Hi, im new to this forum, i saw it on the interenet yesterday and i have a problem, so i decided to post. Where i live there is this Kung Fu school, Shoalan Kung Fu to be exact. Well i want to join it but after reading all of these forums i don't know how effective Kung Fu is. In this school, they has full contact sparring, they go to tournaments and fight, and the teacher of it also has experience in alot of Martial Arts. Do you guys think i should take Kung Fu for self defense and for fun? please respond with your opinions!
is the sparring actually full-contact? too many schools say they practice "full-contact", but disallow: knees, clinching, punches to the face, low kicks, ground and pound, and submissions.
what type of kung-fu is it?
Well that would be up to you. what other arts are in yuor area? Shaolin Would probably be ok. I studied it for awhile in the early seventies. Try it if it helps you go for it.
The unfortunate thing about being a beginner is that you just have to try these things out. Use your intelligence. Question yourself about the validity of what you are learning. I do Kung Fu, but it is different to any other Kung Fu I have done or seen before.
Kung Fu is a chinese name which means something like, high skill or high practice. Anyway the point is when you go to a class you are not bound by it, you have to essentially train yourself, the teachers you encounter are merely individuals who have a story to tell you. It is up to you to take these ideas to help develop your own understanding.
"Kung fu" may translate from Chinese as learning hard work or skill. The serious "Shaolin" practitioner must live a strict code of physical and mental discipline, and martial art prowess is not necessarily the goal.
In China today the term "kung fu" is not used as accurate description when referring to martial art, the term "wu shu" is generally used.
Most likely any Shaolin Kung Fu school you may go to will be wu shu. In my opinion (for commercial reasons and the general nature of kung fu) wu shu has arguably evolved into more of an art form type sport, using many different style that emphasize fluid motion, in addition to providing demonstration, and therefore one may be bound to defend by those limitation.
With that said, I would recommend any reputable "Shaolin Kung Fu" school, and primarily those of specific traditional styles.
Regards
Zhi
