Kung Fu

[xombi]

Hello. I am 24 and know very little about kung fu. I have never practiced martial arts before.

I have a few questions that you all may be able to answer. First am I too old to start practicing kung fu. next if i do start to practice kung fu if I work hard, will I eventually become a master, or am I too late. and last what style of kung fu would be best for me to start with?

I hope some very experienced people will help me out here.

thank you all.

[MasterKiller]

Yes you are too old to begin the training. Most students are trained from about 2 years old so that they have not developed emotional attachments to their parents yet. Emotional attachments, and the fear of losing attachments, leads to the Darkside.

If you started now, you would probably never be a master anyway. Only the council can grant you the title of Master and there are already a bunch of people ahead of you in line.

I suggest you train in selling-cars style, or maybe waiting-tables style until something better comes along.

[Reggie1]

Hello. I am 24 and know very little about kung fu. I have never practiced martial arts before.

I have a few questions that you all may be able to answer. First am I too old to start practicing kung fu. next if i do start to practice kung fu if I work hard, will I eventually become a master, or am I too late. and last what style of kung fu would be best for me to start with?

I hope some very experienced people will help me out here.

thank you all.

I started at 28. It's never too late to start. As far as becoming a 'master', I don't know. I think it's up to you, but I can say that the more highly skilled guys in my school studied other martial arts since they were young.

What's the deal with the 'master' thing? Exactly what do you define as a master?

I'd imagine if you work your ass off for 5-10 years you could probably open up your own school.

EDIT: And by working your ass off I mean training 6 hours a day, 6 days a week at a MINIMUM. I train ~1.5 hrs / day, 6 days a week and am nowhere near what you would call 'skilled'.

[Chief Fox]

Prepare yourself for an old cliche.







































are you prepared?


















































Here it is.




































Kung Fu is a journey, not a destination.

[Mighty Scott]

I started at 28. It's never too late to start. As far as becoming a 'master', I don't know. I think it's up to you, but I can say that the more highly skilled guys in my school studied other martial arts since they were young. What's the deal with the 'master' thing? Exactly what do you define as a master?

Dude, episode III humor... kind of.

[PangQuan]

You can do anything you want. But the selling cars style is a good idea.

[David Jamieson]

lol, what a bunch of wads. This place is getting to be like bullshido with all the smacktalk.

please, let's leave bullshido where it belongs, that is to say...over there.

now, to the question at hand.

1.You're never too old to start getting involved in some form of Kungfu practice. 24 is certainly not old.

2.Becoming or rather attaining mastery of a style is up to you. If you practice diligently you will come to understand and internalize the style and you will master it if you work at it. Kungfu is no big thing, it's just one more thing that with time and effort anyone can get good at if they choose to do so.

Finally, don't be disuaded by those who would lead you down the garden path of levels of achievement and all sorts of other nonsense. You will achieve what you achieve, you will get better than some and some will be better than you. Live with it because that's the way it is. Also, Kungfu is in your hands, not your words, not your mouth, not your image. Work towards that and let the rest of it go.

good luck!

[norther practitioner]

David's advice is good, as far as what style, well, the question is, what styles are taught around you? what is your location, there are people on this board from a lot of different areas of the world, and some should know what is available where you are..

Good luck on your journey.

[SPJ]

Looong Time ago or once upon a time in Taiwan.

I started with Tang Tui and Shuai Jiao.

I was about 8.

Tong Bei here, Tai Tzu there for a while before Tang Lang.

Ba Ji made a lot of senses.

Tai Chi bored everyone to death. Oh I was about 20 or 22.

Ba Gua I started about the same time.

My point is that you may start anytime. Pick a style that is nearby or you like it.

We all have to start somewhere sometimes.

A journey of a thousand mile starts with a single step. so they said.

Or life is a journey and enjoy the ride said the Nissan car dealer spoke person.

Or something to that matter.



And yes usually it is a lifetime thing.

[gwa sow]

i started when i was 21 with back problems. so at 24 its no problem. tell us where you are and maybe someone can suggest something. personally, i think it would be better to find i good school and go there rahter the choose a style no matter how good the school is. well, "how can you tell if a school is good?'. go to as many schools as you can to see how they train. ask questions (depending on the sifu, they might get touchy if you ask to many). if you want sparring ask if they do. a good sifu typically is very humble. he will say something like " come try my class. if you like it you can join. " try and avoid things like "my style/school is the best" stuff like that. after you find some places and are still iffy about them, post their website here and someone might help. also as a beginer, dont get fustrated or intimidated by the more advanced students. everyone had to start sometime. good luck. and about ther master thing. after a little while, you wont even think about it. there is so much to learn. the more i learn the more i know how little it is.

[MasterKiller]

lol, what a bunch of wads. This place is getting to be like bullshido with all the smacktalk.

Don't make me destroy you.

[Yum Cha]

24 is fine, I wouldn't even consider the issue. The fact that you are asking about Kung Fu as opposed to another style indicates that you have an interest. Follow that interest, learn about the local schools, their styles and their personalities.

I can tell you one thing, if you don't take to your learning environment, the other students, the master, the methodology, than don't wast your time. It has to feel right, because if it does, it becomes part of you, and that is what it takes to make the journey.

[zenile]

Just my 2 cents....I started when I was 26 (30) now. Though its never too late to start, you might want to seriously consider your motivation for joining. If its only to become a master, then you might be wanting a little too much too soon. Your main issues will be flexibility and injuries. It seems as though I'm always fighting through 1 injury or another, mostly related to my achy knees. But I think you'll find that you'll quickly love it if you find the right school. Good luck!

[Mr Punch]

I'd imagine if you work your ass off for 5-10 years you could probably open up your own school.

EDIT: And by working your ass off I mean training 6 hours a day, 6 days a week at a MINIMUM. I train ~1.5 hrs / day, 6 days a week and am nowhere near what you would call 'skilled'.

Where did you pull these figures out of? I mean for a start there's, well, a five-year difference between 5 and 10 years. Plus one is double the other...!

It depends completely on the usual oft-discussed factors: your learning speed, the teacher's skill in transmission, the live-ness/practicality of the training, the style, and the practioner's goals, among others.

As to the questioner, just find a class and go for it. Work out your goals as you go along, unless you want to be a competitive fighter, in which case you're going to need definite focus from the start.

[xombi]

Hey thatnks for the responses everyone. I live in Vancouver, WA. Anyone live here?

I have looked around at some schools and will probably start visiting them soon.