Kung Fu is a traditional Chinese martial art popularised by movies featuring Asian protagonists. You’ve probably heard of styles like Wushu, Shaolin Temple Kung Fu, and Wing Chun. Animal forms such as the crane, dragon, mantis, monkey, snake, and tiger are also well-known.
However, Kung Fu has evolved significantly over the years. New striking techniques and styles are coming up fast, with students eager to learn and execute them.
Read on to discover what to expect in a modern Kung Fu school.
What Happens in Kung Fu Schools?
In most Kung Fu schools, students spend most of their time practising the different Kung Fu forms. However, they wear boxing gloves and strike each other like kickboxers during sparring.
The abovementioned approach is wrong unless you’re training to become a performer instead of a fighter.
To become proficient in traditional Kung Fu and understand forms and their execution, you shouldn’t alter what you learn during training. Otherwise, you’ll be wasting time learning choreographed dancing styles.
Why? Many people spend their time learning what they don’t practice in sparring matches. Also, some schools don’t teach traditional Kung Fu techniques. Instead, they focus on kickboxing styles, which many students find easier to master.
Although kickboxing can improve your physicality and self-defence skills, it’s still different from your desire to learn Kung Fu.
How Is Modern Kung Fu Different?
Traditional Kung Fu forms teach all the techniques in a system. The first classes focused on improving stance, fitness, endurance, and strength. Then, the instructor would shift to enhancing other skills like discipline, concentration, agility, power, mobility, and speed.
The lessons are sequential, and students must practice them repeatedly until they become masters to progress to higher levels. The objective is to learn everything in a Kung Fu form and know how to execute the styles as the founder envisaged them.
Modern Kung Fu training is significantly different from traditional forms. It uses the Jow Ga approach, where students learn techniques as the creator intended to teach them. Each method in every form has a specific purpose or application. The techniques are sequential, as are the forms.
Additionally, instructors encourage students to learn additional applications of the techniques by embracing creativity. Simply put, they shouldn’t limit the purpose to what the teacher told them.
Also, modern Kun Fu training emphasises the most effective techniques and spends little time on mundane exercises. It’s better to perfect what’s effective than waste time on the basics. As you improve your skills, there’s less focus on the traditional forms and more on the effective styles.
Wrapping Up
Martial arts training is useful to kids and adults, improving physical and mental health. On the physical front, it keeps you fit and helps with weight management. It improves anger management, self-discipline, and teamwork and can help fight mental illnesses.
The approach used in training determines how fast you become proficient. Modern Kung Fu training focuses on effective techniques and overlooks the mundane, enabling you to achieve your goals quickly.
