do you consider the form work or chi kung, general fitness, bag work, as the health in kung fu.
if you had to pick one of the above which one is the best for health.
i would choose forms!!! because you can do them with tension, rings, fast, and slow. also you can learn to fight with them. unfortunately you wont get timing, power as much as pad and bag work. but thats my choice. can get timing and distance from 2 man sets.
anyone disagree?? 
peace
What happens if we disagree?
I would have to say flexibility, and cardiovascular respiratory endurance. Seeing elderly people who have maintained these capabilities is awe inspiring, and to witness people my own age who havenāt is inspiring as well.
very true ten tigers 
its good to see old folk still flexible and healthy, damn buggers are fitter than me.
peace
Hereās a related question: Does a fit body bring with it, automatically, a fit mind?
Robin
Definitely not, Robin. It helps, though.
Health to me, is more mental than it is physical.
a healthy body makes you feel better both physically and mentally and propably helps you being more posetive, i had no confidence and now i dont let people tramp on me :]
Free thinkers are dangerous.
Iād have to agree with TenTigers. Seeing people in their 70ās, 80ās, or 90ās still training and performing really gives me inspiration and shows the essence of Chinese kung fu.
I would have to say that before I started KF i sucked wind going up three flights of stairs in my office building- now I take steps 2 at a time-probably thanks to sa ping ma training. My skiing has also gotten better-donāt get wiped out after a half a day like I used to- so KF has had some positive cross-pollination in other aspects of life, which is as it should be.
Kung Fu is in the basics, Health is in the basics. This includes stretches as much as excercises and actual martial arts basics.
Forms can be done incorrectly but if the basics are practiced it lasts forever.
It is nice to see old people being flexible and capable at such advanced ages, however it wasnāt forms by the time they reach 80, as it is the stretching and basics.
As such their demonstrations will be good when they choose them to be (As most Masters are modest thus hide their true skills, except for their disciples) based not on their forms but their basic skills.
Fiercest tiger, when I read that question I had hideous flashbacks to old lectures
As for the mind/body thing, it can help. Exercise releases endorphins, which are natural euphorics, and lead to a sense of wellbeing.
It also lowers the levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
Add to these physical effects factors such as improved self esteem and sense of accomplishment, which should come from training at a good school, and youāre doing well in the whole mental health area.
However, you can run into problems if you become overly concerned with exercise, fitness or appearance, which can be the pitfall.
āWeapons are the embodiments of fear,
the wise use them only when they have no choiceā
Lao Tzu
hi Ben
thanks for your post, anything thjat helps in fitness with mind and body is a bonus isnt it.
thanks again. 
peace
An old yet simple practice for health is
āZhan Zhuangā standing practice that is vital and excellent for harmonising the body (1-2Hrs a day is all it takes :))
Regards
Shi Chan Long
robin
to find your answer just look at your average kenpo/kempo practicioner, i believe you will find your answer very disapionting indeed. i dont mean to besmerch anybody but this is how i feel.
kenpo/kempo sucks
always has
always will
but hey, at least its not wing chun.[seriously]
Missing something?
The Chinese concept of health is very different from the western. I agree with the internal masters who believe that good health and fitness do not nessassarily go hand in hand. Let us listen to what they have to say:
āā¦one may reach the state where the spirit is preserved within, the body is healthy, and the spirit full, the intellect wise, desicions made adroitly and reactions made spontaneously. Consequently, the life energy will be maintained resulting in good healthā¦ā
-Wang Ji Wu, Hsing I Master, lived over 100 years
(paraphrasing)āHah! Young man you know nothing! You see a fat old man, but look closer! I can eat more than you, drink more than you, sleep longer than you, and have more sex than you! You may be young, but I have Chi. Without Chi, there is no health.ā
-Wong Feh, Bagua Master, addressing a young B.K.Frantzis
It appears that there is more to good health than doing splits at eighty and practicing forms. Good health, according to the above mentioned Masters, seemed to indicate a certain ājoy of lifeā, an enlightened happy state, free from turmoil and full of zest. These men were obviously fit for thier ages, but what gave them the advantage over us simple mortals was Chi! Letās not neglect giving credit to our Chi Kung training. Fighting skills are impressive, Forms demonstrations are really entertaining to watch, but when I reach my 'hundreds, Iād still like to have sex like a teenager! :eek:
Best regards, ScarletMantis
If your 100 and having sex
Then you better be really rich or else your sex parners will also be 100 and thats gross.
Oh wait silly me for 14 dollars you can get two women for a night in Thailand; and at age 100 who cares about aids?
Nice quotes and I agree, Iāve even found that I can be chiād up, but my shen levels donāt rise and Iāve been finding/ experimenting with energy levels, shen levels and charasma. Iāve also been looking at peopleās eyes, coloring and lips to see their levels of energy and how they attract people and how charismatic they are. Iām onto something cool here, but when I find it, itās not something you can really teach. Itās more like a radio frequency that you find within yoursel
If your not bleeding, your not having enough fun.
Donāt you?
Humor is good, but I detect a stubbed toe here. I know many Mantis styles donāt place a huge emphasis on Chi Kung, but dosenāt your Tai Chi Chuan school?
Many folks who train in internal arts do so for health and longevity. Two billion Chinese canāt be wrong. :o
āThe essence of life is struggle and itās goal is domination. There are higher goals and deeper meanings, but they exist only within the minds of men. The reality of life is war.ā
>>>Two billion Chinese canāt be wrong. <<<
Neither can the vast majority of the known world when they were saying that the world was flat.
Disclaimer: Not really disagreeing, but I just found this rationale amusing.
No no, I agree with you and liked your quotes
Our mantis starts out external and gets more internal as we get deeper into it. I was just musing about how a 100 year old could get laid. And while the Thailand comment was distastfull, I donāt know of anywhere else to find someone that would sleep with a 100 year old guy. Oh waitā¦Anna Nicole Smith.
No stubbed toe, just playing around. For me chi kung is like tying your shoes, just another part of daily life. ā¦no offense intended.
Also itās more than just 2 billion chinese. India, Greece, Preindustrial western europe, Eastern europe, Indigeounous people everywhere.
I met a Zopotec herbal medicine doctor who described to me how the bodyās energy runs along meridians. She had super high shen/ chi levels, and told me how people get sick when their mind/bodies/ and spirits get out of balance. There was an emphasis on the spiritual, but everything else could have been strait out of a Chinese Medicine book. How about the caucasian iceman in the alps??? He had tatoos along meridian lines. Mitokuye Oyasi
If your not bleeding, your not having enough fun.