# How Practical is CLF for Self Defence?



## Hopkins0603 (Jul 17, 2011)

Hi All

I am new to this site I decided to join the get some feedback on Choy Li Fut. I am thinking of trying it as its supposed to be a very functional style. But I have a few concerns;

1. I am 43. Is it a young mans style?

2. I don't have brilliant right knee but I can use it. Does it have high kicks in its syllabus? I have done tkd in the past and quickly realised that I am not a natural kicker.

3. Can anyone just give me an overview of the style? I think the neareast school to me is a Hung Sing school.

Many thanks


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## clfsean (Jul 17, 2011)

Hopkins0603 said:


> Hi All
> 
> I am new to this site I decided to join the get some feedback on Choy Li Fut. I am thinking of trying it as its supposed to be a very functional style. But I have a few concerns;
> 
> 1. I am 43. Is it a young mans style?



Yes & no. I'm 41. I've been practicing for a little bit now. There are somethings I do easier than others, but CLF is flexible enough to let me modify certain things without changing the form or function of the technique to work for me. It lends itself to being very quick & whippy, but can be slowed down to be solid & pounding.



Hopkins0603 said:


> 2. I don't have brilliant right knee but I can use it. Does it have high kicks in its syllabus? I have done tkd in the past and quickly realised that I am not a natural kicker.



It does, but like I said, some things can be changed (for you more than CLF) to allow it to happen. My hips are ruined from TKD. So I can't side kick hardly past my knee height. There are sets where there are high side kicks. So instead I perform high heel kicks (front kick with the heel). That keeps me from having to rotate my hips in a fashion where they can't.



Hopkins0603 said:


> 3. Can anyone just give me an overview of the style? I think the neareast school to me is a Hung Sing school.
> 
> Many thanks



3 main branches of CLF (in no particular order) -- Chan Family, Hung Sing, Buk Sing. Chan is the originator & Hung & BUk are children. However, there's also a Hung Sing found in the Chan family line and the most common Hung Sing, named after JEURNG HUNG SING. A bit of controversy with the names. However... CLF is CLF. No matter the branch, sets or politics. All CLF is CLF. 

Go for it. Have fun with it. It will teach you how to hit... and hit alot.


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## Hopkins0603 (Jul 18, 2011)

I just looked on the Plumblossom CLF website and I have noticed that it sells Distance Learning. What is that all about?


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## clfsean (Jul 18, 2011)

Hopkins0603 said:


> I just looked on the Plumblossom CLF website and I have noticed that it sells Distance Learning. What is that all about?



It's a way to learn by video if there's no schools in your area. I personally don't recommend it unless you have previous training in that style (whatever it might be). You can't really grasp what things are without something right there. 

Are you in the UK?


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## ilhe4e12345 (Jul 18, 2011)

Choy Li Fut is an amazing style. A few of the other teachers that work with my Shifu know the style (not sure of the lineage as i have never really looked into learning the style) but i do see them practicing and sparring a lot. Anyways i thought i would throw my 2 cents in on the post here about taking up a style your unsure if you can physically do it or have questions. Its always a good thing to take to the teacher or master about the style either directly or via email or phone call. If thwey are a good teacher they will tell you waht your getting yourself into and answer any questions or fears you have about that certain style.

When i first started 7 Star Mantis 3 years ago i was asking similar questions. I started at 24 years old, first with Pai Lum Tao (which i hated) and then when i found Mantis i had so many questions. I have a bad right knee do to some torn ligaments when i was younger (about 16 i was in a BMX accient) so high kicking is very difficult for me, i still try but i cant quiet do it the way i want to although its still affective becuase ym teacher helped me to learn to kick that would work for me. He changed a few things while teaching so that i could still get the full understanding of the style. As for performing, i will never perform due to my inability to do the style in a "showy" way but i still know how the style is to be taught and worked.

Honestly talk to the teacher and see what they reccomend. Im not saying that the people on here dont know their stuff, def not i learned so much more after finding this website lol and im grateful for it but there is nothing like talking to a real teacher about it.


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## WC_lun (Jul 18, 2011)

Like any martial art, if it is going to effective for self defense or not strongly depends upon the instructor and the training methodology.  I've worked out with CLF guys that were very, very, good and I've crossed hands with a few that were not so good.  When talking with them it pretty much came down to how the instructor implemented the training.


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