Here’s a little clip of one of my classmates doing the CLF fan form - “Haak Luhng Siin” (Black Dragon Fan). Since there were some recent fan forms posted, he wanted to show our CLF fan to the forum.
It’s Sifu Stephen Innocenzi, and I’m just posting a clip of the form here. I think he looks great and he’s 50 years old! Sifu Innocenzi teaches in Manhattan, if anyone wants to get in touch with him for lessons, PM me and I’ll forward your info to him. Or you can get in touch with him at www.NYSanDa.com c/o Sifu David Ross.
He is a terrific instructor and an expert in the Lama Pai Style. He was also one of Sifu Chan Tai-San’s favorite students as well.
Hmmm mike didn’t you post this in the southern forum?? Just wanted to make sure I wasn’t going crazy, but once again I must say my bro Inno. is the bomb, watch out Jackie.
Actualy Frank bought this to my attention, but I have an update on my site and I’m doing a similar set that sifu taught me. Altough I’m not 50 I’ts onother chan fu fan set he called it the white crane fan. keep in mind I need a hip replacement so pleace be nice when giving a critique.
Bok Fu Siin (White Tiger Fan)
Haak Luhng Siin (Black Dragon Fan)
Those are the one’s we learned from Sifu Chan Tai-San. I don’t think he had taught any other fan forms, but someone else from our family might have learned another one.
Some people say that there are over 130 different hand forms! It’s so funny, CLF is in it’s 4-6 generation (Depends on who you are) and there were only EIGHT hand forms originally. Go Figure. Every generation had to add like 20 forms for the math to work out. It’s a bit much, no?
In the chan family alone there are supposedly 190 hand and weapon forms. This is not including sets from the Hung SIng Kwoon which would probably jet that number to well over 2 hundred.
Gene,
if one takes the fan seriously, it can be a very good weapon to fight with. also there are no laws against having a steel fan in your possession.
when closed, it can act like a short powerful stick. but the fan is also popular because it is a fancy form, and pretty much a unique weapon compared to all the rest.
The whole CLF form thing has always baffled me, perhaps because there are so many. With that many forms, at what point does it evolve into something new? Does every CLF school play some version of these original eight? Is that the core that identifies the art? I imagine with each generation creating so many forms, there must be a lot of separation between lineages. How many major branches would you break CLF into? I’ve never studied CLF, but I know a lot of CLF practitioners and have always had respect for it. That’s why I’m curious.
Of course, being a Shaolin practitioner, there’s not a lot I can say about having tons of forms…
there are various branches and teachers who either teach any one or more of these sets. but the fut san hung sing kwoon teaches ping kuen and cheung kuen which are of the original 8 sets.
chui kwong yuen was said to have taught Ong Kuen but i could be wrong.
I think we at our school may have Mon as in Mon Jeurng or 10,000 elephants, very possible that Yuen Hai taught many of those sets.
what is that…how does it go? Tai Ping Tien Gok Cheung On Mon Nien, right?
These are supposedly the 8 original sets; however I don’t think all eight are listed even with the Chan Family. Names could have changed over the years though but here it is anyway:
Tai Gee Kuen
Ping Kuen
Tien Gee Kuen
Kwok Gee Kuen
Cheung Kuen
On Gee Kuen
Mahn Gee Kuen
Lien Gee Kuen
You had it right Frank.
The only names you really here of anymore is ping kuen, cheong kuen and mahn gee kuen. I know some branches have a lien wahn kuen but I am not sure if it would be the same as lien gee kuen.
Jean I think there was an original eight forms, then they were used by diferen’t guys as a gudline or structure of how to use centrifigule force and counterbalincing for power. Evenetualy sifus starting adding their own influences but keeping certain guide lines that made it choy lee fut. I was talking to Dixon Fong, a former di si hing of sifu Yee chi Y forgive me if the spelling is wrong. he also met and studied with Sifu CTS way before any of us met him. In short we agreed on one thing, if it’s sao ding sao gwa cup peck chop it’s choy lee fut.
The fact is we are to caught up with who knows what set of forms when we should worry about how good we are at what we do and is it efective.
Years ago I was at sifu yim tai’s surprize bithday parties, as one of my students finished demoing a form he turned and looked at me and said my how good sifu Chans choreagraphy is. Mind you I didn’t think of that statement as an insult since I knew Tai Yims respect for his uncle Chan Tai San. I’m just saying hmmmm.
i think each new generation brings something new to the table when they take over the school. I personally think its silly to want to know more than 200 forms, yet each generation feels the itch to create therefore the proliferation of newer made hand or weapon forms.
the unfortunate thing yet it is also a blessing, is that there is no general standard used for all schools of choy lee fut. we are all pretty individual, and sometimes its appearant that certain sifu’s add their own earmarks on the system they are teaching for what ever reasons.
but maybe the many forms can be viewed as a buffett of sorts for the CLF martial artists. Some like to sample something new while others stick to what they know.
