Lau Bun's Choy Lee Fut in Japan!

[kei lun]

hskwarrior,

Yes I am. Japan seems to take rather well to CLF. Its circular nature is unlike all martial art styles in Japan. There has been alot of positive interest here. Our original class started in Budokan (a government run center for preservation of martial arts in Japan) and many teachers from other styles who teach in the institute often come to watch the class.

But due to the popularity of competitive martial arts in Japan I believe the only way to secure the art in the country is to prove its worth in martial art competitions (their rules and their terms) which we are slowly doing.

I am familiar with the Kansai area (west side), it contains Osaka and Kyoto (the former capital city of Japan). It is quite beautiful and historic, but the weather in summer is quite hot and humid. We currently have classes running in Tokyo, Kawasaki and Yokohama (all Kanto area - east side) but have prospects in Kansai and northern Japan.

[mysteri]

kei lun,

very glad to hear about ur establishment in japan! i would be interested to know about some of the tournaments in japan. CLF has the reputation of being combat intensive(as opposed to a lot of other "CMA"), so i'm wondering how it is adjusting to tournaments around there. i think there are some kyoshinkai(sp?) tournaments within a few hours of hear, but they have some pretty interesting restrictions. but i've also heard that japan has some of the best full-contact tournaments, so it might seem ur in an ideal place to have ur guys hone their skills. jus a lot more interested in hearing about this side of ur experiences. thanx in advance.

[k-no]

Hello all...

Been away for a while. Lots of life situations and an impending ACL surgery because I can't stop integrating MMA with my CLF.

Anyhoo, interesting story... My brother was in Aikido training a couple of years ago in the Yokohama area where he still resides. In conversation with his Sensei, he happened to mention that his younger brother was a serious Buck Sing Choy lay Fut practicioner.

His Sensei paused, thought for a second and reflectively stroked his chin, then replied: "Your brother must be the type of man that would train to shape his hand like a tiger's in order to rip another man's testicles off and toss them on the floor." My brother wanted to laugh but he said his Sensei said it with utmost seriousness.

I guess Choy Lay Fut does get around.

k

[kei lun]

mysteri,

Thanks for your good words. The current state of martial arts in Japan is that if they dont compete then they wont survive, business wise! There are many open martial art competitions here, mostly dominated by "kyokushin karate". In our school we have a strong focus on using and understanding CLF, though forms are important and part of the curriculum they are not the primary focus of our training regiment.
In tournaments here there are many rules and restrictions, but we believe that CLF doesnt need to be modified in anyway to fight under these rules, just learn how to "do this" and "dont do that". We have been pretty sucessful up to now and have adjusted to using the style under different conditions.

We should have a couple competitions in this year and hope to video tape them and post the clips on our homepage.

k no,

interesting story, CLF does get around and has been in Japan before us but those teachers have switched to teaching other styles and abandoned CLF. But from the research Ive done since being here Ive found that the style is virtually unknown here, too bad since it has flourished everywhere else!

[neit]

ooh and it has good scheduling options. group or private lessons. interesting as thats exactly where i am headed in a couple weeks.