Hello everyone, I had asked for some info about Bak Mei kung fu in an earlier post, and thanks for all the replies. I gather that it is an "external" style, meaning aggressive?

The few questions I had were:

1) I have familiarity with Japanese arts, and they make sense to me as in Judo=mostly throws/locks/chokes, Karate=mostly strikes and kicks, etc. I am confused about the divisions in Kung fu. The basic thing is that the "north kicks and the south punches". But is there really a big difference between all the styles? is there some sort of more definite classification?

2) Are there any throws/locks/chokes in Kung fu? I have been taking Judo for a few months and it appears to be pretty practical from a close-up fighting point of view. But something inside me is drawing me to Kung fu... strange.... but I like the throws, etc

3) What are Pak Mei's strengths vs weaknesses? I have a school close to my home that seems good. I attended a few classes but obviously that is not enought to understand the details of an entire martial art.

4) Is there any particular style that lends itself to more practical self-defense? I think any master of any art would fare as well as can be expected, but are some styles more street savvy than others?

Thanks for the help, my friends. I don't have very strong knees, although I am only 32, so I'm looking for something that is upper body related. So those would be southern styles?

Thanks for your patience, I'm rambling. I'll leave it at that.