What Makes it Kung Fu?

[bawang]

We are seeing different sub cultures evolve, metropolitan, sub urban, southern, ect...but with no real roots or history...it creates a void...

in america you are defined by your outer appearance. so its no surprise that kung fu is also judged by its outer appearance. but its whats inside that counts.

Boxing, kick boxing and wrestling is simple, and primitive. It's accessible to the everyone. Perhaps that is why pro wrestling is so much more popular than real wrestling. It plays to white trash fantasies.

kung fu is the most simple and primitive martial art in the world.

[Kellen Bassette]

in america you are defined by your outer appearance. so its no surprise that kung fu is also judged by its outer appearance. but its whats inside that counts.

So which is the greater evil? The West stealing Eastern culture, or the worldwide phenomenon of people willingly replacing their indigenous traditions with western fashion and pop culture?

why shouldnt fighting be simple and primitive?

Fighting is simple and primitive. But it looks cooler in the movies.

[bawang]

So which is the greater evil? The West stealing Eastern culture, or the worldwide phenomenon of people willingly replacing their indigenous traditions with western fashion and pop culture?

its a facade. people around the world can drop that mask in an instant, just like the time of the assyrians, the persians, the greeks, the romans.

[Kellen Bassette]

wearing a suit and tie and watching tv isnt the same as forsaking your language, history, and knowledge of self.

Does this mean I need to learn French and start fur trading again? I'm actually down for the beaver trapping....

[Kellen Bassette]

its a facade. people around the world can drop that mask in an instant, just like the time of the assyrians, the persians, the greeks, the romans.

I don't know...it is today, but it only takes one generation, two tops, to lose it all. Most Americans of European decent have little to no connection with their heritage.

[bawang]

Does this mean I need to learn French and start fur trading again? I'm actually down for the beaver trapping....

one of the postures of a french poleaxe manual is the prayer posture, it showed a french knight kneeling before his poleaxe praying to the virgin mary.

every time i see a renaisance revival video on youtube, i am reminded that they never kneel and pray in front of their weapons before and after practice.

[TenTigers]

I think one of the main things that separates Gung-Fu from other arts such as Japanese Karate, Okinawan Karate, and Korean TKD,TSD< etc is that Gung-Fu has many different methods of issueing power, long short, whipping, hard, soft, shocking, sticking, coiling, etc.
Put this into Japanes Karate, and suddenly their art changes.
Why do you think that the higher Katas that resemble TCMA on the outside, still look so different? Because they only have the skin and hair, and not the "internals'
"Internals," meaning the different body methods of generating power, mechanics, not ch'i-balls.

[bawang]

I don't know...it is today, but it only takes one generation, two tops, to lose it all. Most Americans of European decent have little to no connection with their heritage.

more than 40% of german and italian immigrants returned to their countries.

[Kellen Bassette]

Why do you think that the higher Katas that resemble TCMA on the outside, still look so different?

I've thought about this often. I think a lot of it has to do with the method of linking techniques/movements/transitions. Kung Fu utilizes what I call "natural movement," letting the next motion be what the body naturally want do in a given position, with energy being delivered to a certain direction.

This "natural movement," makes the next motion the more logical/economical one, rather than a random technique or redirection of energy.

[bawang]

I've thought about this often. I think a lot of it has to do with the method of linking techniques/movements/transitions. Kung Fu utilizes what I call "natural movement," letting the next motion be what the body naturally want do in a given position, with energy being delivered to a certain direction.

This "natural movement," makes the next motion the more logical/economical one, rather than a random technique or redirection of energy.

karate wants to sell itself as a japanese martial art, so it mimicks kobudo movements. but kobudo movements are ritualized and not meant for fighting.

[Kellen Bassette]

more than 40% of german and italian immigrants returned to their countries.

But how much real connection to the motherland do the 2nd generation descendents of the immigrants that stayed still have?

[bawang]

But how much real connection to the motherland do the 2nd generation descendents of the immigrants that stayed still have?

how much real connection do the fat nerds swinging zweihanders have to the landschnekt?

[RenDaHai]

how much real connection do the fat nerds swinging zweihanders have to the landschnekt?

America already has its traditional martial culture. Guns.

By the time a lot of people started coming to America guns were already the primary weapon. At this point in Europe though we had guns too there were still a lot of different styles of fencing and fencing cultures that were kept up. I am sure in early America they kept up the fencing too, but guns had already become a personal weapon.

America has managed to maintain this culture of guns in a way like no other place in the world.

[rett]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...hNZyTzE#t=431s
vibrant, full of life, spirit, love. history, culture, heritage, soul. chaotic, REAL and HUMAN.

Good point. Here's the vibrant, throbbing, fleshgnawing heart of Northern Europe which emerges when you peel away the USA overlay. Includes a short demonstration of Swedish kungfu, unfortunately mostly grappling and no rallarsvingar.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWU0CGfj-SU

[Kellen Bassette]

America already has its traditional martial culture. Guns.

By the time a lot of people started coming to America guns were already the primary weapon. At this point in Europe though we had guns too there were still a lot of different styles of fencing and fencing cultures that were kept up. I am sure in early America they kept up the fencing too, but guns had already become a personal weapon.

America has managed to maintain this culture of guns in a way like no other place in the world.

This is true; and in this case we have maintained our culture. The majority of rural America is armed. Hunting and shooting is a way of life where I'm from, as much as any other tradition here.