Eagle Claw
Founded around A. D. 1200, this style resembles jujitsu in its speed and its emphasis on joint locks and use of pressure points to catch and control, rather than to kill or maim. For these reasons, it is useful for police work that involves disarming criminals and for self-defense for women. Even so, this style is seldom taught because it is so potentially powerful.
Xingyiquan (Hsing-I)
This style originated between the years 960 and 1279, and is now considered one of the highest levels of internal kungfu. The style employs simple techniques (direct strikes, secure footwork) with the aim of ending conflict as quickly as possible. Derived from theories of the Five Elements and Twelve Animals, the forms seek to train internal energy as the source of external power.
Bagua (Pa Kwa, “Eight Trigrams”)
This style, too, has a reputation for training internal energy and is perhaps the most atypical of the kungfu systems. Students training in Bagua walk a circle, rather than using training stances; learning the eight directions of the circle teaches flexibility and how to use the whole body as a weapon.
Southern Styles
Hung Gar (“Hung Family Style”)
Hung Gar was, and still is, one of the most famous and popular Southern systems. It is good for all ages and all body structures. While it is considered by some to be relatively slow, it is powerful. It includes isometric and dynamic tension exercises that not only develop strong arms and legs, but also generate considerable internal power.
Choi Lee Fut (Choy Lee Fut)
A relatively new system, developed in the early nineteenth century, Choi Lee Fut has become one of the most popular in Southeast Asia. It includes a wide range of hand, weapon, and wooden dummy forms and is reportedly one of the most powerful in application.
Wing Chun (Wing Tsun)
Like Hung Gar, Wing Chun was created in the late seventeenth century by rebels seeking to overthrow the Ching dynasty. (Tradition holds that Wing Chun was created by a woman, but this story seems to be one of the ploys to protect the true creator and his followers, rather than the truth.) With only three hand forms, one wooden dummy set, and a few weapons forms, the Wing Chun style is simple, economical in terms of movement, and aggressive. Many consider it a good choice of styles for those seeking to learn self-defense techniques quickly.
Modern Style
Jeet Kune Do (JKD)
The only style developed in the twentieth century, Jeet Kune Do is Bruce Lee’s creation. After winning a fight with Wing Chun techniques, but judging his performance a failure (Lee felt he should have won faster, with less effort), Lee created JKD, which translates as “the way of the intercepting fist.” JKD tends to use kicking techniques, as in northern styles, with hand techniques from the south. While it incorporates many Wing Chun principles, it is even more direct and efficient, with an emphasis on self-awareness and intention. There are no forms to learn in this style; training is in techniques and application.
THE FOUR CHAPTERS in this section will guide you up through your first class. While this part of your new relationship with kungfu will be short, it is important. Knowing what to expect of the teacher and other students, and what they will be expecting from you, will help you start out with the right attitude and that in turn will ensure you settle quickly into training.
The first step is to choose a school. From there, a great deal of the rest follows: what to wear, how to behave, how to participate in classes. While much is specific to a given school, much is also universal, and this is what we try to present in the following chapters.
IF YOU TRAIN IN KUNGFU seriously—which means two or three, or even more, workouts per week—your school will begin to seem like a second home. Therefore, consider carefully before you make a commitment. What’s available in your area will certainly limit your choice, but do your best to match your goals and personal preferences with the style of school—and particularly the instructor—that you choose. This is an important first step toward satisfaction and progress in your studies.
Personal Goals
Begin by asking yourself why you want to study kungfu. What do you want to get out of it? What do you want to achieve? Five common reasons are described below with comments as to how this would influence your choice of a school.
First, and perhaps most obviously, people take up a martial art because they want to participate in a combat sport. They like to spar, as in wrestling or boxing; they want to learn theory and strategy as well as effective techniques. People with this goal in mind should be sure there is plenty of sparring at the school they choose and that the teacher (sifu) is well versed in the applications of the moves of the forms taught. In this case, a traditional kungfu school is likely to be more suitable than wushu (which is more focused on performance, see below).
A second reason for studying kungfu, closely related to the first, is self-defense. Again, some schools emphasize these aspects with many free-sparring sessions and careful demonstrations of the applications of the moves in the practice forms. Those concerned about self-defense should be sure the school they join can provide this training.
Third, many people take up a martial art for physical fitness. You may mainly want to “keep fit,” to lose weight, tone muscle, or simply stay healthy. If so, then consider carefully what “fitness” means to you, because different styles of martial arts exercise the body in different ways. Vigorous forms—with a lot of kicking and jumping—offer cardiovascular fitness and stress release, while the more quiet forms tone muscles and regulate body functions. Schools offering long sessions with vigorous activity will suit the person who is mainly out for exercise.
A fourth reason is performance. Some people just like the look of it (or, more accurately, like the look of what they’ve perhaps seen in “kungfu movies”). Modern wushu is largely for competition and performance, so the forms being created and taught by wushu/kungfu schools are designed to display grace, speed, and agility with dramatic acrobatic movements. As with gymnastics, people may study at these sorts of schools because they want to develop those qualities and/or to perform in tournaments and public displays.
Other people study kungfu for cultural reasons. They have interest in the traditional arts of China or in its philosophies and want to deepen their understanding through physical participation. (Even Confucius encouraged his followers to study both the literary and martial arts.) The martial arts have long been known to build strong character as well as strong bodies. Traditional schools and instructors will probably better suit students with these interests in mind.
Style of Kungfu
One aspect in the choice of school is the type of kungfu being taught. While there are many styles of kungfu in the world, there are only a handful being taught widely in the U.S., and the number being taught in your area could be very small. Fortunately, at the beginning stages the style of kungfu is not as important as the instructor and the quality of the school. Many of the techniques (stances, punches, kicks, and so on) are very similar in all styles. Once you have a firm foundation in any one style, you should easily be able to pick up another or others. Thus, you may start in a style that doesn’t quite attract you because you’ve found a good sifu or school nearby and feel confident that your time and effort will not be wasted. Indeed, this could be to your advantage, because, when you do have the chance to study the style of your choice, you will be