SIFU DAVE LACEY has devoted 28 years to Chinese Martial Arts, having spent the past 20 years teaching in Australia. Before taking up the Choy Lay Fut style, Sifu Lacey was a close school friend and sparring partner of the late Bruce Lee. (That was back in 1958). It was at the age of 17, in Hong Kong (where he was born), that Master Lacey began his long study of Choy Lay Fut, under two very famous Kung Fu fighters -- Sifu Lai Hung and Sifu Kong Hing. Sifu Lai Hung's Master, Lee Chow, and Sifu Kong Hing's Master (also his father) Kong On, both learnt Buck Sing (Northern) Choy Lay Fut from the legendary Master Tam Sam (3rd Generation Choy Lay Fut). Sifu Dave's Martial Arts skills and reputation earned him the name of 'Black Panther' in 1961, when he emerged from the Hong Kong Martial Arts circle as one of the top fighters selected to fight in bloody matches between Choy Lay Fut and another popular, rival Martial Arts style (Wing Chun), In the 1950s and '60s, rival challenge 'grudge' fights between these two schools took place on an almost weekly basis.,, Sifu Lacey's participation in these challenge matches (after less than three years' training in Choy Lay Fut) -- a style that had over 50,000 practitioners in the 1960s and which now reportedly boasts over 400,000 members in Hong Kong -- made headline news in the Chinese newspapers of Hong Kong. His Martial Arts reputation is well known and, respected in the Chinese Martial Arts circles of Hong Kong, Macao, Singapore and Malyasia where, even today, they still remember and talk about the famous "5 Black Panthers of Choy Lay Fut".

"A martial artist's reputation has no true value", says Sifu Lacey "if he has no honour and self-rospect and no respect for other martial artists. A martial artist who is full of self-praise and ego and who is always boasting about himself, can never expect to win the respect and admiration of other fellow martial artists. Humility, respect, and upholding one's honour and good name of one's Martial Arts school and the style it represents is the breeding of a true and admirable martial artist".

It is these very qualities in Master Lacey that have made him so well-liked and won him the respect of so many Kung Fu Masters and martial artists in South- East Asia. His love and dedication to Kung Fu, and the groat respect and loyalty he has for his Sifu, is well known to all who know him. In the 1980 5th World (CMA) Kung Fu Tournament held in Malaysia, the Choy Lay Fut Kung Fu School from Perth, representing Australian 'B' Team, won them the respect and high praise of the tournament officials.

Master Dave Lacey's popularity was again seen at the 1982 6th World Chinese Martial Arts tournament held in his home city, Hong Kong, where the crowd gave him e thunderous applause as he was called to perform the rarely-seen 'Drunken Eight Immortals' form. It was in 1966 that Sifu Dave and his twin brother, Sifu Vince, opened their first kwoon (school) tn Perth, and staked teaching and propagating Buck Sing Choy Lay Fut. They have been appointed as President and Cllairman of the Hong Kong Chinese Martial Arts Association, as well as the World Choy Lay Fut Kung Fu Association here in Australia, and are honorable members of the Chan Heung Memorial Foundation Society and Singapore's 'Hing Sing Kwoon'. Sifu Lacey believes the traditional Chinese Martial Arts remain the most widely practised self-defence system In the world, with practitioners running into the millions.

With today's trend towards non-classical Martial Arts in the western world, however, many people undoubtedly ask the question: Are today's modern, non-classical fighting systems more practical and effective than the old traditional styles? "Certainly not", is Master Lacey's emphatic response. "Any fighting style is only as good or effective as the man behind it. Any fighting technique, whether it be classical or non-classical, can be equally effective in a street defence situation. The effectiveness of any fighting style depends on the efficiency and physical condition of the martial artist using it. A more experienced and better fighter can lose a fight if he lacks stamina, power, speed and the endurance to take heavy physical punisl~ment (blows). Other important factors such as correct timing and accuracy of the punch or kick, and one's Martial Arts ability and confidence, all contribute towers the overrall outcome of the fight. No martial artist can claim himself or his fighting style to be "unbeatable", and yet, since the rise in popularity in Oriental Martial Arts in the last decade, we have seen many new Martial Arts systems springing up all over Australia with each self-proclaimed instructor proudly claiming the title as "Formulator' (or 'Founder') of his own brand of modern-day,, non*classical Martial Arts. Some claim their style to be superior, more practical and effective than the old traditional styles". "It is true that many traditional martial artists would practise one Way in their formal training, but change to entirely different methods of technique and footwork for free-fighting", Sifu Lacey adds, "This is evident in Kung Fu tournaments where we may see a fighter of a well-known traditional style use swing or hook punches, jabs, back-fists and high roundhouse or back kicks in total contra- governed by their styler This is not the case in Choy Lay Fut Kung Fu.." Because Choy Lay Fut Kung Fu is offensively oriented to begin with (developed purely for combat and ne~ sport), there is very little difference between the pre-arranged techniques and those used in free-sparring. In fact, there is a surprising parallel between Choy Lay Fut hand techniques and those of Western boxing -- Choy Lay Fut having the advantage of a wider range of punches such as the long straight stabbing fore-knuckle punch (Panther Fist), swinging punch, whipping punch (parallel fore-knuckle backfist), downward backfist, hooking punch and both short and long uppercut punch -- all blended together in interchangeable combinations that can only be described as devastating. Other auxiliary punches and hand strikes used in Choy Lay Fut are the Fut Gar (Buddist) palm, phoenix fist (one knuckle punch), tiger claw fist, crane beak fist, crushing forearm blows, finger thrusts, backwrist strikes, open palm and backhand slaps and elbow strikes, combined with the seizing and grappling hand movements and the Buck Gar Tui (Northern Style kicks) such as the 180 degree and 360 degree rotary kicks, high sweeping crescent kicks, back heel kick, straight stabbing toe kicks, jumping hook back, thrust heel side kick , downward stamping kick and front and back floor sweeping kicks. These combine to produce a dynamic repertoire of simultaneously executed powerful, flowing hand and foot techniques, making Choy Lay Fut a complete and sophisticated fighting style. With 150 years of fighting history behind it, CLF has won a reputation as one of the most fierce and respected Chinese fighting styles in existence today. In Hong Kong alone, CLF has a following of over 400,000 practitioners, making it the most popular style of Kung Fu in a place where there are over 100 different Chinese Martial Arts stylesl With such great Masters as Sifu David Lacey and Sifu Vince Lacey (now in America) promoting authentic traditional Kung Fu, martial enthusiasts in this country and overseas will no doubt greatly benefit from the teachings of this style.