I will base my introduction on the subject of Kung Fu on various definitions found on the web, as, these are the most common understandings of the art form:

-Kung Fu, generic name (Mandarin), for a wide range of Chinese combative systems. The Cantonese term is "gung fu."

-A very ancient form of martial arts which also has innumerable styles and substyles, Kung Fu includes the legendary Shaolin style of fighting, which was named after a 6th century monastery in Honan, China. The Shaolin style was developed over many centuries, expanding from 72 basic fighting movements in its early development to 170 moves divided into five styles named after the animal the movements were supposed to resemble or represent; the Tiger, Leopard, Snake, Dragon and Crane.

-Skill from Hard Work A common generic term for any Martial Art that originated in China. Kung Fu is a comparatively modern term -- it has only been used in the 20th century. The classical Chinese terms for Martial Arts include wushu, wuyi, quan-fa and quan-shu.

So then, Metalstorm. What are your views on this art form? Do you or have you practiced any of it's many schools?

I'd be most interested to see where this thread goes....so don't hold back on posting!

Ah, as we have discussed, I train in Dr Yang's Shaolin Long Fist style. I am new to the martial arts (although I did do Judo for a year, that was a long time ago) and kung fu is a very difficult style to train in.... we're put under constant pressure, and Long Fist, being a Northern,external style, places emphasis on the legs and leg strength as to develop a strong base of physical power from which to strike.

Although I've only done the style for a few months, I've seen a lot of people leave, because they found it too straining for their own tastes. We're constantly exerted but this hard work will pay off... in the end. But it's a long and very challenging road, but most certainly a most rewarding one.

yeah, i used to take kung-fu like almost 8 years ago. i took it for 2 years. but our teacher dude was a lil weird. instead of any belts or anything, he had us organized in ranks. it went from beginer(and it had 3 ranks in that) then intermediate(3 ranks in that) then master(3 ranks in that) and then there was some weird chinese word for the rank above the masters. i got the the 1st leverl of master by the end of the second year, and then to qualify for the next level, we had this contest. the contest was being held around th etime when my life wasnt really the best. had exams, was moving from saudi to canada, had exams and all sorts of stuff. so i got to the finals, and got beat down pretty bad. and then after that i just quit kung-fu. it wasnt really helping me anymore. at first it was great for me to releave my stress and chill around, but near the end, it was begining to be more stressful. and the teacher kept putting so much pressure on me. and then yeah...so i didnt really have a good expeirence with it.

I took kung fu for a few months but it wasnt what I was looking for. It was more or less just a whim. It kind of helped me with my footwork and I did learn a few cool exercises that I use to this day.

Very interesting topic , I really like any art , and well when it becomes physical is awesome .... so when I was young I took some Kung Fu , and I must tell you despite everything being a girl or whatever I learned a lot a lot , not only about the art itself , but about life ..the teacher taught us so much things that I still remember ...I'm glad I took that class and I would love to go back maybe one day when I'm not that busy ...but it's awesome and unique for anyone who wants to take it I would surely recommend it ...Nice thread my dear ...

I've actually trained in Martial Arts since I've been two years old.
My school is actually one my father Developed And is a Combination
Of several Different Styles, Most Heavily Impacted by Muy Thai, Shaolin, and Tae kwan Do.

Watching kung-fu is interesting indeed. I've watched a few kung fu movies and they're really interesting.
Martial arts like kung-fu can be a lot useful, to defend yourself , isn't it?

Written by Paganblood on 10.03.2007 at 06:09

Watching kung-fu is interesting indeed. I've watched a few kung fu movies and they're really interesting.
Martial arts like kung-fu can be a lot useful, to defend yourself , isn't it?

Well yes it is, that is the soul principal on which it operates, to defend yourself as well as others, and for self expresion. But ummm.....even though this thread is older, there is a thread for martial arts in general now. Why not lock this one and let Kung Fu be discussed on the martial arts thread?

I wanted to practise kung fu when I was going to start doing martial arts, but unfortunately I couldn't find a good school here, so too bad for me

Written by tulkas on 10.03.2007 at 19:01

I wanted to practice kung fu when I was going to start doing martial arts, but unfortunately I couldn't find a good school here, so too bad for me

yeah well my father learned from some very experienced people who also tended to keep to themselves (For instance, he learned from an authentic shaolin master who had fled china to escape persecution) and the only "real" school he went to was a Tae Kwan Doe School. He learned a wide variety because he spent all of his time growing up expanding his style and learning more and more, untill he eventually created his own school. Unfortunatly I am the only one he's passed that on to. He has tried to take on other students, but for some reason or other they all ended up having to forsake it (mostly because their lives became to busy)

@Arian Totalis: you should consider yourself lucky actually, you've learn a technique almost no one knows. That's what happend when martial arts were in the beginnig, they were teqniques passes through families. It's cool to know things like that still go on

@arian: not a bad idea..

Written by tulkas on 12.03.2007 at 02:44

@Arian Totalis: you should consider yourself lucky actually, you've learn a technique almost no one knows. That's what happend when martial arts were in the beginnig, they were teqniques passes through families. It's cool to know things like that still go on

Yeah I feel sort of like an heir or something, but the PRoblem is I am a Musician and that takes more of my time than Martial arts Does, and I'm afraid it may die out.