Chuan Fa is a Mandarin term meaning fist way or fighting principle, and is a term used to refer to Chinese martial arts in general. It means much the same thing as the general American usage of the term Gung Fu (Kung Fu), which literally means hard work/great skill.
This system traces itself back to Great Grandmaster Willem Reeders (Liu Seong), who was from Indonesia. His father was a Dutch nobleman, and his mother was of the royal Chinese Liu family. GGM Reeders' accomplishments in the martial arts were numerous. He had extensive experience in many styles, including Gung Fu (7th degree red sash), Kodokan Judo and Jui Jitsu (10th Dan), Budozen Soundje Kempo (7th Dan), Silat, Taijiquan, and had working knowledge of 81 weapons. He was also trained by his uncle in his family style of Kun Tao, which was traditionally the reserve of royalty and only revealed to the males of the family.
This style of Chuan Fa is a Chinese art with influences from Kun Tao and Pentjak Silat. I study under George Reyngoudt, who learned from John Furey while at SUNY Geneseo. John Furey's teachers were Ray Miles and Allan Woodard, and Woodard studied under Great Grandmaster Reeders.
In recent years, my teacher has also been learning from Master Joe Salomone, a student of Grandmaster Art Sikes, who was a Kun Tao student of Great Grandmaster Reeders. Also recently, Shifu Reyngoudt has spent time training under Shifu Gary Galvin, who earned a 2nd degree orange sash Chuan Fa student under GGM Reeders, and who has over 30 years of experience in a number of Chinese and Indonesian martial arts (Including Taiji, Bagua, Silat and Liu Seong Chuan Fa). Master Salomone and Sifu Galvin have shown us some elements of GGM Reeders' art that we had not previously learned, and we hope that they will continue to help us improve and grow.
This form of Chuan Fa has techniques that are designed primarily for street defense. It is not at all a sport oriented art. The fighting style is unique in that it has blended the soft flow of the internal and soft styles with the hard power of the external and hard styles.
I am offering instruction in this system at a recreation center in Fairfax County, VA. To learn more about this class, please visit the Chinese-Indonesian Martial Arts Club site. My teacher runs the Academy of Chinese Indonesian Fighting Arts in Rochester, NY.
When I was a student at Cornell University, I also taught for the Chinese Martial Arts Association At Cornell, and still maintain contacts within that organization.
Copyright © 1997-2003 Erik Harris.