Hey all, I'm going to be writing a FAQ for the Kung Fu section of MAP. The goal is to provide a beginner's primer for posting in this thread. Could you all provide questions (and, if you're really good, answers) that you think should appear withing it. Thanks! - Matt
Q. Do Kung Fu schools spar? A. As with any school, you need to see the school and speak with the instructor. Most schools will do some form of resistance training, even if the level of sparring differs from school to school. Q. Is Shaolin a style? A. Shaolin is not a style per se. "Shaolin" is a term used to describe a specific series of Temples in China, although the monks actually practiced several different styles. Today the monks are most well-known for practicing WuShu, which is marked by a good deal of gymnastics, jumping, spinning, and one and two person forms performed both open hand and with weapons. Q. Is Kung Fu "the deadly art"? A. Contrary to popular belief, Kung Fu is no more or less deadly, and really no more or less effective that any other martial art. It comes down to training methodologies and the artist, not just the art. Q. What style is "Kung Fu"? A. Kung Fu is not a style, but rather a term meaning "hard work" or "skill". "WuShu" literally means "martial art", although the term's modern usage refers to the comtemporary art created by the People's Republic of China, which is less combat-focused and more sport-focused. "Kung Fu" is used to describe the more combat-oriented arts. There are literally hundreds of styles of Kung Fu, so to say that any one style represents Kung Fu as a whole would be inappropriate.
Two Reasons: Mainly the different spellings are used by different lineages to identify their particular style of Wing Chun. As there is no equivalent in the Western Alphabet of the characters used to spell wing chun, it's pretty much up to the individual how the spelling is translated.
Actually I was planning on having a "spelling/terminology" section exactly for this sort of thing. So far I know of: Wing Chun Ving Tsun oh... brain crash, what are the others? - Matt
more stuff... Q. Does Kung Fu involve groundwork? A. Some styles have incorporated groundfighting into their systems, whether it be traditional Chinese groundfighting or Japanese Jui Jitsu or Brazilian Jui Jitsu. There are several traditional styles of Chinese groundfighting which come from Mongolia, and at least one style of Kung Fu which focuises on groundwork, Chinese Dog Boxing. However, many of the Chinese groundfighting systems are not very widespread, and it is likely that a school which chooses to pursue serious groundfighting skills will most likely incorporate either Japanese or Brazilian Jui Jitsu, as the Emin Bozetepe lineage Wing Chun has done and GM Parker of Bai Kai Kung Fu has done. Q. What are some of the more common styles of Kung Fu? A. There are a number of popular styles of Kung Fu throughout the world. T'ai Chi is a very common style practiced worldwide, and MAP has a separate forum for that style. The common styles discussed in this particular forum are Wing Chun, which is most well-known for its chain punching and heavy emphasis on centerline thoery; Hung Gar, which is a combination of Tiger and Crane styles; Praying Mantis, which is most well known for its trapping, hooking, and breaking techniques; Chin Na, which is a system of joint locks and manipulations; Shuai Jiao, which is a system of throws and locks, both standing and grappling; Choy La Fut, which is one of the more explosive styles; Bagua, which relies on circular movements and open palm strikes; Hsing I, the most explosive of the three internal arts; and the Five Animal Fists, most commonly represented by the Leopard, Tiger, Snake, Crane and Dragon.
