What Kung-fu for me?

[Martial Joel]

Hey,
Guys i've used the search and found nothing relating to my question (that, and i'm pretty useless with the search) anyhow i've been lookin at Kung-Fu recently and i don't know what style to do, i want to learn a style with kicks, punches and self defense, i was lookin at Shaolin Kung-Fu, but i don't think there is anywhere in the whole of the Uk were it is taught, so have u guys and girls got any suggestions. Sorry if this question is irrelavant

Thanks
Joel

p.s i would also be up for some spiritual

[David Jamieson]

pretty much any style of martial arts will contain kicks, punches and self defense.

here's a useful tidbit to help you with your search:
http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/info/schoolguide.php

good luck

[YuanZhideDiZhen]

so you want someone who's never seen you, never judged your physical competance to decide for you what your aptitude is?

it doesn't matter how uncoordinated you are. You can learn any style. it's just a matter of dilligence to your practice. if you learn a style's preforms and practice them in the morning, afternoon and before bedtime you'll be better off than the person who practices only when they feel like it.

if you are just getting into martial arts then start with the Yang Tai Chi Chuan 80+ manuever form (some have it at 85, 86,88 but it's all the same form). it will begin to train you for traditional chinese arts. it is a practice that changes with you as you become more competant. it is also a nice balance for just about every other style of cma. you can even do a pilotese type workout with it. it is a practice you can take anywhere in the world and still find someone to teach your dog new tricks.

once you get your practice down to at least 8minutes (the slower the better) you'll be ready to take on any other art that strikes your fancy.

a style that is a really nice compliment to tai chi chuan is tai chi Mei Hua tang lang. tai chi Mei hua tang lang is a mantis style that incorporates tai chi chuan as a practice method in the demonstrations that i've seen. it should be noted that tai chi mei hua is not a tai chi chuan type style: even though it is really a fast style it uses the tai chi chuan practice of slow and deliberate to build muscle memory, strength, speed, accuracy and fluidity. tai chi chuan is really not even part of the practice for tai chi mei hua but it is well suited for that kind of foundation as the instructions are performed slow like tai chi chuan. it is a mean a55 kicking art to be played as hard and as fast as you can reasonably master.

there is Lau gar all over southern england, especially in london. hung and lau gar are part of the shaolin family of styles. there's a hybrid shaolin-do in the north somewhere, but i have forgotten it's name.

[Wong Ying Home]

Where in England are you located ??

[Martial Joel]

I'm located in the north east of england, just in middlesbrough

[YuanZhideDiZhen]

before the forum went through it's changes theree was a large discussion about the dirth of cma in the northeast of england. i'm affraid you'll have to invest in some videos. there are some guys along the coast, but they like to keep it quiet.

[Mega_Fist]

p.s i would also be up for some spiritual

If you're after spiritual then I'm your man. I practise philosophies based on ancient practices so feel free to ask any questions.

[Martial Joel]

does anybody know if there, and where there is any Lau Gar in the North East? Or any Shaolin -Do or are there just rumours about this?

[PlumDragon]

My experience is that you can make any martial art as spritual or not, as you want it to be. Styles like wing chun, which have no real spritual essence can be integrated to such paths--SLT is thought of as a form that is quite malleable to various methods of training, while a system like Northern Shaolin will give you a large amount of curriculum based solely on development on many levels; learning to fight sometimes seems to be a "side-effect" of the health exercises, etc. But, IMO, it is up to you to tailor it somewhat to your needs.

There is lots of martial arts instruction available in the UK...My recommendations:

- Alex Kozma is in the UK and teaches bagua and xing yi. Ive heard nothing but good about him.
- Lau Gar is currently very popular in the UK. Stan Brown teaches Lau Gar in London. I have a phone number if youd like it, PM me.
- James Sinclair teaches wing chun in the UK area, and is purportedly quite good. http://wwww.ukwingchun.com
- David Rogers teaches hop gar in Bedford.
http://www.risingcrane.co.uk/
- The Schools section at Dragons List has a pretty good list of other school in the UK, check it out.
- You can also try posting in the "Request a Teacher" section at Empty Flower; there are several UK practicioners in that area.

Hope this helps!

EDIT: Id stay away from Shaolin-do. While I dont want to say that it is or isnt real or good, etc...I do know that it has a shady history, and jsut about any forum on the net you go to will had a lengthy thread on the strange background from shaolin-do. It may be an excellent school, but I dont think I would gamble my hard-earned money at a school that appeared to have historical inaccuracies and is constantly fighting for its reputation...

[Martial Joel]

Thanks for that, theres about 4 Lau Gar Schools up the road from me, so i might check them out, i might learn it until i'm 18, but i'm desperate to learn Shaolin Kung-Fu and Wushu.

The hop gar in bedford looks good, is it really the only place out of China that teaches the full discipline, also what style did Jackie Chan actually learn?

[Chief Fox]

Search for a great teacher not a great art or style. A good teacher makes all the difference.

Also, FYI, Wushu is more gymnastics and dance more so than deffence.

[PlumDragon]

Also, FYI, Wushu is more gymnastics and dance more so than deffence.

Not necessarily...Nan Shaolin wuzu quan (wushu chuan) is combatively very real, and far from gymnastics.

*Modern* wushu is gymnastic. Wushu is just a general term that has come to be seen as dance over the years. Point being: Just because a school claims to teach wushu does not necessarily mean it will be gymnastics--It just means that there is a very real chance of it. So go check the school out and see for yourself before discounting it.

Also, perhaps modern wushu is what the guy wants to learn, and theres nothign wrong with that.

[SPJ]

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

"If it ain't fit, it ain't your shoe."

We all have to find out what is the best for us.

I started with Tan Tui and Shuai Jiao.

Best of luck in your search.

[PangQuan]

Modern wushu is not really a bad thing to have.

In addition to the northern and southern kung fu styles represented at our school, there is also a light addition of modern wushu.

Reaching the state that is physically required to perform much of the more modern wushu techniques is a good bonus for any martial artist.

The flexability, coordination, strength and balance that are the strong foundation with any modern wushu practitioner will only boost your existing or developing martial styles effeciency.

We dont strongly practice modern wushu, but it is present. I enjoy the arial moves myself, though I am more akin to traditional styles, I do notice the addition that modern wushu has made to my martial arts as a whole.

[SPJ]

Most of the styles have Wushu forms nowadays.

Wushu forms are composite of old forms and plus flashy moves.

For instance, Ba Ji Wushu intermediate form is from Ba Ji Dan Da or one man drill etc.

Tai Chi 27 and 42 forms are composite of Wu, Sun, Chen, Yang styles etc.

Chen Tai Chi Wushu 48 forms are shortened Chen Fa Ke Xin Jia etc.