Self Defence Kung Fu ???

[BurtRaynolds]

Hi

First of all I know very little about Kung Fu, but I know that there are a lot af different styles that are not the slighters the same.

Anyway.

Wing Chun is said to be a great and very realistic self defense system. How about some of the other styles of Kung Fu are they as good or do they lack some of the realism it takes to make a martial art a bit more effective in self defense?
If some one was looking for a self defense style Kung Fu (Offensive or Defensive self defense, doesn't matter) what should he or she be looking for? Any particular style?

Hope some one can help. Thanks.

P.s Plz don't reply with "the best self defense is running away", "if you feel you need to defend yourself, you need to changes your attitude" or "all styles are great, al long as you're a black belt" I know, I know!!!!! :D :D :D

[dedalus]

I suggest that you need to look for two things above all else - a skillful instructor you gel with, and a style that suits your headspace. Perhaps that's one of those answers you don't want, but it's really the best anyone can give you.

But to answer more in the spirit of "which style", I studied wing chun for several years, and I found it great for self defence - primarilly because we did hard contact chi-sau every class! However I think the effectiveness of the wing chun I learned was very much related to the teaching ability of the instructor and the malice of the other students... there were other clubs around that produced some pretty average fighters (perhaps you could call it "family-friendly wing chun"). In the end I dropped out for two main reasons - firstly, I didn't like the mean, hardcore attitude that I thought drove the students to become such good fighters, and secondly because I met a bagua student who tore me to shreds in an instant.

Wing chun *is* better than a lot of non-Chinese styles: it's not too difficult to learn, and you get good results quickly... but it isn't the pinnacle if you're faced with a great fighter.

If I were back at the beginning of my training, I reckon I'd go with xingyi (hsing-i). In some ways it is like wing chun (simple, direct and powerful), but I think it's actually very much deeper and can lead you on to other internal arts.

[Stumblefist]

The best offensive kungfu is "The Pungent Fist".
This kungfu concentrates on knocking out the enemy through deadly odours.
There's the stinky "Breath of Death",
The venomous "Fatal Flatulence"
and the vicious "Clothes Rotting Corpse Emmanation".
...
None of these are to be taken lightly.

Practicioners undertake a phantasmgorical dietary program, and exert control on their internal organs. Also they practice a kind of Zen which designates them as contraries in which they do every life function backwards eg. wash with dirt.
Practice of this is not for the uncommitted.

"A wish to go to Heaven is the very beginning of falling into Hell."

[nospam]

Hey thar BurtRaynolds,

The style won't matter, but how it is taught. Is a lot of time spent on forms? then you might want to stay away from that school.

You want to see them drilling 2-person exercises..a lot! You want to see or ask if and how frequently they spar. That will give you 'self-defense'. Also ask when beginners spar.

nospam.

[dedalus]

Stumblefist, did you realise that a master of flatulence really did make a cameo in Deng Ming-Dao's "Chronicles of Tao?"?!

[Stumblefist]

No, Dedalus. I was going from some (serious) book i remember from a long time ago.
Tell me about it or so where i can research it.
Thanks :eek:

"A wish to go to Heaven is the very beginning of falling into Hell."

[dedalus]

Cool story... it has been mentioned here before.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...678221-9465530

Sorry to get off track, BR :)

[toddbringewatt]

I agree with Dedalus regarding his Xingyiquan post. Well put.

Also, you might want to check out Small Frame Yang Tai Chi. If you go to www.beijingkungfu.com and select "styles we teach," then "Tai Chi" from the top of the page you can read about this rare style of T'ai Chi Ch'uan.

Like Xingyiquan, T'ai Chi Ch'uan is considered to be one of the Internal arts (widely recognized to be among the more effective forms of Kung Fu, although perhaps more difficult to learn).

Good luck!

"Bruce Leroy. That's who!"

[KC Elbows]

I'd agree with what a lot of the others are saying. When I first moved here, I checked out quite a few of the schools. I had known a few six elbows guys who were decent fighters, but I wanted to make my choice in an informed way.

To make it short, I think that the list of really qualified teachers in any one area will tend to be quite short. Find these people and choose from their arts. For me, it was a choice between a very good wushu teacher who doesn't like teaching the fight aspects of her art(though she obviously knows them), a moderately good pa qua teacher, a decent wing chun teacher, a good tai chi teacher who fights well, and two good six elbows teachers who fight well.

This is not to say that there weren't more arts to choose from, but I did not feel that I should choose an average hsing yi teacher over a great teacher of another art, even though I like hsing yi. Find the best in your area and learn what they know.