Wing Chun (generic) Ving Tsun (generic, commonly used in HK) Wing Tsun (Leung Ting) Wing Tzun (rare) Wing Tjun (rarer) "Traditional" Wing Chun (William Cheung)
And just to get this one out of the way... Q. HAs Kung Fu ever been used in an NHB/Pride/UFC/MMA competition? A. Yes. Jason Delucia's base style was originally 5 Animals Kung Fu, and he competed in UFC 1, UFC 2, Pancrase, and has an extensive fight record. Sami Berik of Turkey uses Wing Chun and T'ai Chi as his base style, although just as any fighter in MMA tourneys, he has adapted his fighting style to meet the rigorous demands of competition. Let's see... Q. What's up with all those wierd stances and strikes in Kung Fu? Can't they just kick and punch like everyone else? A. To start off with, yes, Kung Fu does kick and punch, just like everyone else. Many styles of Kung Fu have the same basic kicks and punches you will find in Karate, Tae Kwon Do, and Western Martial Arts. Many schools learn basic straight punches, jabs, uppercuts, front kicks, side kicks, and roundhouse kicks. However, there are a number of techniques which are unique to Kung Fu, and that's what really gives certain styles their own flavor if you will. Mantis kicks, for example, are sneaky little kicks not found outside of the Chinese arts. Many of the unusual hand strikes and kicks are directly related to the specifics of the style; the mantis hand is excellent for trapping and hooking your opponent; many of the hand strikes are directly related to the 5 Animal Fists, etc. Stances are also very important to the practice of KungFu. Stances help you root, they help you manipulate your opponent's momentum, the protect various joints and vital areas, and they help the student learn to move and execute techniques properly. Some may seem usueless or impractical, but the longer you study your chosen style, the more obvious the utility of the stances becomes.
William Cheung? He is a good master of the art, however.. too much Black magic diagrams in his book. As far as overall knowledge, from what I know he is one of the best, yet he seems to delve farther into the spiritualsims of the sorcery aspects than the physical-spiritual-mental Quigong I have experienced and heard of. I would go Michael Tse if you want to get technically real about it. However, there are alot more teachers, students, masters etc,.. than just those. The 3 Brothers are also adept at the system of WCK fighting as well.
Is it me or all the questions poised are predominantly honed in on Wing Chun? What about the other arts and styles in Kung Fu?
Uhm, ok, I've been holding my tongue, but I made, what, 3 or 4 posts about Kung Fu in general. While the name game is fun, I have to agree... where are all the other practitioners posting good questions about something OTHER than WC?
Actually I was planning to have a listing of styles within the FAQ. Are there other styles that we need to highlight spelling differences? HsingI/XingYi/etc? As far as this being mainly about Wing Chun, I expect when the Choi boys finally read this we'll get some feedback from them as well. But its good to see feedback. - Matt
Good idea Matt, here are some questions that I think are common: What are northern and southern styles and what's the difference? What are internal and external martial art styles? What's the difference between Buddhist and Taoist Arts? Why do they use such weird names for their moves? What's root? Where and what is the dantien/dantian/tantien? What is Chi/Qi (can o' worms I know) What's push hands? What's this sticky/sticking hands I keep hearing about? What are the six harmonies? Styles and descriptions: Chinese Boxing=ch'uan shu Grand Ultimate Boxing=Tai Chi Ch'uan/Taiji Quan Bagua/Pa Kua zan/quan/ch'uan (quan/ch'uan=fist zan=palm I think) Hsing I/Xing yi White Crane Pak Mei/White Eyebrow Hung Gar Shaolin/Shao-Lin Chiense Wrestling=Shuai Chiao Win Tsun/Wing Chun Lian Shi Wu Shu/Wushu Monkey Boxing=ta sheng ch'uan Dog Boxing 8 ancestor fist 8 immortals Thai Manthis 8 star manthis Chin Na/Chin-Na/Qinna Snake Tiger Dragon Crane I'll try to post some answers later.
Hi Matt, Im a newbie and I have some questions about Kung Fu: - Where did Kung Fu come from? - What is the difference between internal and external? - What are some pointers/pitfalls on finding and picking a good teacher of Kung Fu? Do you have a school locator? What are some of the more common styles of Kung Fu? - Do I have to be in shape to begin Kung Fu? - Do I have to be religious to participate in Kung Fu? - How is Kung Fu different from Tae Kwan Do? What about boxing or wrestling? Thanks Matt. Hopefully some day Ill know lots about kung Fu!
