Why so many different styles of Kungfu?

[Badger]

Please don't take offense, but how many ways are there really to do this since everyone has 2 legs,2 arms & 1 head?

What are the main differences between them?

Badger

[Kung Lek]

many of them share similar principles, but because of slight modifications by various practitionersand the fact that there were systems developed to defeat other systems and exponentially the styles grew.

many many styles of Chinese martial arts share many many similarities in how they are performed or applied.

All Shaolin arts share many things, the same as many karate styles share many aspects and so on. It comes from the sheer amount of time in development and the particular cultural interst in martial arts that the Chinese in particular had.

peace

Kung Lek

Martial Arts Links (http://members.home.net/kunglek)

[LEGEND]

Even in boxing u have different style of boxings...notice the way Muhammad Ali boxes comparison to Mike Tyson's way. It's the way things are...good question.

A

[SevenStar]

True, but those arms and legs are different shapes and sizes, and in some cases, crippled, as was the case with the founder of a certain style of silat. Different people in different locations had different climates and other environmental factors, which also affeted the way they fought - look at northern and southern styles. Most importantly, We all have a different brain. Some people prefer force meeting force, some prefer yielding, some prefer kicking, others prefer grappling, etc.... So the possibilities of different styles are endless. The principles will be similar, and they are all means to the same end, but the method of getting there differs.

"Just because I joke around sometimes doesn't mean I'm serious about kung-fu.
" - nightair

[Shaolindynasty]

Badger you must have just got through reading a Bruce Lee book. He asks that all the time. It makes sense in a way to say there are only so many ways to to a puch(example) but us humans are just so imaginative!


www.shaolindynasty.cjb.net (http://www.shaolindynasty.cjb.net)

[Badger]

I just always wondered about it.

Thanks for the responses!

Badger

[PaleDragon]

Sometimes the largest differences are just the mindset you have while fighting...

[taijiquan_student]

The main difference between martial arts, I think, is the way you develop(and use) your body, amongst other things like fighting strategy and mind-set.
There are many different ways to develop your body and use it, and there are many different strategies one could use, and there are several mind-sets or attitude's one could adopt in relation to martial atrs and self-defense. Hence, many different arts.

"Duifang jing zhi meng ji, wo fang tui zhi ce fang xi zhi."

[Wongsifu]

its not so much how many different way can you throw a punch its more like how many different animals can you imitate :D

no seriously jokes aside its the whole mindset and the way you link moves together that creates a style, for example the northern shaolin punch long fist style exists also in tai ji , but is executed differently. Its not just a case of a muay thai guy kicks hard and a tkd guy kicks faster , its a case of someone who practises snakes style will go for vital points whereas someone who does tiger style will try to rip chunks of skin off you

This is because THC is not an alkaloid. It does not contain a nitrogen atom, therefore it is a terpenophenolic compound

[Xebsball]

Yeah, 2 arms and 2 legs, but...

There are weapons too AND...

HAIRSTYLE!!!!!

That's why we have so many different kung fu.

----------------------------
Friday evening / The blood still on my hands
To think that she would leave me now / For that ungrateful man

Sole survivor / No witness to the crime
I must act fast to cover up / I think that there's still time

He'd seem hopeless and lost with this note / They'll buy into the words that I wrote

"This feeling inside me
Finally found my love, I've finally broke free
No longer torn in two
I'd take my own life before losing you"

[Budokan]

Why so many different styles of fiction? Fantasy, science fiction, mystery, mainstream, romance, historical, roman a clef, etc.

When you're dealing with humans you're dealing with a varied and imaginative bunch. That goes for martial arts as well as any other human activity that you can think of.

Missionary, wheel-barrow, doggie style, front to back, etc.

ALL aspects of human behavior are open to interpretation due to imagination.

K. Mark Hoover