What can you gain from learning Kung Fu?

VIDEO: See the outcome of this epic ground-breaking face-off between a Shaolin monk vs a Taekwondo master!

The application of wrestling techniques at the battlefield received much attention from various states during the period of Spring and Autumn. At the same time, the skill and technology of sword forging as well as sword ceremony achieved rapid development. In Qin and Han Dynasties, wrestling, swordplay, and kung fu dancing were very popular. The application of spear play in Han Dynasty reached its summit along with the appearance of many other techniques of spear usage.

The history of leopard style martial arts is a long one. History indicates and generally agrees that the techniques that define the style of the leopard were developed by Jue Yuan, Bai Yufeng, and Li Sou.

Speed and the capacity for decisive angular attacks are considered to be the two primary cornerstones of the leopard kung fu style. Because of this, the leopard method has some interesting differences with the tiger style. Strength defines the tiger style, but with the leopard style, you’re going to find that the training, conditioning, and techniques are designed to focus on speed, and finding the best possible way to outsmart an opponent.

However, by no means does leopard style kung fu lack in strength. It’s simply important to remember that this style goes about achieving that strength in a different way. It looks to achieve strength in how quickly the body acts to withstand and eventually subdue an opponent. Elbows, knees, low kicks, and leopard punches all have the potential to be used to bring someone down. Even the counter-attacks that are found within the leopard style are going to want to look for something that is sudden, short, and indirect.

Learning Kung Fu

Unfortunately, you can’t learn Kung Fu from simply watching movies or DVDs,even where a brilliant practitioner like Grandmaster Chan’s incomparable skills are on display. A properly qualified and trained Instructor/Coach/Teacher or ‘Sifu’ is always an essential pre-requisite for such activities–one who will insist that you master the basic principles of Kung Fu and instill these into you at length is the sort to look out for.

This is how Jackie Chan himself trained, as his autobiography ‘I am Jackie Chan’ confirms and ‘Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow‘ shows Jackie learning the Snake Style from scratch from just such a teacher played charismatically by Yuen Siu-Tien (father of the film’s Director Yuen Woo-Ping). ‘Shé Xíng Diao Shou’ or ‘ Snake Form Trick Hand’ is the translation of the film’ s Chinese title and a pains-taking, step-by-step progress involving repeated practise of basic skills is depicted on-screen as Jackie strives to master this new and unfamiliar Kung Fu style.

At the other end of the Kung Fu teaching spectrum, in a splendid cameo role, Dean Shek (and the Kung Fu School he belongs to) ably depicts all that is to be avoided by all those seeking Kung Fu instruction.