Kung Fu Principles

[Albertina Drybread]

Historicallythe term "Kung Fu" is not really featured in any ancient texts. It was first coined by a Frenchman named Jean Joseph Marie Amiot, a missionary who lived in the 18th Century, in reference to Chinese martial arts. Kung Fu is also called Gongfu, Wushu, or Kuoshu, and originally denotes expertise in any skill, and not exclusive to martial arts.

Brief History:

The practice, philosophy, and concept of Kung Fu can be traced back to ancient Chinese texts such as Zhuang Zi, Dao De Jing, and Sun Zi Bing Fa (Art of War written by Sun Zi), all written between 1111-255 BC. These texts contain passages related to the practice, propagation, and principles of Chinese martial arts, or Kung Fu as it is known today.

One theory regarding the first written history of Kung Fu suggests that the Yellow Emperor, who reigned from 2698 BC, wrote the first treatise on Chinese martial arts. Others give credit to Taoist monks for introducing an art form that resemble modern Tai Chi around 500 BC. Then in 39-92 AD, Pan Ku included "Six Chapters of Hand Fighting" in his discourse on the history of the Han dynasty (Han Shu). As the popularity of martial arts progressed, a physician named Hua Tuo also wrote his own treatise entitled, "Five Animals Play" in 220 AD.

Kung Fu had become a common word in the West beginning in the late 1960s, popularized by martial arts movies and TV series. The Western world today has also seen an immense upsurge in the creation and production of martial arts movies starring great actors/masters such as Jackie Chan and Jet Li.

According to experts, the real motivation behind learning Kung Fu is inspiration and not force, which should come from an inner craving to learn and develop the mind and body. Motivation here is the fundamental driving force. There is no external or worldly gain for the learner, and the only reward is that of knowledge, skill, strength and wisdom.

In Kung Fu, discipline is complementary to motivation. Discipline puts motivation into deed and action. A learner has to make an effort into what he has been motivated for, and self-discipline helps him get started and guides him to achieve that goal. Therefore, without discipline, motivation is just a dormant state of mind.

Time is the path to perfection in martial arts. Once motivation and self-discipline have set in, a learner has to spend a considerable amount of time putting mind and body into practice. A truly inspired learner does not have the privilege to waste time, stay idle or indulge in fruitless activities. Everything done by him/her should reflect real motivation and self-discipline.

Variants and Styles:

With the passage of time, numerous variants and styles have come up in martial arts, or Kung Fu. Some of the more popular ones include Karate, Escrima, Wing Chun, Jujitsu, Judo, Tae Kwon Do, Shaolin, White Crane, T'ai Chi Ch'uan, and Bagua Zhang.

The physical techniques that comprise this gung fu are unique to this system. With the exception of the Aikido walking drills and the boxing drills, all of the Si Feng Wu training practices were created to cultivate this unique martial art. All of the forms or katas taught at Si Feng Wu are also unique to the system. The development of wei dan qi gung or external power is reflected in the beginning forms. These initial forms are patterned after the original Mitosi Japanese Kenpo forms. Thereafter nei dan or internal qi gung, combined with external power, is cultivated and reflected in the various forms. The nature and movements of the Tiger, Crane, Leopard, Snake, Dragon and Monkey are all represented in Si Feng Wu technique.

The adult curriculum also contains the entire Yang style Tai Chi Chuan system as a requirement for advancement to Black Belt. Adult students also learn, in detail, Chen style T'ai Chi Ch'uan and Wu Dan kung fu principles of generating power. For both healing and combative purposes, the internal and external attributes of the T'ai Chi Ch'uan systems are principles that must be contained in any martial artist's repertoire, and they are taught in Si Feng Wu.

