Types

[DraKeN]

i just fond out there wee many types of kung fu , I only thought there was only one type but it wass kind of hard for me to search for every type in one night so you guys can name some types your fimiliar with and explain them I would be greatful tonz

-ThankZ

[DraKeN]

eh sorry about the miss spelled words i was in a hurry
Found
were

[David]

That's one mutha of a question! I'll have a go with a few styles, most of which I know little or less about... Look them up on the web to get vids n info. There must be truckloads of decent sifus (teachers) in LA!

*Tai Chi Chuan - (Yang, Sun, Wu, Chen)
Supreme Ultimate Fist (supreme ultlmate referes to the yin yang symbol which is the symbol of taichi).
The most arcane of all, most students and many teachers of tai chi don't even know it's a martial art. Assuming you've found a martial teacher, you learn tend to learn it backwards in that you learn the advanced chi, relaxation, soft stuff before you get to whacking ppl with fists, sticks n swords. If I'd come to this first, I'd probably have stuck with it. As it was, I was already into another style so I take away some of the practices back to my main style.
This style gives you superior understanding of balance, sensitivty and force. Taich is about feeling the force of a strike and being so sensitive that you move away from it at the same speed it comes in: the attacker feels like he's pushing/punching air and loses his balance etc. Read up - there's so much more to it. Many amazing stories abound about taichi masters. Search for Angry Yang or Ch'en M'an Ching and you should get some leads.

*Bagua Zhang also known as (aka) Pakua
8 diagrams boxing - refers to the I Ching. This is a step down from taichi in the internal-styles heirarchy but is a great art. Training is mostly about walking round a circle, and the focus is on changes: changing direction and changing hand configuration (palm changes). Most of the strikes are palms of various ( 8? ) types. It's a deep style.

*Hsing I (Mind/Form boxing)
This is considered #3 of the set taichi, bagua and hsing i.
This is taichi started from the opposite end ie learn to fight and then go deep. There's plenty on the web including vids that youshould be able to find without trouble.

*Southern Tong Long (Mantis: Chow/Chu Family, Bamboo Forest, Iron Ox)
*Pak Mei aka Bak Mei (White Eyebrow)
*Southern Dragon
These styles are all quite similar in origin and are considered deep in the same way as hsing i, though the roots are entirely different. My style is Chow Gar Southern Mantis. There's a few vids out there but you must search yourself - I can hardly afford my modem as it is... Below, I'm pasting what I wrote about it as an intro when I joined this forum: -
"We train informally but use traditional methods plus the occasional Inspired Device for solo training. Most of the work is done with partner training, using each other for developing sensitivity, resisting each other for making power come out smooth, and for stamina. We also whack each other a lot. Then we get fixed up with our dit dar jow.
Visually ugly ie no somersaults, headkicks or other aerials, it's a close-in sticky system designed to hit with everything at once and at great speed achieved by not having to retract a fist to hit again. To enable this, we develop short power through the tiny motion of contracting/opening the ribs. Imagine standing on a beach ball - observe that the sides are pushed out. This is how we achieve very short range power. Our main weapon is the phoenix-eye fist though the easiest fist to deploy would be the gao choi hammer-fist. Kicks are allowed but never higher than ribs/abdomen. Ideally, hitting with two hands and kicking with one leg simultaneously."

*Wing Chun
Similar in some ways to the above short styles. What Bruce Lee started his learning with. I did a bit of this a while ago. It seemed to put more effort into evasive maneuvres. 'Famous' for it's chain-punching. Often espoused as an ideal style for women and small guys. Plenty on the web.

*Mok Gar
Reminds me of wing chun but including high kicks.

*Hung Gar
Strange style with heavy power/momentum emphasis. Training involves making funny sounds to activate chi of organs etc. Seen it a couple of times but know nothing useful about it. Have heard that it's difficult so could take a long time to become effective with?


*Jun Fan
*Jeet Kune Do
Not what I call proper kungfu in that they're the products of impatience on the part of Bruce Lee, the creator. Mixed MA for the street.

*Lau Gar
Sometimes like kickboxing, othertimes hardcore practical kungfu. Has a confused rep in the UK.

*Northern Tong Long (Mantis: 7 star, 8 step, 6 harmonies etc)
Designed as a style to beat all styles. Huge curriculum. Looks cool and well thought of. Others here can talk about it.

*Choy Lay Fut
Big haymaker fists is all I know about this. It looks good, though. Highly regarded style. I think this may be similar in spirit to Hung Gar. Must be loads on the net.

*Chang Chuan (Long Fist)
*Shaolin 5 Animals
*5 Ancesters
I don't know about all these. Chang Chuan is interesting in that it is the oldest living style and is present in many of the styles available today. You'll know it when you see it, as well as the other 'Shaolin' things.

There are non-Chinese kungfu styles, too
*Hop Gar (Lion's Roar)
*Lama style (White Crane?) - hardcorre rep.
+ others

Styles to check out if you have them nearby because you may not see them if you move away and it'd be a shame to miss the opportunity: -

*Monkey - really fight like a chimp! awesome.
*Snake - your hands are head and tail of snake, stabbing with fingers, entwining.
*Eagle Claw - 108 techniques of destructive clawing or something.
*Southern Mantis - mentioned above
*Drunken anything. Where you act drunk to psych out the opponent by being unpredictable. Imagine a really drunk person comes into your house and you worry about them smahing all your stuff as they fall around the place - they don't mean to do it; it just happens and you don't feel relaxed at all.

Rgds,
David

[DraKeN]

is there such thing as tradional kung fu?

[WhiteWizard]

kung fu refers to a set of styles much as karate does lots of them are traditional

[Sub zero]

David said:

"*Lau Gar
Sometimes like kickboxing, othertimes hardcore practical kungfu. Has a confused rep in the UK."

Dam right.

Heres a list of some styles under the bccma in britain.

www.bccma.com

That was a pretty comprehensive answer david!
I have read that are about 2000 plus styles of CMA.Don't know how true that figure is.

[David]

Originally posted by DraKeN
is there such thing as tradional kung fu?

All of those I listed except for Jun Fan and Jeet Kune Do ("JKD") are traditional styles.

Of the traditional styles, Wing Chun is probably the youngest and Chang Chuan definitely the oldest. China was a very dangerous place for the common man back in the day and most of these styles have a sad/bad story to tell about persecution or whatnot.

2000+ styles? I've heard that in the same statement that it broke down into about 350 separate types. These 350 types must fall into a small number of categories. eg "oh you want aerial kicks, then you want to look at x,y and z styles".

I'm a bit saddened - I posted awful and awfully patchy info so that all you kungfu bros would leap in and correct the hell outa me :D

Rgds,
David

[Andy Murray]

Thing is David, as you know, the styles break down into various branches, so you have different styles of Wing Chun etc.

You can break down the numbers by saying an art is Northern or Southern, and some are classed as Internal or External, but there are just so many it's impossible to list them.

Even within the 'Ga/Gar' (family) systems, there are spin offs and estranged family members cutting a new path.