What is the best place to study kung fu in London or anywhere near Hertfordshire?

While normally a good suggestion if he's interested in wushu-esque Shaolin then the world's ugliest kung fu style may not be for him.

 

ha ha. you are a card

 

Honestly I think contemporary wushu is ugly in an abstract sense. There is no essence of combat anymore. OF DEATH. OF DOOM. OF DESTRUCTION.

The 'Triple D's of martial arts'.

You know what other triple D's I like? :evil:

If a super cute girl is doing contemporary wushu, and we obtain the triple D's from her presence, then I think it's not ugly anymore.

 

If actually its Wushu you're looking for...what about just a gymnastic class?

 

There is a huge choice of very good Kungfu in London. To be honest things like having a club that is close to you that you can get to easily or having an instructor that you get on with are as important as having a particular style.

The thing to do is to go along and try out different clubs to see what you like.

If you are near the Kingston / Richmond / Twickenham area I recommend taking a look at my club - westlondonkungfu.com - its good kung fu and about as legitimately shoalin as you can get.

 

Well no because I like kung fu moves.



Does anyone know a style that encompasses both gymnastics and leads to good fighting skills to?

 

Yeah...Wushu.

Imagine gymnastic moves then +punch/kick stance.

Gymnastics is one Hell of bodyweight, balance and strength conditioner.

 

Theres no guarantee that wushu will lead to better fighting skills.
+1 on the gymnastics class (also Mushroom is very involved in kung fu and dragon dance groups in london so its worth listening to his advice)

 

Possibly a good guy to reference when anyone asks about the results you can get with bodyweight training too. I tried Tai Chi briefly and the instructor had done Qi Gong with Yan Lei. He said Sifu Lei rarely lifted weights and most of his strength came from bodyweight training/Qi Gong/ and weapons work (ok, the last one could be considered lifting weights).

 

Muay Thai + tricking =

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pfl2c12v42I"]ONG BAK 1 Best Fight Scene HD YouTube - YouTube[/ame]

 

If you want wushu why not just do wushu?

 

What? Just randomly in the street?

Shiny silk pyjamas, whilst trying to do cartwheels and forward rolls..

 

No, but why all this talk of gymnastics? It's not like wushu is hard to find in London

 

Not hard at all, Op just needs to do some self research.

 

Muay Thai + tricking = Hung gar.

 

What places would you guys and girls recommend for Wing Chun and Southern Praying Mantis? Also, is it true that Southern Praying Mantis involves weapons training to?

 

Dude make your mind up ! - you say you want Shoalin, you say you want gymnastic - then you ask about Win chun. Which is neither gymnastic nor Shoalin [ with the exception of the older win chun systems which most ip man Win Chung people don't recognize as win Chung in the first place].

Which part of London are you based ? - It can take 2 hours to get from one side of London to the other. Tell us where you are and we can recommend clubs near you.

 

Take a chill pill. It's perfectly reasonable that I'm exploring different styles considering that I've only just started seriously thinking about taking up kung fu.

I live in Hertfordshire but I'm willing to travel anywhere in London or surrounding counties.

 

I am positively glacial.

No argument here

Your enthusiasm and willingness to make a commitment is a very good thing and will serve you well in your martial arts, but traveling anywhere in London is a mistake. The one thing that all martial arts have in common is the need for practice, practice, and more practice.

Think about how often you want to train a week. Take a look at your travel options. See what areas you can realistically reach within a reasonable time at a reasonable cost. Narrow the area down a bit and people will be able to come up with some recommendations.

 

I am going to assume north London is realistic for you logistically. I can think of 3 schools which I have in particular heard good things about:
UK Shaolin Temple, Tuffnel Park - modern performance wushu/shaolin stuff, Sanda (chinese kickboxing) too.
Tang Long Shaolin, Golders Green - similar to the above, probably worth checking out and comparing the two.
Loong Fu school of Hung Gar, Hackney - probably a little further to travel, but worth looking at for a real old-school traditional kung fu school (HK style) which specialises in a single, very respected style of kung fu. Not as pretty as the Shaolin stuff, mind.