What is Kung Fu..? Why should one study the Arts..?

"Research your own experience; absorb what is useful, reject what  is useless and add what is essentially your own."

~Bruce Lee

Whatitdo Steemians,

ChthonicMoor and I'm talking about Kung fu today. Kung fu/Gung-fu/Gong-fu ~ 'hue~man effort'. The expression Kung-Fu is in a sense a misnomer. It is a word from Cantonese dialect which has become popular in these times, in preference to the Mandarin word Wushu, which means 'martial arts'. The literal meaning of the calligraphy for Wushu is 'stop fighting'.  Japanese calls it Kakutei-jutsu and in Mandarin Quan-fa. Kung-fu was popularized mainly because of the late Bruce Lee in the 1960s and early 70s. He's the reason its in the Western Dictionary, too. A correct understanding requires lifelong study combined with a wide knowledge of Chinese life, history and customs. Styles of kung-fu fighting vary enormously, from Soft (internal) to Hard (external). Most styles trace there origins to the Shaolin-si. I would also research Bodhidharma A.K.A. Da Mo.

I personally was into the hard styles (Jeet kune do) but I've transitioned into the more subtle arts like Wing Chun, Tai Chi, Bauga zhang, tomiki aikido and qi gong. They all have martial applications, but overall Mind, Body, and Soul/Spiritual health aspects as well. I encourage any one who is very young to start training in anything and if older still train but instead choose internal style (taichi, chigong). There are modified versions of the styles because foreigners in China weren't allowed to learn the real deal. But then came Bruce lee (1\4 German), who opened the door (in the west). Now there are plenty Sifu (Teachers) but plenty modifications, too. So due diligence on your Sifu. Stay away if its institutional learning and only find someone who actually trained under someone in there respected Lineage. An Example is getting 4th generation Wing Chun from Ip Man lineage.    

The Styles are interconnected, which creates a foundation to branch off into one deeply, but form a central focus. Kind of like after learning Spanish, the other Latin languages are easier for you to grasp now. Nonetheless get into an art before your Sifu is some Virtual Bruce Lee in a headset shutting down your psyche and got you thinking your actually training.

"The consciousness of self is the greatest hindrance to the proper execution of all physical action" 

"To see a thing uncolored by one own's personal preference and desires is to see it in its own pristine simplicity"

"The way to transcend karma lies in the proper use of the mind and will. The oneness of all life is a truth that can be fully realized only when false notions of a separate self, whose destiny can be considered apart from the whole, are forever annihilated" 

~Tao of Jeet Kune Do

Love&Light,

ChthonicMoor