Kung Fu Or Not To Kung Fu?

[MARTIALSTUDANT]

Why kung fu? Most of us do not have the time to put in as lets say the shoaling/wudang monks. I mean most of us see our self's getting as good as them don't we? when we have other responsibility family, work daily life as were as they have hours to train. even Bruce lee had a considerate amount of time to train in jkd. I would like to see some responses on why you may have or have not choose kung fu.

[David Jamieson]

um, when one considers on average that your basic westerner watches 6 hours of tv a day, I would have to say i disagree that you cannot tyrain at a level equal to any.

now lay martial artists do have to pout their time into other things whereas monks are sheltered and do not have to concern themselves with much from the outside world and are afforded a huge opportunity to work at very narrow and specific tracts.

professional fighters on teh other hand do not train everyday for 8 hours a day like a lot of people think. I mean, yes, they will when a fight is coming up, but a lot of pros train with a lighter schedule than many think.

heavy training before competition and maintenance modality training while not on a card in the next 3-6 months. That's how it is.

The point is consistency and will. If yuou want to get good at anything you MUST practice. If you do not, you will simply only be as good as you have allowed yourself to become.

[PlumDragon]

Its about balance.

For me, spending my free time in Kung Fu isnt something that I do for a living, or with every waking hour I have. Its a balancing act, to get out of kung fu what you need to help you maintain good health and good fighting skills and ultimately have a good time doing it.

Some days I train 4 or more hours a day, very hard grueling sessions. Other days I spend all of 15 minutes with simple breathing, stretching, balance work, etc. The balance doesnt come from doing too many or too few hours of "kung fu" in a day; it comes from the nature of what youre doing! Too much intensity and your body tends to break down faster than you can build it up while too little intensity wont push your body enough to allow it to develop the way you might want. Kung fu to me isnt about if you can train as often as a "shaolin monk"...Its a lifestyle, a method of building a harmony between health and strength, and the ability to hold your own in a fight.

If youre really concerned about your progress then be diligent and true to yoourself AND your other goals in life. I just got married and I havent trained much in the last few weeks and not only is it ok, its great! Mix it up, keep your body guessing. Be true to yourself and your goals and aspirations in life, and all else will come in due time...

[Crushing Fist]

I chose kung fu strictly on the coolness factor



it r0x0rz my s0x0rs!

[WinterPalm]

I know quite a few people that give the time thing and it is often just a cop-out because you really have to apply yourself in kung fu. The way I'm taught it is very mentally and emotionally taxing. You are training to counter many things on the street and use the great art for street defense. Maybe the monks didn't worry about actual fighting and this results in their Wheel of Life video and lack of fighting skill. If you live in a monastary and don't ever see aggression and violence as it exists in an urban setting, maybe you won't know what to expect? I personally think that the monks developed great arts but I think it is the flourishing of these arts as they spread throughout China and then the world that has made them as effective and comprehensive as they are today.

The people that quit because it takes too much time to get good are now not training and have made no progress whether instant or gradual...when they could have been training and slowly getting better.

I train Kung Fu because it challenges me in incredible ways that I fell many other things cannot. It forces you to accept your shortcomings and to be honest with who you are and what you can do. Studying under a master is a very humbling experience as the better you get the more you see that it is only there if you work at it and live it...otherwise a slip can mean the end.

[Fu-Pow]

Avoid kung fu at all costs it is ineffectual martial dancing. There is only one effective martial art in the world and it is some combination of Judo, BJJ and Muy Thai.

FP

[David Jamieson]

Avoid kung fu at all costs it is ineffectual martial dancing. There is only one effective martial art in the world and it is some combination of Judo, BJJ and Muy Thai.

FP

are you banking on this guy being a troll? :p

[Scott R. Brown]

Avoid kung fu at all costs it is ineffectual martial dancing. There is only one effective martial art in the world and it is some combination of Judo, BJJ and Muy Thai.

FP

My .357 can beat your Judo, BJJ and Muy Tai!!! And if you try to say otherwise by changing the context, I'll just run you down with my car, poison you, burn down your house, sneak up behind you with a hammer, shoot you with a sniper rifle, bomb you with napalm, paint the side of a mountain to look like a tunnel and lure you into running into it...............;)

[SPJ]

why you may have or have not choose kung fu.

Kung fu means skills acquired over time.

so if you choose Kung fu that means you choose quality of skills over quantities of skills.

in the old time;

one may practice one move well and defeat a lot of people.

such as

1. half a step Beng Quan in Xing Yi.

2. single palm change in Ba Gua Zhang.

3. Ban Lan Chui in Yang Tai Chi.

so the question is not that you choose or not to choose.

the question is that what is your Kung Fu or skills?

:D

[BlueTravesty]

I do Kung Fu because I get a good work out, I have fun and I get to learn some self-defense at the same time. I get to spar, learn weapons, and hang out with some nice, down-to-earth people.

If I wanted to become TEH ULTIMAET FIGHTINGG MACHINE!! then I would probably train in some MMA-related regimen. I would like to learn groundfighting someday, but the need to do so isn't so urgent that I feel like quitting my job or worse, dropping kung fu.

If all I wanted to learn were fighting/self-defense techniques that would work consistently with a minimum of variables, I would stay away from Kung Fu. And Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Muay Thai, and Boxing, and Krav Maga, etc. I would buy a gun and practice the "Use a Weapon to Hurt and Disable the Enemy at Point Blank Range" style. This is the only style without "unnecessary trash" techniques. This style has a long history going back thousands of years, when caveman Og's opponent tried a double leg takedown, and Og dropped a large rock on his opponent's skull.

[PlumDragon]

SPJ,
Fabulous post.