Pok Khek Kung Fu

[PoKKhek]

Hey everybody
Just joined up yesterday, even though I've been visiting the site for a while now
I was just wondering if anybody here would possibly have any footage of training or sparring from Pok Khek as I've been training for a while now and just been curious to see the difference in the way other people train/learn the style.

For anybody that hasn't heard of Pok Khek, it's basically a very combat efficient style created by Master Nip Chee Fei who I believe was a master in Choy Li Fut and Tai Chi Quan who combined the 2 into one style or something rather :P
I've heard that some of it's strengths come from Shaolin Kung Fu as well actually, although I can't be specific about anything really since it's very hard to find information about the style online, except from my teacher of course

[stonecrusher69]

Hi...I have not heard of the style but it sounds interesting. Does it resemble CLF or Tai Chi more?

[Antonius]

Howdy, PoKKhek. Never heard of it, but welcome to the forum anyway.

[PoKKhek]

Hi...I have not heard of the style but it sounds interesting. Does it resemble CLF or Tai Chi more?

The only legit article I can seem to find online is here(just a small article) if you'd like to have a read (this is cause I've read a few things on shifty sites about things which really don't resemble what we practice)
Pok Khek
(you may have to scroll up a little)

Although I can't be specific about what the style resembles more(as I've barely scratched the surface of the style), I can tell you that it does focus alot on the combat side of Tai Chi, which is probably why it's been known to be so effective in competitions and such. As far as I've learnt, the style is long range and short range and we practice a lot of internal and external techniques.

I just find it a shame that the style is hardly recognised these days and that it's so hard to find footage of practice of the style since its such a beautiful system :O

I'd probably be sure that if you asked your Sifu about the style he may have some knowledge



Also, Howdy Anthony

[Joseph C]

Hello PoKKhek, thank you for sharing. Seems quite interesting and I believe the article stated that master Nip trained in Fut Kah.

Peace & Joy,

Joe

[Antonius]

Hi everyone,

During a recent email exchange with Sifu, I got another chance to see how Sifu is a walking encyclopedia of kung fu knowledge. Sifu has kindly offered to share this email on the forum. Enjoy!

Dear Anthony,

Pok Khek was a style of kungfu invented by Sifu Yip Chee Fei in the 1960s. Sifu Nip Chee Fei was from Hong Kong, but was invited by the Chin Woo (Essence of Martial Art) Association to teach Taijiquan in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. Later he also set up his Bak Seng Choy-Li-Fatt school in Ipoh in the state of Perak..

Sifu Nip Chee Fei combined Choy-Li-Fatt and Taijiquan to form a new style called “Pok Khek”. “Pok Khek” is a Cantonese term meaning sparring.

Most of the techniques in Pok Khek, however, are from Choy-Li-Fatt, especially the upward swinging fist, the downward smashing fist, and the skyward cannon fist. An outstanding force-training method of Poh Khek was to hold a pair of dumb-bells in both hands to perform these Choy-Li-Fatt fist techniques. This made the arms of Ppk Khek practitioners very powerful, which was excellent for their Choy-Li-Fatt techniques.

Pok Khek training emphasized combat sequences, and their practitioners became formidable fighters winning many national and international competitions. Typically, Pok Khek practitioners would swing their powerful, long-reaching arms according to their combat sequences at their opponents. Our students today would have no difficulty countering these attacks, but many kungfu practitioners would not know what to do. Of course we don’t mean to be boastful, but this was a fact. I would add that at that time I too would be hard-pressed if an opponent kept swinging his powerful arms at me..

Indeed, there was an interesting story regarding counters to these powerful Pok Khek attacks. Kungfu was very popular in Malaysia at that time. One master, whom I could remember only by his nick-name of “Flying Mouse”, was teaching Wudang Kungfu in Ipoh. His Wudang Kungfu was hard. Some Pok Khek students, probably thinking that Wudang Kungfu should be soft like Taijiquan, commented that his was not Wudang Kungfu. On hindsight, I believe his was the Wudang Kungfu of Foong Tou Tuck, and not the Wudang Kungfu of Zhang San Feng.

Flying Mouse was annoyed and responded by saying that there was nothing formidable about Pok Khek attacks. This caused quite a stir because it was well known then that Pok Khek practitioners were tough opponents.

I was dating Simu in Ipoh at that time. One of her relatives was crazy over kungfu. (For those who think that kungfu crazies are good-for-nothing fellows, it is inspiring to mention that he is now a very successful businessman.) I had a discussion with him. He told me that he purposely paid a visit to Flying Mouse and politely asked how he could counter those formidable Pok Khek attacks, especially the skyward cannon punch. I remember the answer well as it was an “Aha” experience for me then, indicating again that some of the best lessons in kungfu were learnt outside regular classes. The reply was “thread the attack”.

It was a credit to both sides, the Wudang practitioners and the Pok Khek practitioners, that they kept their cool. Their mis-understanding did not erupt into open challenges, and soon it faded away.

Years later I asked my sifu, Sifu Ho Fatt Nam, “Sifu, how could I defend against a powerful skyward cannon punch?” “It’s quite simple,” my sifu replied. “Brush it away with Enter Sea to Search for Shells.”

