ]Where can I learn Drunken Boxing?
Nowhere. As I mentioned before in the webpage about Drunken Boxing, it does not exist as a separate Martial Art(only in the movies!!!). A few Styles of Chinese Martial Arts have Drunken Boxing Sets (a.k.a. katas, forms, hyungs, patterns) and these sets are guarded as the most treasured in the Style. It is doubtful that you will find a Master who is willing to hand over his most prized possesion to a stranger. There is a Choy Li Fut school in Florida that is offering a Drunken Set on video: this is not, of course, the real Choy Li Fut Drunken Set these people are capitalizing on the Drunken Boxing "craze" in America right now.
[ Back to Top ]I am a Black Belt in Taekwondo, if I join your school can I keep my present rank?
Of Course, I am sure you worked very hard for a couple of years to receive your rank no one can remove your rank except the Institution from which you received it. As far as I am concerned you will always be a Black Belt in Taekwondo, but when you join our school you will start out at zero like everyone else. The only similar technique you may find in Choy Li Fut is a Side Kick.
[ Back to Top ]