No Kung Fu :( So what should I do?

[chrisb]

Over the last few months I have been preparing myself to re-start my Kung Fu training after 3 years, at the age of 20. Have built my fitness up, lost excess pounds and adapted my lifestyle accordingly.

HOWEVER, I have now found that I am only able to attend the local class once a week (it is held twice a week, but I cannot attend them both due to time restraints). I feel that only training once a week would leave me behind with what is taught in class, and would frustrate me knowing I couldn't attend as much as I want to.

THEREFORE, I am considering attending other classes. I have had a look around and found the other available/feasible martial arts schools in the area.

The styles that I have found are listed in a poll attached to this post - please vote on which you think I should do, and possibly give a bit of a reason for your choice.

I am not interested in fighting competitively, or even becoming a great fighter. I appreciate more the effects martial arts have on me as a person (both physically and mentally) and the discipline they bring.

Thank you all for reading :D

PS: I will also be studying Taiji once a week... if that makes a difference :)

[Chief Fox]

I voted for Wing Chun because Wing Chun is kung fu.

[ShaolinTiger00]

Any way to train Boxing, Wrestling or Judo?

[PangQuan]

i chose wing chun because it is kung fu as well.

the reasoning behind this is that the fundamentals behind wing chun are still chinese concepts. power development, delivery, generation, etc. all part of kung fu.

[Samurai Jack]

I chose Aikido because I like it alot, but my opinion is generally that the style is far less important than the person who is going to teach it to you. That goes double for your goal which appears to be more mind/body connection oriented, rather than fist/face connection.

I also love every one of the arts you've listed. They all have something valuable to teach. Find a good teacher and the rest will fall into place.

[cam]

Why not taiji?
If it's a good school, maybe you could concentrate on that!

[PangQuan]

I chose Aikido because I like it alot, but my opinion is generally that the style is far less important than the person who is going to teach it to you. That goes double for your goal which appears to be more mind/body connection oriented, rather than fist/face connection.

I also love every one of the arts you've listed. They all have something valuable to teach. Find a good teacher and the rest will fall into place.

this is good advice.

[chrisb]

Thank you all for your replies.

In regard Wing Chun, I am not a great fan of the style, and though it is based on chinese concepts, the emphasis on the external elements are not what I'm after.

I will continue on with Taiji, but I feel like I need something more than this - it kind of goes against what I've just said, but I miss the martial application to a degree.

I too lean toward Aikido due to the philosophy behind it and because it seems to be most compatible. But your advice is very applicable in terms of a good teacher- I will most definitely try half of these classes simply to look at my compatibility with the teacher.

Thank you all for the advice :D

[chrisb]

Any way to train Boxing, Wrestling or Judo?

After looking into this, there is Judo available too!

[PlumDragon]

In regard Wing Chun, I am not a great fan of the style, and though it is based on chinese concepts, the emphasis on the external elements are not what I'm after.

I will continue on with Taiji, but I feel like I need something more than this - it kind of goes against what I've just said, but I miss the martial application to a degree.
Why are you not a great fan of wing chun? Wat do you mean by external elements? If yorue touching on the whole internal kung fu vs external, many claim wing chun is "in between" internal and external; teachers out there might say that wing chun is external, but Im sure you could find just as many who claim that, like many Chinese martial arts, with years of training it becomes internal.

My vote was for wing chun.

[chrisb]

My view that it is mainly external does come from my previous teacher. But maybe you are right - I shall look further at Wing Chun.

Thanks.

[David Jamieson]

Try ballet and masturbate in your spare time.

You'll thank me for this advice one day. :p

[SPJ]

They are all good.

Yes, try some lessons and see if you like the teacher and the style.

What is good for me, may not be good for you and vice versa.

As the Chan monk would say, you already have answer in you for your self.

----

:D

[SPJ]

Your voting list is actually the most popular schools here and in Taiwan.

Look into the phone book, these are the ones available almost everywhere.

If you want to seek out a style in Kung Fu, you need references to get into a good one.

Do a lot of researches and ask for references etc.

:D

[Sifu Darkfist]

but wing chung is gung fu (all of you numb nuts) lol just kidding dont take it personally

[ccpc]

samurai jack.

"find a good teacher and the rest should fall into place"

i could not agree with you more. you can choose any style you want, but if your sifu is not 100% knowledgeable about his art or its culture you are not getting what you deserve from who is teaching you. before you choose any school you should think about that.

[Ben Gash]

I voted for Ju Jitsu, as interms of application it's probably the most similar, and will give you a cool perspective on your kung fu.

[GLW]

You said you were training Kung Fu besides.

But, you did not say what style of Kung Fu.

For example, if you are a beginner or intermediate level person and you are doing a northern style, training in Wing Chun at the same time might be strange. Many can't separate the different uses of the waist and connection in the ways that are required to do northern like northern and southern like southern. This would be a similar problem with TKD and others.

So, I would suggest doing something that is not necessarily contained in what you are already doing. This way, you get a broader base without having to work through any conflicts of methods or styles.

So, to me, the safest for this that would also build into your base toolset would either be Aikido or Ju Jitsu ...the choice depending solely on your interest, the quality of the teacher, etc....

[Becca]

I voted for jujitsu, as well. I have found that this type of Japanese style works realy well with Chinese principles. So does judo. BUt the teacher is definantly much more important than the style. Both of the arts I have studies were chosen becouse of the teacher(s) and for no other reason.