Hello Southerners,

I mostly practise Xingyiquan (Heibei branch), but I know how good you southern folk are at conditioning so I thought I'd ask if it is actually necessary.

I met a Choy Lay Fut guy who told me kung fu is ALL about conditioning so that the body can withstand any attack. On the other hand, I met a Mantis person who told me that conditioning is not necessary if your technique is correct - soft blocking does not require hard contact.

As I stated, I mostly practise Xingyi these days which is a hard internal style. In my years of training I've hardly done any conditioning, although Xingyi does have a nice conditioning set...

So... How important is conditioning really? Do you guys think I should take it seriously or focus more on technique and other things?

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Many thanks,

S