Styles, Claims, Principles and Why Choose Kungfu

**It is Fake** · Posted On: 7/28/2007 1:59am

If you are going to post in the thread post why you chose kung fu.

You being honored to learn from Lily Lau or you like your kwoon is not why you chose kung fu. These are reasons why you continue to do kung fu.

**burritopunk** · Posted On: 8/18/2007 12:51am

I am still looking for a Sifu, but I choose kung-fu due to the cultural history of it, and the philosophy of CMA. The classical aspect is just so appealing to me. I can't wait to get started!

**Sabateur** · Posted On: 9/23/2007 12:55am

I've had an interesting experience with Kung Fu, I am assuming here this term is referring to CMA as a lot of people in the west do.

My very first experience with CMA was Hsing I and Ba Gua. I took a Ba Gua class at my college just for fun, didn't know anything about it. The complex footwork got me and I started looking for information, the same teacher taught Hsing I and I tried that too.

Hsing I had a reputation for being a very direct practical martial art and had the added mystery of somewhat only recently being brought to the public. Its history as far as who practiced is very interesting too.

But the main reasons I got hooked and stay with it as much as I can was, that the teacher emphasized full contact sparring and actual applications, not just forms, and second because he charged a pittance like $30 for a month. He didn't even want to up the fee when he was asked about it, I took it as a sign of his humility.

He also often taught that forms are conditioning your body and not some super secret scroll hidden in movement. I guess it was the approach of learning and teaching Hsing I and Ba Gua was so plain and without romanticism that it appealed to me. This is of course my experience with it. Also when he had his senior students train with boxers at the local golden gloves gym I got the clue he wasn't afraid of his art not working in fights.

This is after I had gone to a number of TKD clubs in my area who were mostly doing glorified aerobics and were stuck in just philosophy, and if they did sparring at all it was one point. So I was glad to find something legit. It's funny though reading things about CMA on this forum and how much posing there is, I never realized it. Guess I got lucky.

The only thing they didn't have is ground game, and I hope to pick something up to round my training on that.

**TongLongFoo** · Posted On: 9/23/2007 3:50am

I chose kung fu partly because I watched kung fu movies, I'll admit that. But it realy comes down to the teachers I have been fortunate to meet.

**Tonuzaba** · Posted On: 9/23/2007 6:35am

Originally Posted by Sabateur

...He also often taught that forms are conditioning your body and not some super secret scroll hidden in movement. I guess it was the approach of learning and teaching ...

Lucky you... . :5sonar:

There are legions of people being deluded by non-competent or willfully misguiding CMA teachers or "teachers"...

**It is Fake** · Posted On: 9/23/2007 3:02pm

Originally Posted by TongLongFoo

I chose kung fu partly because I watched kung fu movies, I'll admit that. But it realy comes down to the teachers I have been fortunate to meet.

Many people have, nothing wrong with that.

Hell people took BJJ because of the UFC.

Difference is one is shown working the other is pretending to show it works.

**Jadonblade** · Posted On: 9/23/2007 3:24pm

I wanted to carry on training at uni, joined a karate club and I found it lacking compared to my home karate club. So looked about and found a tiger crane combination club with a good rep. Nearly got knocked out in a hard sparring session a few lessons later, so I took it up 8 hours a week till I could throw the guy around (his movement was to good for me to trade punches with). Am quite interested to see how far Cung Li goes, he looks immense.

**lumpy** · Posted On: 9/24/2007 2:59pm

I started with Judo, left Ma for a while and got back into MA with Kung Fu - tried aikido and Ju-jitsu and also TKD but always come back to CMA. For me they just feel more complete and useable ( although Aikido was a good substitute for a while.

**muranternet** · Posted On: 9/25/2007 11:32am

I started in karate, and got disillusioned and left after about 5 years. I took a smattering of other stuff and had friendly spars with friends, and then a stoner musician I knew who weighed about 100 pounds soaking wet who took Yang Tai Chi Chuan sparred me and neutralized all my attacks and tossed me around repeatedly and easily with push (I weighed 220 at the time). To be fair he wasn't a fighter and didn't claim to be, and he had a goddamn broken neck from years before held together with wire, so we were going light, but I was pretty impressed. About the same time I was shown some bagua and some southern styles that I'm too stupid to remember the names of, and was pretty impressed with how natural the arcs looked as opposed to the straight lines used in my karate dojo.

I started training at the guy with the goddamn broken neck from years before held together with wire's school ASAP. Honestly I still think I suck at pure TCC fighting, but the body mechanics I learned and control in push hands were immediately applicable to anything else I did (and do). Therefore the next time I hit a guy overhand with a beer bottle in the head, I'll still say I do Tai Chi.

**zuisifu** · Posted On: 10/05/2007 9:13pm

my fourm: Zui Quan (drunken fist)

you act drunk what more can be said?

by acting drunk your opponent gets confused, over confident, doubtfull, oh and did i mention confused. most people arnt trained to fight a drunkard. as your opponent becomes as such you become more flexible, unpredictable, unpredictable, more unpredictable, comedical, even more unpredictable, and deciptive. we are wan(drunkin movement) 90% of the time and tze(fast acting strong energy) as if we were doing hung gar 10% of the time then we go right back to wan.