Jerng Mun Yun (Heir of the Tradition)

The Heir of the Tradition or Keeper of the Style has the great responsibility of preserving the style's purity and fidelity. His guardianship assures that the style remains whole throughout the years, parallel to social and political processes. These heirs, besides being immersed in this environment of wisdom from birth, imbibe at the same time and through successive generations, their capacity to interpret and execute the art with extraordinary perfection.

It astonishes and moves us that within one being, both the martial and the artistic aspects of the style are so splendidly expressed, that one person manifests the Yin Yang energy in such a special way as the current Jerng Mun Yun does. If we see him practicing the Qigong breathing exercises, his movements seem to have the softness and delicacy of a butterfly; when he practices Kung Fu, he seems to have the speed, power and strength of a lighting bolt. We did not have the opportunity to observe the Jerng Mun Yun who preceded him, we can only imagine them.

Now, we offer a brief commentary on the meaning of the term Jerng Mun Yun.

It is translated as "guardian", "keeper," “heir” (in English: Keeper of the Style ).

From the moment that Chan Heung, the style's founder, chose his son Chan Koon Pak as heir to all his knowledge, his writings, and his leadership, the figure of Keeper of the System, Keeper of the Style or Heir to the Tradition was created.

The Jerng Mun Yun who keeps the system, transmits the inheritance given to him in its entirety to one of his sons, in order to preserve the body of knowledge far from erroneous interpretations and the degenerations brought on by time. He is also the leader of the style, as is seen in all ancient traditions.

The Choy Lee Fut of the Chan family is among the few traditional systems that continue to respect this ancient custom.

This is the figure currently encarnated by the Grand Master Chan Yong Fa: the Jerng Mun Yun of the Chan family, a fifth-generation direct descendent of the founder who has been entrusted with the task of communicating the style and keeping it alive through the heirs that follow.

Jerng Mun Yun Chen Yong Fa

(Chan Wing Fa in Cantonese), who was born in China in 1951, began to train when he was only 4 years old, under the direction of his grandfather, the legendary master Chan Yiu Chi, who, from the beginning, oriented this training toward the future role his grandson would play as the system's heir. Tough, exhaustive training and meticulous instruction were necessary. After 10 years of exhaustive practice, when his grandfather died in 1965, Chen Yong Fa continued learning from his father. Nevertheless, due to the difficult political situation in China at that time, the Jerng Mun Yun Chan Wan Hon was obliged to carry out his work discretely. The training of his Wing Sing Tong (a closed circle of disciples) was carried out under compromising circumstances: when night fell, the instruments of the style were dug up, used, and then re-buried until the next day. In spite of this, Chen Yong Fa continued learning from his father until his death in 1979. This ended his preparation as a fighter and he became, like his ancestors, the living heir of a Kung Fu system known around the world today for its depth and functionality.

As part of the complete Choy Lee Fut instruction, the Master Chen Yong Fa has also inherited the original manuscripts that document the history and evolution of this martial arts system, writings in the very hand of its creator and his descendents. These documents record, movement by movement, the execution, orientation, techniques, application, etc. of everything existing in Choy Lee Fut. There is also a series of books that recount the system's history starting with Chan Heung, indicating who the members of the Wing Sing Tong were in different generations and the location of their Hung Sing Gwoons (schools), etc.. These documents are a jewel of inestimable value, leaving no room for personal or selfishly-motivated interpretations.

One could say that Choy Lee Fut is one of the better documented systems in the world, even though only the Jerng Mun Yun has received the instruction necessary to understand manuscripts of such complexity.

Chan Family Choy Lee Fut is a valuable and inexhaustible source of knowledge for those instructors and students who are serious followers of the Chan family's teachings.

Now it is the turn of our Sifu Chen Yong Fa to continue the family tradition of propagating the art of Choy Lee Fut.

Currently, the master Chen Yong Fa (graduate of the Kwangtung College of Traditional Chinese Medicine), practices as a traditional doctor, as his ancestors did, and has his Wing Sing Tong clinic in the gigantic Chinese neighbourhood in Sydney ( Australia ). His classes in Choy Lee Fut Kung Fu and Lohan Qigong are given in the Hung Sing Gwoon located in the same building.

Each and every Jerng Mun Yun, at his due moment, has faced diverse challenges for the defence, improvement and spread of the art. Master Chen Yong Fa lives in the era of telecommunications (Internet, cell phones), the human genome, and space exploration.

How can one combine tradition with modernity? How does one embrace the future while maintaining the purity of the art? Jerng Mun Yun Chen Yong Fa has achieved this to perfection: on one hand, he has kept away from mercantilism, publicity and selling an image and, on the other hand, his ultra-dynamic web page delivers information and knowledge and creates a forum for promoting the exchange of ideas. And what could be more advanced and altruistic than to have allowed the internal system, Shaolin Lohan Qigong, to be taught to non-biological members of the Chan family!

Thanks to his open mind, we can enjoy the privilege of knowing and practicing it today.

Family Tree of Choy Lee Fut Kung Fu

The Chan family lineage, always vigilant for the unity of the Kung Fu system and its practitioners throughout the world, has endured for generations. The founder gathered all his knowledge together and gave it to his son, in a perpetual teaching, a life dedicated to learning. Thus, Chan Family Choy Lee Fut was preserved in its entirety from one generation to the other, from one guardian to the other, from each father to his son.

This is why we present the original ancestral tree as it appears in the Chan family books, but including Chan Yuen Wu, Lee Yau and Choy Fook, the masters of Chan Heung Gung, in whose memory the name of this discipline was created.

CHAN HEUNG GUNG
(1806-1875)
Jo-See  (Founder of Choy Lee Fut, 1 st Generation) 

CHAN KOON PAK
(1847-1920)
(Son of the Founder and Keeper of the 2 nd Generation)

CHAN YIU CHI
(1888-1965)
(Grandson of the Founder and Keeper of the 3 rd Generation)

CHAN WAN HON
(1919-1979)
(Great-grandson of the Founder and Keeper of the 4 th Generation)

CHAN WING FA
(CHEN YONG FA)
(1951)
(Great-great-grandson of the Founder and Current Keeper of the 5 th Generation of Choy Lee Fut)