Luo Fu Shan

[Bill]

Luo Fu Shan is the mountain where Sifu Share Lew lived and studied at the Yellow Dragon Monastary.
While reading his book, The Night Wind dragon, Sifu Lew talks about learning both Choy Li Fut and Tao-ga kung-fu styles while there. I was suprised to read that Choy Li Fut was taught there.

I should not have been. I have been reading about Choy Li fut and see that it got its start on Luo Fu Shan.

Here's the story, copied from a Choy Li Fut web site.

"It was apparent to Li Yau-San that after only four years of training, Chan Heung was again ready to move on to higher levels. In ten years, he had already reached a level in kung-fu that had taken Chan Yuen-Woo and Li Yau-San twenty years to attain. Li Yau-San suggested a Shaolin monk who lived as a recluse on Lau Fu mountain as the best teacher for Chan Heung. The only problem was that the monk, Choy Fook no longer wished to teach martial arts. He wanted only to be left alone to cultivate Buddhism. Realizing that reaching his highest potential in kung fu meant finding the monk and becoming his disciple, Chan Heung set out on the long trek to Lau Fu mountain.

Choy Fook was a Buddhist monk whose head had been seriously burned when he took his Buddhist vows and had healed with ugly scars. This gave him the nickname "Monk with the Wounded Head ." Armed with that knowledge, Chan Heung sought out anyone on Lau Fu mountain who could help him find Choy Fook. Finally, he located the monk, and handed him a letter of recommendation from Li Yau-San. After waiting patiently to be accepted as Choy Fook's disciple, he was stunned when Choy Fook turned him down. After much begging from Chan Heung, Choy Fook agreed to take the young man as a student—but only to study Buddhism. So, Chan Heung studied Buddhism for many hours a day with the monk of the scarred head, and practiced his martial arts by himself, far into the night.

Early one morning, Chan Heung was practicing his kung fu, sweeping both legs across heavy bamboo bush and kicking up stones, then smashing them to pieces before they hit the ground. Suddenly, the monk appeared and asked him if that were the best he could do. Chan Heung was shocked when Choy Fook pointed to a large rock weighing more than thirty kilograms and told him to kick it twelve feet. Bracing himself, Chan Heung exerted all of his strength as his foot crashed against the rock, sending it barely twelve feet away. Instead of giving the expected compliment, Choy Fook placed his own foot under the heavy rock and effortlessly propelled it through the air. Chan Heung was awestruck by this demonstration of "superpower." Again he begged Choy Fook to take him as a martial arts disciple. This time the monk agreed, and for eight years Choy Fook taught Chan Heung both the way of Buddhism and the way of martial arts."

[Bill]

Here's a wonderful paragraph from ' The Night Wind Dragon'.

From the middle of the fourth year through my sixth year at Gee Lum Gee I learned the basic fighting practices and techniques by working with mechanical dummies. This was very hard training, and although my horse was strong, the dummy still knocked me down after one year. Toward the end of this training I began the study of the sets of Choy Lee fut and Tao-ga systems, as taught by the monks of Gee Lum Gee. Once a year, however, visiting monks from Bok Pai San Shaolin would come to oversee our training. On two occasions I visited Bok Pai San.

[Ron Panunto]

Is that from a new book Bill?

[JessOBrien]

Hi Bill,

Last time I saw Share K Lew I tried to get him to let me interview him for my book, he said "No books, no videos". Seemed like it was a hard and fast rule so I'm surprised he ever did write anything.

Coincidentally I've been working on the Six Stars set of chi gung that he taught here in Berkeley.

I'd love to get a chance to read what he wrote. You've got some great old stuff, I wonder if I've got anything I could trade you for a look at this one.

Jess O

[Bill]

Is that from a new book Bill?

Ron

This was from a book that Sifu Lew , with help from his top student, the late John Leoning and also John Davidson wrote back in maybe 1972 ish. It was never published. I was able to get a copy through my instructor John Price.
It has his biography which i've quoted from above, along with sections on training stances and blocks and he teaches a Choy Li Fut form near the end of the book. All with a hundred or so photos of him doing all the posing.

