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Thread: Is Gongfu Dead???

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  1. #1

    Is Gongfu Dead???

    TA follow up or new thread to look at the feeling or impression that Gongfu in China proper is dead using the following quote from Faux Newbie in another thread:

    Faux Newbie wrote:

    Reports of the death of kung fu in the mainland had their grain of truth, but now the mainland is just like kung fu everywhere, including the diaspora.
    Your thoughts for and against?

    What about Gongfu in the West?

    Ron Goninan
    China Fuzhou Zhenlan Crane Boxing Australia
    White Crane Research Institute Inc
    http://www.whitecranegongfu.info
    A seeker of the way

  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by Minghequan View Post
    TA follow up or new thread to look at the feeling or impression that Gongfu in China proper is dead using the following quote from Faux Newbie in another thread:



    Your thoughts for and against?

    What about Gongfu in the West?
    To be clear, I don't think it's dead. I think that there is the possibility for a tremendous resurgence and revitalization of it, along actual traditional lines, not revisionist ones.

  3. #3
    They have been. Even using the PRC as an example, all those sanshou-muay thai fights and similar that they've been pushing, regardless of the starts, they've tended to continue them, anyone whose paid any attention to the PRC is aware of how important it is to them and the Chinese people to legitimately be seen as major contenders in business, sports, whatever, and the Taiwanese are no different in this. Some stuff, the two sides are in perfect agreement on.

    Outside of China, you have the beginnings of an era where there are more Chinese teachers flexible enough to adapt the culture and teaching of kung fu to be fair to Americans, and American sifus qualified in a way and in greater numbers than previously by contact training unavailable as comprehensively before, at a point where the forms competitions, etc, except at the biggest events, is weakened. It's likely that some will continue the already existent move to inclusion of fights in mma and kickboxing events, as these are the formats where competition and purses at least exist.

    Mind you, it might all go south, but I hope not. I think there is more useful stuff spread out all over in all the kung fu styles than any of us could hope to realize, and I think it would be a shame if it was lost.

  4. #4
    For me it requires an almost "reverese-engineering" look at the original intention.

    Instead of the long, drawn out "performances" in forms and other applications, the flashy designed to attract interest and attention one needs to ask a very simple question:

    "What was this arts original intention?"

    If then the answer is Personal Life-Protection or protection of other's wiithin a given village etc then the art should be simple in application and form. No long, flashy forms and movements ... just straight to the point applicable and practical Martial Arts.

    None of the "Village Performance Arts" which history tells us existed or were added to by martial artists desperate to make a dollar!

    But the real, viable and original intention!

    Ron Goninan
    China Fuzhou Zhenlan Crane Boxing Australia
    White Crane Research Institute Inc
    http://www.whitecranegongfu.info
    A seeker of the way

  5. #5
    traditional gong fu isn't popular in china because if you choose that path it's going to be tough for you...not only the training but money wise... i'm sure wushu is more popular because you can earn a few quid preforming

    also the showy stuff was invented by the people scared of the traditional stuff
    I guess we are who we are

  6. #6
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    So long as an art is still being studied and trained it will never be completely dead, but the popularity and cult status that Kung Fu had in the 1970's will never return, simply because times change and evolve and Kung Fu is no longer the "trend".

    Many argue that Sanda is not true Kung Fu, however, it takes techniques found in TCMA and categorizes them into a full contact sport version that is similar to other arts who have done the same. Muay Boran to Muay Thai, Old Jujitsu to Judo and BJJ, Fisticuffs to Boxing, ect.

    The truth is you will never have more people involved in TCMA, or any martial arts, that want to compete more in Sanda than in forms competitions. It's just not a reality because most people don't want to fight full contact.
    "The hero and the coward both feel the same thing, but the hero projects his fear onto his opponent while the coward runs. 'Fear'. It's the same thing, but it's what you do with it that matters". -Cus D'Amato

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