Q: How many styles of Kung Fu are there? A: In the broad sense, innumerable. Generally CMA is broken into internal and external and the majority of unarmed styles come from one of a few common roots: the origin of "Long Fist", the old sport that became "Shuai Jiao", and early practice of Qigong. Q: What is San Shou/San Da and is it real Kungfu? A: It is a contemporary invention and serves as a sporting competition similar to kickboxing. In addition to striking, all manner of takedowns are permissable and score points in judging. As such it incorporates many ideas and techniques taken from boxing, internation style kickboxing, and Muay Thai but also contains within its corpus techniques from Shaolin derivated styles. It cannot be termed a "traditional" Chinese martial art as most of Kungfu is, but it is distinctly of Chinese origin and flavor. It is the combative counterpart of Wushu/Guoshu. Q: What is Wushu/Guoshu and is it real Kungfu? A: It is the compilation of techniques from many styles of Chinese martial arts, especially of Shaolin derivation and Taijiquan. From this body of knowledge it is boiled down into specific demonstration forms designed for use in competition. A premium is put showmanship, acrobatic ability, and preciseness. It is not designed for combat and so is discounted by many as "real Kungfu", however it is an artform in itself and widely practiced as a Pan-Asian game by millions of people. It is the acrobatic and "showy" counterpart of San Shou/San Da. Q: What is Chinna/Qinna? A: Qinna is the body of techniques within many styles of Chinese martial art designed for the use of joint locking and manipulation for the purpose of immobilizing, incapacitating, or otherwise controlling and damaging an opponent. It is generalized often as "Chinese stand-up grappling". Several styles are based around knowledge of Qinna techniques, notably Eagle Claw (Yingzhua Quan) and its 108 locks, some people devote themselves to Qinna in itself as a style. Q: What is Shuai Jiao/Shuai Chiao A: Generically, it's a Chinese term for wrestling and can be used to describe and explain styles of grappling like Freestyle or Greco Roman wrestling, Judo, Brazilian Jiujitsu, and others. The specific sport of Shuai Jiao in China is an activity similar to Judo without the gi or groundwork and with a different scoring system for throws. It is often touted as the oldest of the Chinese martial arts and is the spiritual (if not technical) descendant of a wrestling game played by youths with special garments in the early days of China.
Q: Where can I learn information regarding Tang Lang Ch'uan.. A: This thread should be added on for being one of the better Praying Mantis Boxing threads I've seen. I should know.. I've looked for them http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44434&page=1&highlight=praying+mantis PlumDragon.. Here is a long drawn out answer in the words of my sifu in regards to internal VS external. The Truth About Internal and External Arts: There is a saying among Gongfu practitioners that goes, "External arts begin from the external but proceed to the internal. Internal arts begin from the internal but proceed to the external. The beginnings are different but the ends are the same." In practice, this difference plays out in the following manner. An external practitioner will begin by exercising to develop strength, flexibility and agility. At the same time, he will begin learning fighting techniques that he will use against others. As he progresses, with good instruction and experience, he will gain qualities of grace, suppleness, sensitivity and balance (internal qualities) that he will use against his opponents to win, thus proceeding from external to internal. Finally, the Waigong (external) Qigong used in the beginning of his practice, which is easier to grasp initially, will give way to Neigong (internal), the more subtle Qigong practices, as he becomes more acquainted with Qigong in general. The internal style practitioner reverses this process. Internal style practitioners learn the more difficult internal Qigong practices first. At the same time, they learn exercises to teach relaxation, suppleness, balance, sensitivity, grace and endurance. Once a fundamental grasp of these qualities is achieved, fighting techniques are taught, but in a way that controls the manner of execution to ensure that the internal qualities are preserved. Then the student is allowed to use his fighting techniques against an opponent in a combative manner, like the external style fighter, but with attention paid always to the internal qualities present in the execution of fighting technique. Finally, external Qigong is taught to further prepare the internal style fighter for combat. It can be clearly be seen, then, that to focus solely on the exercises that develop grace, endurance, relaxation and suppleness (the forms, both solo and partner), Qigong (relaxation and energy development), and push hands (balance and sensitivity), is to only stand at the door to Taiji and to never truly enter into the art. One in such a pursuit never learns half the art, even for performance, never moves in the natural cycle from internal to external in Qigong, and never becomes able to use his developed qualities for more than a noncombative contest of balance. Hard vs. Soft - A question of degree (and marketing): Many Taiji practitioners are fond of saying that internal arts are soft (does not require strength) and that external arts are hard (do require