[QUOTE=David Jamieson;1158242]Kung Fu- The TCMA fighting limb of it isn’t special or any different from any other martial art except that it doesn’t really include much in the way of wrestling or ground work.
But what separates it and makes Kung Fu unique?
The Kung Fu I immerse in is Shaolin in origin.
It contains a complete system for transforming a human into a place of health and mental fitness, it allows for study of ancient and classical weapons, it includes bodywork and meditation and it has it all in one package without going elsewhere.
It is a fairly comprehensive system of personal transformation and development beyond a way of fighting etc, but certainly inclusive to the idea of defending oneself in the circumstance where violence may rear up at you.
It also includes healing, both physically and in dealing with emotional/intuitive issues that you may carry. It helps to increase mental toughness through overcoming perceived physical difficulties and getting over hills that might be perceived as insurmountable at first, but with effort and support, these things are done and the mind becomes better for it.
You can cut as much off of it as you like and only take what you want. That’s up to anyone. I like to keep finding the things that were there in the sense of the origin.
It has a lot that cannot be found elsewhere in martial arts.[/QUOTE]
Shuai Jiao predates all Kung fu styles to the point where every system can claim chin na and throwing contained in its forms.
Not everyone gravitates toward the Shuai jiao aspects but Shuai jiao as an art predates Kung fu styles. It could be argued that wrestling is the most natural human way of fighting. The technical skill involved is bill until that big brute, way back when, wrestled against an equally big brute or bigger. Then he was like, “how does big brute A beat big brute B?”.
And then he got his abucis out and burned incense to the gods and ancestors to find clues.
For me Kung fu is a complete system of physical, an maybe mental, development. There is nei gong(soft) and wai gong(hard) aspects which blend and help each other.
Soft aspects: Nei gong- joint exercises to make nimble the body and mind with it. I include qi gong in this. Chi sau, push hands, two man form.
Hard aspects: Wai gong- lifting weights, sparring(hard, medium power), etc. The nei gong exercises may be warm up, cool down, joint mobility, etc. but they are systematic working out each joint and muscle and he body as a whole.
It’s much easier to focus on the yin(soft) aspects because they are more gentle on the body and you don’t get your darn fingers jammed.
