what is kung fu?

bushido_man96 · KF Sensei

I don't know, really. I have seen a practitioner demo it once, and found it interesting. Other than that, just some internet exposure.
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Johnlogic121 · Orange Belt

In the Western Hemisphere, "Kung Fu" is the phrase used to describe a martial art that orginated in China. One translation offerred for the phrase "Kung Fu" is "hard work," but an alternate translation is "running fire." Sometimes "Kung Fu" is rendered into English as "Gong Fu," and you encounter this term often when researching the late Bruce Lee. Kung Fu comes in thousands of styles. "Chi Kung" is an exercise system that is designed for either health or personal development through special conditioning of the body. Many systems of Kung Fu also have a Chi Kung component for therapy or healing. Because Chinese medical theory permeates Kung Fu and Chi Kung exercises, people who cultivate one or the other or both are conscious of how the exercises influence the health of their bodies. Sometimes a student will want to know a Kung Fu teacher's organ diagnosis before agreeing to do the same forms that that other person did, for fear that some mistake in the form transmission could cause some sort of disease. Some Kung Fu and Chi Kung movements do condition the organs, so imprecise imitation of a form that you haven't been taught correctly can be hazardous to one's Chi flow and health. Martial arts are traded actively between countries by civilians and military alike, so karate forms from Japan have influenced Kung Fu and vice versa. Most histories of Karate say that Okinawon sailors borrowed simplified forms from China to import fighting arts into their own country, and that is evidently a significant part of karate's origin in Japan. Much Kung Fu in America came through Hawaii. Chinese Kempo became Ed Parker's Kempo when he learned it in Hawaii and transferred it to the mainland, for example. In China, the civilian martial artists usually train for an entire lifetime for maximum cultivation of their art, so these systems are highly developed and very sophisticated with hundreds of training forms so that the training stays fresh.
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First Grandmaster - Montgomery Style Karate; 12 year Practitioner - Bujinkan Style Ninjutsu; Isshinryu, Judo, Mang Chaun Kung Fu, Kempo

ying&yang · Purple Belt

Kung-fu , is one of the begining styles one of the styles that started it all , and it has been around for many thousands of years. If you know you martial arts well enough then you should already know this, but for the beginiers the post replys in this topic would be very useful.
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I think that there is no 1 style , and that to truly become a great martial artist and person you must take information from where ever you can.

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