Pearls of Wisdom

By Jane Hallander

Karate Kung Fu Illustrated November 1988

Since it’s one of the most popular Chinese martial arts, people tend to talk about Choy Li Fut’s powerful punches, devastating palm strikes and strong kicks. All true, but there’s a lot more to Choy Li Fut Kung Fu than striking techniques. Actually, those are just skimming the surface in Choy Li Fut training.

First, here is a little background on the system itself. Choy Li Fut Kung Fu is a southern Chinese style, originating about 150 years ago in Kuangtung province. Unlike other southern styles, Choy Li Fut’s wide-reaching hand techniques and high kicks often appear to resemble fighting systems from northern China.

There are ten basic fighting techniques in Choy Li Fut. Always listed in the order of their importance, they are kum, na, sow, kwa, tsop, biu, kup, pek, dat and jong. With the exception of the first two, all are either fist or forearm strikes. But wait - didn’t we say they are listed by importance? Indeed, the most important are first.

Kum-na in Mandarin in chin-na.  Chin translates in capture, and na means grabbing. Whether it’s in Mandarin or Cantonese both words mean the same thing - joint-locking techniques. And since Choy Li Fut’s founder placed kum-na at the beginning of the fighting list, they are among the system’s most important techniques.

Joint-locking moves are so important that they’ve become a rare, almost secret art within Choy Li Fut. Sounds strange, however, there is a valid reason for it. Because Choy Li Fut’s punching techniques are easier to grasp, students always learn them first. Many students, who eventually become instructors, don’t stay with their own teachers long enough to master the joint-locking art. They smokescreen their lack of advanced training by claiming that Choy Li Fut joint locking is a secret.

Now, 150 years after Choy Li Fut came into being, few people know kum-na techniques. Only those who learned through direct lineage from the founder’s family still emphasize Choy Li Fut joint locks.

Nathan Fisher is one of those select few. Fisher, whose White Dragon School in San Diego is one of the largest Choy Li Fut schools in Southern California, studied from Doc-Fai Wong in San Francisco. Wong’s martial art lineage is linked directly to Choy Li Fut’s founder, Chan Heung.

Actually, Fisher states joint locking is one of the most useful fighting aspects of Choy Li Fut. “Most self-defense confrontations happen at very close range, where you can’t kick or use power punches,” said Fisher. “Also, today’s laws often make you the felon if you injure your assailant. So you may not want to cause them any bodily damage. Joint locks are perfect. You can effectively handle close-range situations without seriously injuring your attacker.”

Kum-na techniques are ideal submission tactics. They are based on simple joint manipulation; the joint is simply turned or twisted against its normal operating direction. There are eight joints commonly used for Choy Li Fut kum-na locks.

Let’s start with a lock of the opponent’s jaw, which is seldom used today because it can cause serious injury. However, in the old days when martial arts were life-or-death situations, opponents’ jaws were dislocated by Choy Li Fut stylists using tiger claw techniques to administer the lock. One hand held the back of the attacker’s head, with the other under the jaw. Only a quick twist was needed to dislocate the jaw.

Next up is the neck, one of the body’s weakest collection of joints. Unlike killing techniques, where the neck is twisted and broken, the kum-na technique is strictly for submission. Attackers are controlled by pulling the head and neck backward. One hand is placed on the assailant’s forehead or under the jaw, pulling their head back while the other hand pushes forward against their upper back.

Fisher’s favorite joint lock and also the most popular in the system is the shoulder lock, or lok kiu (mill grinder). To execute this technique, Fisher grabs his opponent’s wrist and forearm with both hands. Then, while rotating the trapped arm slightly, he sinks his body weight straight down on the arm, creating pressure against the joint.

There are two types of lok kiu joint locks. One is the big circle that locks the opponent’s shoulder by rotating his entire arm. The other is the small circle that locks the elbow by rotating only the opponent’s lower arm.

Another winner is the elbow lock. Choy Li Fut, like other southern styles, was patterned partly after animal fighting. Elbow locks are performed either with hooking crane hand techniques or open-palrm snake actions. Elbow locks differ from lok kiu in that the opponent’s arm is twisted clockwise instead of counterclockwise.

Choy Li Fut wrist locks do not appear in the forms until students are advanced enough to learn the drunken form or Buddha palm. The popular technique that portrays the martial artist drunkenly holding a wine cup is actually a wrist lock. This joint lock is done as both a left and right wrist twist. The initial move in Choy Li Fut’s Buddha palm form - the monk’s bow - is a wrist lock that traps the opponent’s palm against the defender’s chest with the wrist bent painfully backward.

The last joint lock using the arm is the finger lock. This technique has two names: la-sao (inward hand) when the hand is twisted counterclockwise; nap-sao (outward hand) when the hand is twisted clockwise. More than one finger is grabbed when using these techniques. Individual finger locks are done by pushing one finger away with the thumb. Fisher likes to teach these techniques to women for defense against a push or a choke. And it’s also effective when someone grabs a wrist and you don’t want to punch them.

As unlikely as it sounds, the back is another Choy Li Fut kum-na target. Choy Li Fut stylists push their antagonist backward over their leg, using a horizontal open-hand action called dan-lan. Stylists stay in a strong square-horse stance while they do this technique, breaking their attacker’s balance by pushing with one leg against the back of the knee.

The defender’s upper hand pushes against the opponent’s neck, which is weak. If they pushed against the chest, the opponent might be strong enough to push back. The lower hand for a back lock is at the opponent’s waist or hip, pulling forward to further disrupt balance.

Choy Li Fut knee and ankle locks include the golden scissors technique, in which the defender’s legs grab and lock the attacker’s legs. Simpler yet, the Choy Li Fut stylist uses one knee to hold the assailant down while using his hands to twist and lock the attacker’s ankle or knee.

Remember, although it’s easier to punch or kick an attacker, kum-na techniques are valuable when your intention is not to seriously injure your opponent. Also, if your skill level isn’t high, the technique won’t always work for you. That’s one reason kum-na0 is taught only to advanced Choy Li Fut students. If their skills are not superior to an opponent, then the opponent will escape from the joint locks.

Besides considerable technical skill, martial artists also need strong fingers and wrists. Without strong hand and wrists you won’t be able to hold your opponent long enough to apply the kum-na technique. In the old days, Choy Li Fut practitioners strengthened their fingers with drills like the tiger claw exercise, where they lifted heavy weighted jars with their fingers. Now, people like Fisher practice daily with fingertip push-ups and pull-ups.

Understanding pressure points can also be helpful. If your opponent is bigger or stronger than you, it’s essential to find the weakness that neutralizes his strength.

And finally, a certain degree of internal (chi development) training is a must to help you relax and follow the flow of your opponent’s movements. Force against force never works with joint locking. When you are relaxed it’s easy to find the right leverage for your lock. Considered advanced training, Choy Li Fut’s internal system is reserved for students who have already mastered the martial art’s external aspects.

Might does not make right. But Choy Li Fut joint locking can help you overcome an opponent without putting him in the hospital - or you in jail.

Learn more about Choy Li Fut Kung Fu in San Diego County: whitedragonmartialarts.com

Tags: Kung Fu Kickboxing MMA

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