Jess

Even when I started in 1974 he was a no books, no video kind of a guy. If you wanted to study his material you had to do it with him. I was suprised when I first heard about the book. He has shut down a number of attempts of others who wanted to put his material out in the public square. I remember once in the mid 1980's I was visiting the web site of the San Diego Taoist Sanctuary and saw that Bill Helm made a VHS video for sale of the Tao Tan Pai 31. I immediately ordered a copy. After I receved it in the mail I noticed that his web site no longer offered that video. I later heard that as soon as Sifu found out about the video it he shut down its sale.

It's amazing to me the life he led and the people he met. Imagine his temple training was supervised by actual Shaolin Monks and he visited the Shaolin Temple twice!!! I should have paid more attention to the book while he was alive. I've got a million questions for him now.

If you're ever in the Los Angeles area we can get together and you can take a look at it.

Bill

[JessOBrien]

Hi Bill,

I'm taking you up on that offer! I don't get to LA much but I'll try to make it a priority. Share K Lew was certainly a very interesting guy. Even though he was from a completely other time, place, generation and mindset, he was still a martial arts geek with the same enthusiasm as any of us. I'm always grateful that Chinese martial arts has led me to meeting some extraordinary men.

J

[Franklin]

Hi Bill,

I'm taking you up on that offer! I don't get to LA much but I'll try to make it a priority. Share K Lew was certainly a very interesting guy. Even though he was from a completely other time, place, generation and mindset, he was still a martial arts geek with the same enthusiasm as any of us. I'm always grateful that Chinese martial arts has led me to meeting some extraordinary men.

J

i second that

even though he was from another world
he truly was a martial arts geek like the rest of us

I remember him getting excited and jumping up to demonstrate when he started telling stories.. with his eyes shining...

just thinking out load here (and Bill I have never seen the book obviously)
but I wonder how accurate it is..
to me it seems weird if choylifut was taught at the yellow dragon monastery...

[Bill]

Franklin

The Choy Lee Fut practice seems a bit odd to me too. But that's what's in the book.

[Bill]

Update....

I've been in touch with Juanita Lew and she assured me that no Choi lee Fut was taught at the monastery and no Shaolin (Buddhist) monks oversaw their training. And Sifu Lew never visited a Shaolin temple. So that part is pure fantasy. The book was written by John Davidson in the early 70's when Sifu Lew spoke very little English so that part was either mistranslated or just made up by the author.

[edededed]

Hey Jess,

Just curious, but - what sort of qigong is the six stars set? Is it similar to other stuff you've learned before?

[JessOBrien]

Hi Ed,

Bill could answer better than me, I only did it with Sifu and Juanita Lew a few times up here. It's a pretty short set, moving slowly through a few leg positions and hand positions to hold. One involves lacing the fingers and moving them up and down in front of the body. Seem like pretty standard chi gung movements. He also taught the horse stance holding a ball type of standing along with it which is always a good leg workout.

JEss O

[wayne hansen]

I think it's funny that you question if they taught clf but not kicking the 30 kg rock

[Bill]

Ed
the 6 stars involves holding your hands together in various positions while, in a square horse, you lower and raise yourself while moving your hands up and down in front of your body and coordinate your breathing with the motions. It's a great morning wake up chi gong.

Wayne
That's a good point but why question legendary stories that are that cool ? Also the rock kicking story comes from a Choi-lee fut web site and not the book.

[neijia_boxer]

Bill,

did Share K. Lew practice 5 animal frolics? This is a demo i found today on accident:

"In March of 1988, family, friends and students of Taoist Master
Share K. Lew gathered to celebrate his 70th birthday. As a special tribute to Master Lew, Sifu John Bright-Fey performed the rare Qigong routine known as The Five Animal Frolics of Hua T'o. During this routine -- and in the presence of Kung-Fu Masters and other martial art luminaries from around the world— Sifu Bright-Fey transmitted the Tao essence of each animal to Master Lew through stylized movement, vocalized sound and ancient breathing techniques."

Pretty wild stuff. not sure if Share k. Lew taught or if this guy was having a good acid trip thinking he was teaching Share K. Lew. LOL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X_ul0EmIdM

[Bill]

I hope Sifu Lew enjoyed that as much as I did.

I do a version of 5 animal play that looks nothing like what was shown here. This one had moves that looked martial but have a wet noodle structure. The version I learned takes about 20 minutes and looks much more yoga-y, done with a slow motion speed and deep breathing.

I never heard of Sifu Lew practicing 5 Animal play, but to me his tao ga animal forms always looked 2/3rds martial 1/3 yogic.