Kung Fu
Kung Fu
Kung fu, gong fu, and Wushu, are terms that are applied to the Chinese martial arts in general. They do not refer to any particular style of Chinese martial art. Literally Kung fu means ?achievement through great effort? or simply ?hard work?. Achievement can be of any field not just in martial art. However with the popularity of the term in the West in latter half of twentieth century it became synonymous with Chinese martial arts.
History Martial arts in China evolved during its long history to fulfill the combat and self defense needs of the Chinese of various stations of life, especially the needs of the military. Some of the martial art styles were underlined by certain philosophical principles.
Martial arts were referred to in the earliest legends of China. Earliest martial art was called Jiao di or horn butting. This later developed into Jiao li, a wresting system with throws, joint locks, and manipulation of pressure points. Modern style of Shuai jiao is related to that art. Historical Han dynasty period saw the emergence of two martial arts called shuobo and jiandao forerunners of modern styles quanshu and jianshu. Xiangpu a early form of Sumo was popular at court during Song as well as Yuan dynasties. Wushu has developed by the reigning periods of Qing and Ming dynasties . Philosophical associations with martial arts also begin early. Several Daoist or Taoist texts refer to martial arts. There is some evidence that Taoists practiced Tai Chi Chuan exercises as early s 500 B.C. Confucian classics also consider martial arts like archery and chariot driving on the same level as music and calligraphy. Treatises on hand fighting and animal fighting forms were written before first century A.D.
Monks from famous Shaolin monastery were reported as defending against bandit attacks and taking part in battles as early as seventh century. By the Sixteenth century marital art have become a part of the monastic way of life there and many warriors visited the monastery to learn the art which consisted of both armed and unarmed fighting techniques.
Practice of martial art became more widespread during the period of the republic from 1912 to1949 as a way of developing patriotism and health. Several organizations for their promotion came into being and various schools and manuals were written during that period. After the communist victory government discouraged most traditional martial arts and encouraged the standardized national Wushu system. The controls have been relaxed in recent years. Period after 1949 also saw the spread of Chinese martial arts to the wider world.
Styles Chinese marital arts have developed into a large number of styles according to the principles by which they deal with the problems of defense, attack, health, and self improvement. The styles have been categorized in a variety of ways including internal and external (also called soft and hard), northern and southern, religious affiliation, training methods, among others. However all of them are highly subjective and inexact methods since most styles are related to and distinctive from each other at the same time.
Basic training in Kung Fu consists of exercising the muscles to achieve strength, and flexibility, and of learning how to control the chi (or invisible life force). Mostly this is done through repeating movements involved, stretching both muscles and joints, practicing stances, and meditating to develop concentration. In addition there may be other basic training methods peculiar to each style.
Forms (called taolu) are important component of Kung fu. They consist of set of movements like prearranged dances but are intended to enhance the practitioner?s ability in fighting techniques. While some forms are performed alone others are performed by two or more people. Some are performed empty handed while others are performed with weapons. There is also a strong meditative component in performance of the kung fu forms.
Concept of chi or qi is also an important part in Kung fu philosophy .Chi is the animate force in living things as opposed to inanimate things. Kung fu practitioner must learn how to manage this.
In the modern world, the application of Chinese martial arts is mainly concerned with sport competitions, physical exercise, and self defense. As such actual combat style sparring is very rare. Some modern practitioners concentrate solely on performing the forms for exhibition and not on actual combat.