Isn’t it interesting that although these two counters against the same attack involve diagonally opposite movements -- one is a upward movement whereas the other is downward – they are both very effective?

Best regards,
Sifu.

[AlexBaranosky]

Enter Sea to Search For Shells

Enter Sea to Search For Shells (Mogan, on left):



from Amazing Techniques in Shaolin Kungfu

[Markus Kahila]

Sihing Anthony, thank you for reproducing Sifu's illuminating post here.


Personally, I love "White Tiger Presents Claws" against uppercuts.



Best wishes,

[PoKKhek]

Hi everyone,

During a recent email exchange with Sifu, I got another chance to see how Sifu is a walking encyclopedia of kung fu knowledge. Sifu has kindly offered to share this email on the forum. Enjoy!

I had a feeling your Sifu would have had some knowledge which I'm happy to see

Personally, I love "White Tiger Presents Claws" against uppercuts.

It's good to be able to handle yourself against a good uppercut :P

Since Pok Khek had been arranged very well into the forms that I learn today, as well as all the Blocks and Counter Attacks put together for combat by my Sifu's Sifu, even the first beginners form we learn involves 2 nasty uppercuts

[Mark CH]

Thank you Anthony Siheng for posting Sifu's knowledge here for us all to learn.

[AnthonyF]

Pok Khek Kung Fu

Hi my name is Anthony and I started Pok Khek Kung Fu in 1977. Anyone with any questions about the style I would be more than willing to help with information. The information about where the style originated from is relatively correct but there is not much information about the style itself. Currently I have been teaching Pok Khek for the last 3 years. My instructor is Sifu Soon Chew who trained in Malaysia for 12 years under the tutorial of Nip Chee Fei's senior student. The style itself has branched out into different areas because it has been influenced not only by Choy Lay Fut but other styles of Kung Fu as well. To understand any style properly can take a lifetime and the more you train the more you realise there is to learn. This also applied to Pok Khek. To try and help people understand a bit more about the style there is a grading system in place developed by Sifu Chew. There are 10 gradings and it would take about 10–15 years to complete these gradings. Then it can take the rest of your lifetime to perfect these teachings. cheers, Anthony

[Daoist]

Hi Anthony,

I've always been fond of Choy Li Fut kung fu, but never learned much of it from my Sifu (I was concentrating on other styles then). What style of taijiquan infuenced Pok Khek and is tui shou in the curriculum or no? Also, have the Choy Li Fut techniques in your style been modified to be softer or more internal like taijiquan? Thanks for sharing

[AnthonyF]

Hi Daoist, Nip Chee Fei apparently was a master in the Yang style of Tai Chi. The influence of Tai Chi in Pok Khek only becomes apparent in further training of the style and many of the techniques of Choy Li Fut have been modified and manipulated by previous Pok Khek instructors. Tui Shou is also taught in Pok Khek. What was passed onto me regarding the understanding of internal forms of martial arts was to just keep training hard with correct technical application and to not stop and the rest will follow. If you have any questions regarding any techniques in Pok Khek you are more than welcome to ask.
Cheers Anthony

[Ht_pies]

Hi Anthony,

I've always been fond of Choy Li Fut kung fu, but never learned much of it from my Sifu (I was concentrating on other styles then). What style of taijiquan infuenced Pok Khek and is tui shou in the curriculum or no? Also, have the Choy Li Fut techniques in your style been modified to be softer or more internal like taijiquan? Thanks for sharing

There is no ts in Pok Khek. It is not soft like tai chi and definitely not an internal art. IMHO it is not an "art" but a "fighting system" developed by the late Nip Chee Fei. It's mainly "simplified practical" CLF incorporating a couple of techniques from tc (draw bow to shoot tiger & parry punch).
The whole curriculum last 2-3 years depending on the ability of the students. Training consist of full contact sparring, practising with "tit saw" (iron weight not dumb bells as weight distribution is very different), arm weight rings, leg weights, bundles of rattan, iron shirt etc...
If you watch the tapes of PK students competing in tournaments you would consider the system "crude" not beautiful but very effective as most PK students could fight after 6 months of training.
Just to share my limited experience, I can recall the late NCF visiting one of his top PK students, the late Tong Yee Ming's classes on a bi-monthly basis. NCP would ask a few of TYM's PK students to attack him from front, back, left & right simultaneously. NCP would use his tc skill to fend off the attacks & he was very good and highly skilled as none could make contact/hit him.
I was told that after a year or two after having learned parry panther fist (poon lan chup) a number of PK students left and started their own schools.
Do not take my word for what I have written - just ask NCF's indoor students. There are still quite a number of them around as there is still a very active Chee Fee's CLF/TC school in Ipoh. In fact, they just did some renovations to the club building not too long ago.
If you belong to NCF school lineage, just ask your sifu and tapes of those PK students competing in tournaments are readily available. If you are lucky, you may also get to watch NCP performing his 3 sets of tc forms and I reckon his tc sword form is still the best that I have seen so far.
Note: one of NCF's top PK students was nicknamed "heavenly flying rat" fei teen lo shih....is that the same person that was mentioned earlier in this thread??

[AnthonyF]

Regarding Pokh Khek

Hi Ht_Pies.
There is no limitation to learning. So if a style introduces techniques from another style would you say that this is within that style?