strength). Actually, both internal arts and external arts have soft and hard techniques. It is the manner and use of the techniques that differ. (But it is great marketing for internal styles.) How did we get here - A question of history (and marketing): In the past, internal and external fighters met regularly to test their skills. Occasionally there were injuries that were severe, but overall these were very rare. In those days, the true nature of external and internal as differing paths that arrived at the same goals was well known. Over time, teachers of both sides fought less and less, because to lose a match was to lose students as a defeated teacher (economics). As this happened, external teachers told their students that if they did the paired and single sets, did their external body conditioning exercises, and practiced hard, they would be able to beat anyone. They rarely, if ever, tested this statement, having faith in their teacher (marketing). On the internal side, they told their students that the internal energy they were developing was so powerful that if they did the single- and two-person exercises and the internal exercises that they alone possessed (marketing), they would be unbeatable (sound familiar?). Today, this situation has resulted in external schools believing that they can fight because they can do forms, and internal schools believing that their internal energy is so great that it would kill an opponent. Neither is telling the truth. Strength vs. "Internal Energy" - A question of degree and language: Internal practitioners are fond of saying that their techniques use more Qi (internal energy), and that external practitioners use more muscle. Like most things, this needs more explanation than a sound bite allows. "Li" is muscular strength, like one would to use to push a car. It is contrasted by "Jin," the energy one sees when a sitting cat flashes out a paw to slap a bothersome dog. In the case of Li, there is usually a drawing back of the arm and a tensing of muscular strength as it shoves out with whatever force resides in the muscles. Jin, on the other hand, snaps out without preparation, completely relaxed and impacting with greater force because it moves faster than Li, like being hit with a fastball. Taiji practitioners often describe their strikes as using Qi and claim that external practitioners do not use Qi, only Li. This could not be true for many reasons. The limb possesses Qi regardless of whether Li or Jin is being used; Qi keeps the limb alive. The internal style fighter, with a greater reliance upon Jin, is undeniably able to flow their Qi through their striking limbs to a greater degree due to the relaxed nature of Jin, but they are not hitting with their Qi. Instead, the focus on Qi flow facilitates the relaxed state essential for Jin. Discussions about relying upon Qi in striking in Taiji texts are largely a matter of semantics. The contrast is actually that of Jin and Li. (Though there is much to be said on "Soft Jin" and "Hard Jin" beyond the scope of this brief introduction). At a very advanced level, both internal and external kung fu practitioners are reported to be able to damage the health of the person they hit through the use of their own Qi (Jin) in striking, a skill commonly called Dim Mak, or point hitting. This would not be possible unless fighters of both internal and external schools developed their Qi and Jin to a very high level. At the beginning, external fighters do use more Li than internal fighters, and it is true that, at the beginning, external fighters hit a great deal harder than internal fighters because Li is easier to use than Jin. If both groups continue to their advanced levels, where internal and external reach a balance for both styles, both are very capable, and neither is superior. They are simply different paths to the same destination.
Fabulous, Im well on my way to learning more about the world of Kung FU! As a FAQ subpoint to this question: - Is training external faster than internal, or slower? - Is one more difficult than the other? - Which styles are considered internal and which are considered external? Is it true that many styles have combinations of both?
There is one set back to your goal Matt and that is that many people who feel that they are in the know about certain things are going to give you a completely different answer to some of these questions than someone else who feels that they are in the know. For example above in the definition of san shou and sanda we have an acurate description of the sport but san shou(Free hand) and san da (free striking) are terms that have been used for centuries to describe free practise/sparring in CMA. Which term you used would depend on what province or village your from. Also the Chinese army invented modern san shou near the begining of the century. It was an attempt to update TCMA to leave out ancient techniques, weapons, and training methods and refine the art to what they felt were the practical techniques for hand to hand combat for their army today. Wushu refers to martial technique and can be any martial art including non Chinese arts. Westerners usualy associate the name with CMA Goushu/Koushu means national technique and refers to CMA specificaly. It should also be noted that in Taiwan they use this name to refer to a full contact fighting style with rules very similar to sport san shou. Shuai chiao can be the name of a specific tcma, a sport, or the term for the throws and takedowns in any cma.
