How to Learn Kung Fu Moves

Shaolin monks display their talents.

Highly popular for its cinematic displays of animal-inspired strikes and flying kicks, kung fu remains among the most respected and innovative of martial arts. Emerging from a lineage of Chinese fighting systems, the term kung fu is typically used to represent any Chinese martial art. Synthesized in the 17th century by the Shaolin monks, kung fu can now be found in private schools instructed by sifus all over the country.

Instructions

1. Find a kung fu school and instructor in your region. Nothing can replace the intensive education of having a live instructor, who can constantly correct you as you practice. Many small towns are likely to offer only a karate or tae kwon do school, if any, to martial artists, leaving the aspiring student to search harder to find a kung fu instructor. Once you collect a list of potential training schools, visit each one (most martial art schools provide a free first class) in order to get a feel for the instructor and fellow students. You will want a instructor who is personable, yet capable of pushing you to your limits.

2. Attend classes. For the first week, you will likely leave class sore from the exertion and development of new muscles. To minimize the time it takes to repair newly exercised muscles, eat an exercise bar or other high-protein source within 10 minutes of finishing class. Drink lots of water to cleanse muscle tissue and flush out the lymph system.

3. Practice each move that you are taught diligently until it becomes an almost involuntary response. The most effective execution of kung fu moves occurs when the body knows how to complete the motion and follow-through with each strike or block in a manner that requires little thought. You will see this in upper-level students as they spar, weaving strikes and blocks in and out of each other in a protective mixture of intuition and practice. Also, by practicing all of your moves each night, you target specific muscles that are used in each strike, block, and stance, therefore making your moves more efficient.

4. Tone corresponding muscle groups in order to best use specific moves. For instance, if you want to improve the strength or speed of a right front snap kick, spend time in a horse stance each day in order to strengthen the calf and quadricep muscles. If you want to improve the power in your punches, practice "burst-point" muscles by doing an arm-strengthening sequence that involves quick and sudden push-ups. Be aware of your body as you progress through your kung fu forms and distinguish which muscles are used at what times during your moves, and strengthen these peripheral body points.

5. Study your sifu during sparring practice or combat demonstrations. Watch intently the motions and stances of a master or otherwise distinguished martial artist in your school. Just as a skilled chef can learn from proximity to a master, so can you if you enter what the Shaolin grandmaster Sin Kwang calls "apprentice mind."

Tips & Warnings

• Beware of over-exerting your muscles when you first begin. Everyone wants to excel and see quick results that their body is growing stronger, but a dislocated muscle or thrown-out elbow can stop a martial artist in their tracks and require weeks to fully heal.

References

• Kung Fu and Chinese Martial Arts

Resources

• "How to Learn Kung Fu"