General information about the style
Time passed and Kung Fu styles of Siu Lam (or “Shaolin” in Mandarin) and Mo Dong (or “Vu Dan” in Mandarin) started to be systematic and being taught Kung Fu became very popular for everybody. Since then, the fame of Siu Lam and Mo Dong were spread everywhere. Physical practise and Kung Fu practise became a prevailing habit since then. Especially in the area of “Hakkas” which was famous for “giving birth to brave men”, being taught Kung Fu became very popular among the natives.
Founder of Choi Mok Pai Late Great Grand Master Lau Sze Chung
Lau Sze Chung, with the nickname “Saam Gerk Fu”( tiger with three legs) was the owner of the title of a skillful man in martial arts which came from South Shaolin Kung Fu and he lived in the area Jia Zi of Lu Feng. So, he became the founder of Choi Mok style with unique techniques of hands and spear. His constant thirst for knowledge, his untiring will and his modest character gave him the chance to be taught by distinguished masters, even at the age of fifty when ideeed he was already famous for his great abilities and he was responsible for many schools in many parts of the eparchy. His name is still mentioned in Honk Kong and not only. He was given the name “tiger with three legs” when during the possesion of a part of China from the Japanese, he invaded into a prison to release a captive companion, and he achieved that, having although a serious injury of his left hand. After a tough and persistent training under the guidance of his master Cheung Man Wing, his left hand, although useless, it was transformed into a powerful weapon and it was mentioned as a hammer.
Grandmaster Lau Yuen Shing
Lau Sze Chung transfered all his knowledge to his only son Lau Yuen Shing, who was famous himself for his great technique in Kung Fu and for his medical knowledge. Master Lau Yuen Sing was also very famous for his technique with the spear. He taught at his home-land and in Hong Kong, where this style was established. His legendary abilities are still spoken in the circles of martial arts in Honk Kong and he was given the nickname “divine fist”. Gradually, master Lau Biu who was distinguished for his discipline and tough training, invented skilled and punctual techniques with the force of the tiger and the eagle. His own method of training with the name “Mystifying Flowery Hands” is supposed to be excellent even from other Kung Fu fighters of his age.
Master Lau Biu
Generally, Choi Mok style coming from Siu Lam monastery (monastery of Shaolin), which is located in eparchy Fukien, is known to all Shantow. It is also one of the most important and popular systems of South Shaolin Kung Fu at the east area of kwong Dong (Kadona). According to the tradition, Siu Lam monastery (monastery of Shaolin) of eparchy Fukien was built in the period of Tang dynasty (874 -1879?) and reached at its peak of fame during the end of Ming dynasty (1368 -1644) and in the beginning of Ching dynasty. During the Kang Xi reign the monastery was ruined and burnt to the ground by the royal army.
Some monks managed to escape from the destruction and scattered in different places. They obtained trainees and their fighting techniques of south Siu Lam Kung Fu were widely spread at the local people. The most popular styles of Shaolin Kung Fu were : Hung, Lau’s, Choy, Lee and Mok which were represented by five excellent masters. Hung Hei Koon, Lau Sam Ngan, Cnoy Kau Yi, Lee Sik Hoi and Mok Ching Kiu. Each one of the five systems has got its own distinguished characteristics and strong technical points. Choi Mok Pai takes its name from two of them, but it has been influenced and includes elements from all these styles, from the families or not, which the founder had been taught. So, the created style by this rare fighter was influenced by many other styles from which he took the most useful and applicable elements according to his own point of view, in order to create his private method of training and teaching.
Moreover, Lau Sze Chung combined the strong parts from five different Kung Fu styles : Chu family, Fan family, Chung family, Liu He Quan (Lok Hop Kuen or “six combinations”) and Tai Chi which was at great and wide blossom at that time. He combined all these together with other techniques from other styles and having for example the movements and techniques of Shaolin Kung Fu ( the way he had been taught by Cheung Man Wing - a famous and eccentric master from Jiang Xi eparchy), he created a unique system icluding the best fighting elements from all these styles, purposed for real battle and especially for survival. The result is a full, strong, powerful and deep style with great - if not exclusive - advantage in the use of fighting.
So, like all styles of Nam (Shaolin) Kung Fu, style Choi Mok is charactrerized by various hand techniques, constant strength and steady steps. The technique is escorted with strength which comes from the combination of the hands, the waist and the legs.
The difference between Choi Mok and other styles is that it emphasizes more in practical use and effectiveness in the battle fields. There are detailed demands of the body posture, the legs and the hands. For example, the elbows will never need, technically, to be fully stretched and they will have to be bended, so as someone to change easily the technique he uses, accordingly to the technique used by the opponent. Choi Mok uses the strategy of constant attack with all the force. Also, a Choi Mok fighter will attack to the prepared parts of the opponent’s body, but also and to the not prepared simultaneously. Then, he will give a powerful strike having got a steady posture and technically steady hands - “bridges” (Chinese fighters usually called the hands of Choi Mok fighters “bridges”). Moreover, when he comes face to face with an opponent’s aggressive attack he will also attack forward and by taking advantage the force which comes from the twisting of the hands and the waist, he will also attack.
On the contrary, the most Kung Fu systems have got the strategy “when you are given a strike, you must first avoid it and when you are attacked with a spear follow it ”, but Choi Mok’s strategy is: “don’t avoid your opponent’s attack and don’t pursue his hands’ movements”. In Choi Mok, left and right hand change with order and caution forward, so as to be prepared to counter-attack. Since when Choi Mok style adopted the strategy of “full” attack, it uses short-distance techniques of pursuing the opponent, strengthened with the “inch force” (force of one inch) which is created by all joints. There is also a “Noi-Ging” style (internal force), which is also called “Choke-Ging” or “thunder force” and it comes from the lower part of the belly, a force which strikes the opponent like an explosion with constant vibrations. This is a characteristic force in Choi Mok but it is hard and long-termed to obtain.
The whole theory of Choi Mok movements is based on the following methods : “I adopt a covered posture when I attack ”, “I unleash attack right after a movement of defence “. During the fight the used techniques are : “Pounding” (hammer strike), “Springing” (ejection), “Stomping” (crushing) and “Striking forward” (strike forward). The internal force is used in all techniques, and it can penetrate the chest, the belly, the bones and the opponent’s joints. Moreover, all the techniques are done with speed and based on the saying : “Don’t put your hands down for any reason”.
In the battle someone using Choi Mok would make one and only strike at his opponent, if he decided to unleash attack in straight line. He wouldn’t try to find a gap by raising his opponent’s hands, but he would strike them downwards with force, he wouldn’t embrace his opponent, but he would make still his hands. In this occasion the opponent is like a trapped animal.
Choi Mok specializes in face to face training between two men in order one of them to have under control the other one, trying to gain a more advantageous position to make a strike.
In final analysis, although original Choi Mok comes from Fukien Siu Lam monastery, it has received outstanding technical upgrades and fighting improvements, as far as concern the practical use which comes from different styles.