Would It Be Too Much?

[RUFNTUFGIRL]

I RECENTLY JOINED THIS FORUM TO TRY AND GET MOTIVATED. I WAS WONDERING IF I AM TOO SET IN MY WAYS TO LEARN KUNG FU NOW. I TEACH KICKBOXING, SCULPTING, SOME YOGA, AND YES, EVEN STEP!!! THIS DOESN'T MEAN I AM A FRUSTRATED CHEERLEADER, NO REALLY! ANYWAY, I HAD TO GET EXTRA WORK SO I LEARNED. I FEEL MORE ENERGIZED AND ALIVE PRACTICING KICKBOXING. IT IS FRUSTRATING WHEN MEMBERS ARE MORE CONCERNED WITH FIXING MAKEUP, HAIR, ETC INSTEAD OF FOCUSSING AND WORKING HARD. I BECAME INTERESTED IN KUNG FU SEVERAL YEARS AGO AND TOOK KICKBOXING AND MAYBE A HANDFUL OF KUNG FU CLASSES. I HAVE LOOKED IN MY AREA FOR A KUNG FU STUDIO, TRIED SOME CLASSES OFFERED AT A MMA STUDIO IN QUEENS BUT I WAS NOT VERY MOTIVATED. TIME IS ALWAYS LIMITED SO I WANT TO MAKE THE RIGHT SCHEDULE FOR MYSELF. ANYWAY I DON'T WANT TO STOP TEACHING THE KICKBOXING CLASSES, WANT TO LEARN KUNG FU, KEEP WORKING FULL TIME, AND I HAVE KIDS. IS IT POSSIBLE TO DEDICATE TIME TO THIS OR AM I SPREADING MYSELF TOO THIN?

[viper]

why not its gona b tough but if u want it bad enough u can take it with both hands. kickboxing thatll b good for kung fu alot of kungfu guys i deal with have sh1t cardio which is great coz i dont good thing street fites gor for seconds not minutes hehe. neway there r some guys on this forum like u and they fit it goodluck i reakon u can.

[AndrewS]

It sounds like you are a fairly experienced athlete with a solid conditioning base between your cardio and yoga- you could very easily pick up a chinese discipline with some work and persistence. If the Queens you live in is one of the five boroughs, you've got a wealth of good instruction around you.

If you're serious about this, and living in NYC, you should be able to find the best in nearly any of the flavors of kung fu.

What is it that attracts you to CMA? Your options are numerous when you say 'kung fu', and include-

1). Full contact sport fighting- san shou and shui jiao (sp?, as well as certain styles which train MMA or for san shou

2). Gymnastics and motion- modern wu shu is the paradigm for this, but certain schools of both northern and southern chinese martial arts will get you doing pretty forms and intricate sequences, challenging your physicallity.

3). Individual systems of combat, each with their own approach to motion, evolving power, striking, locking, throwing, and conditioning. These folks tend to have something a little different and you need to do your homework to understand what you're looking for/at. Properly taught northern shaolin, fanzhiquan, piqua, baiji, taiji, xing yi, Wing Chun, Pak Mei, southern praying mantis, 7 star or other northern mantis, etc- with the full depth of the system are the things that earned CMA its rep, and they are the hardest things to find.

4). Social clubs with silly chinese mannerisms, cults of personality, bad choreography done with little athleticism, with totally unrealistic applications, and little contact. If there is sparring, it tends to look like bad kickboxing.

Whatever you do- find a home in options 1-3. The fourth option is far too common and doesn't need anyone else involved in it. . .