 |
Sat, March 20, 2010
About the Art of Kung Fu...
What is Kung Fu?
In general, Kung Fu is a label used to describe any Martial Art that comes from China. It is the generic name for literally hundreds of individual Chinese fighting arts, both "internal" and "external," ancient and of relatively recent invention.
The words "Kung Fu" can be literally translated as "skill from effort". It can be used to describe anything that requires a person to invest both time and effort into training to become skillful. In these terms, a chef, artist, musician or computer programmer can all be said to have good "kung fu".
It is said that the term "Kung Fu" gained widespread use in reference to Chinese Martial Arts during the influx of Chinese immegrants to the United States during the 1800s. An alternate spelling, "Gung Fu," was made popular by the late Bruce Lee during the 1970's. Lee's spelling is actually the most accurate, as the pronunciation is closer to the hard "G" sound of the English "good" or "gong" than the sharp "K" of "king" or "kong."
Regardless of spelling or pronunciation, the term "Kung Fu" has become ingrained in popular consciousness as synonymous with Chinese Martial Arts. Therefore, this is the term used throughout this web site.
See Also:
|