The kung fu of Si Feng Wu is a truly unique approach. Admittedly, the amount and nature of martial material contained within this system may seem insurmountable. With this in mind, you, as a prospective martial student, must know your goals prior to beginning this endeavor. If your desire is to learn a simple approach to staying fit, or if your thought process simply does not allow for this holistic approach, then Si Feng Wu may not be for you. But if you can imagine learning to generate power as opposed to force with every part of your body, internally and externally; if you can imagine truly developing the strengths of body, mind and spirit, then you have the fortitude for this particular school of study. Training in any martial art is demanding. Some approaches are more simple, and some are more involved. Again, you must ask yourself, "What is my goal?" Then you simply choose a system, and thereby take your first step into the joyous Tao of the martial arts.

In the martial arts we gauge success one training session, one confrontation, one insight at a time. As a martial arts student, you will one day wake up and suddenly move on every biomechanical plane of human possibility without effort. You will wake up one day exhibiting, without conscious effort, more grace and poise than you even imagined, whether in roughhousing with your dog or resolving a challenging conflict. If you continue with the way of a true warrior, you will eventually realize your higher self.

At Four Winds, we offer kung fu classes for both children and adults. Adults-only and private lessons are also available upon request.

For more information regarding our classes, please send an e-mail using our contact form, or call us at (505) 814-4128.

When I was sixteen, I started practicing Kung Fu. It became an instant obsession for me. Over the next ten years, I would train from between two to six hours a day. When I moved out to LA, I stopped training to focus on a variety of new artforms that caught my attention, but the lessons I learned while training stuck with me, assisting me on my journey through a variety of new artforms.

All techniques spring from principle, and principles are universal. They should hold true throughout all styles of the artform. In other words, if we're talking martial arts, we should be able to see the principle in every style of martial arts from Kung fu to Savate.

Socializing

Principle: If you want to start a conversation with a stranger. They need to be made to feel comfortable. People will reject someone who makes them feel enough discomfort.

Intellectually, principles make sense. If you have more balance than your opponent you have an advantage - got it. However, understanding something intellectually is not the same as understanding it experientially. Experiential understanding comes from practice, because with experience comes awareness.

If we were to imagine two dedicated fighters entering the ring: same weight, same height, with the same four techniques, taught by the same teacher. The only difference is one has been practicing for five years, the other for ten. We know that the student of 10 years is the one we would bet on.

Where a novice might see a punch as an attack, someone with more experience might see it as a way to attack, off-balance, or block, because this person has both an understanding of the principles of his artform and awareness gained through experience.

A student with a firm understanding of principles and the experience to know when a technique can be used, they can begin to express themselves through the artform - leading them down the road to mastery.

Well -- there are a few answers:

*I find it best to know the principle, intellectually, while you practice the techniques.

*If you don't have the principle, you can use the techniques to discover the principle.

*When you know the principle, on an experiential level, then you can create techniques based on that same principle.

I have found these things to be true. I practiced Kung Fu intensively for 14 months in my early 20s, and have noticed that the lessons I learned still impact me positively every day. I have recently started weightlifting, and wasa happy to discover that my body has not forgotten. Great post. Thank you.

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When I started learning Kung Fu, I was hit with a bit of culture shock. The Karate culture, which is influenced by Japanese ideas of strictness and order, is heavily regimented. You wear clean, white uniforms. You bow. You follow etiquette.

Most mammals are faster than us in the short run, but not in the long run. Early human hunters were successful because they chased their prey for hours, until the animal literally dropped from exhaustion.

Kung Fu masters win not by sprinting, but by pacing themselves for the long run. And they succeed beautifully. More than any other martial art, masters of Kung Fu can be found practicing in their 90s and even into their 100s.

Very few martial artists are able to maintain such a long-term practice for so long. Most are sprinters. They may sprint and earn a black belt in 5 years, but a few years later, they stop practicing. They may pick it up again a few years later, keep at it for 10 years, and then stop again.

I can absolutely relate to everything that is here and thought of myself having a hard time being disciplined. I am a sprinter by nature and I work hard explosively only to have it die down immediately. I want to know how to be able to have consistent follow-through action and have a hard time doing so. I lack the patience and the discipline.

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