Kung Fu

What is a Form in Chinese Martial Arts?

Forms or routines, known as Tao Lu (套路) in Chinese (Kata in Japanese and Pumsae in Korean), are an essential aspect of training in traditional Chinese martial arts. A form is composed of different stances, footwork patterns, blocking movements, evasive actions, and striking and kicking techniques. They represent the real fighting experience of the masters…

Fists in the South, Legs in the North (南拳北腿) Nán Quán Běi Tuǐ

Nan Quan Bei Tui, or Fists in the South, Legs in the North, is an old Chinese martial arts adage. Traditionally the Huang He (黄河), or Yellow River, was considered the demarcation line between the Northern and Southern Schools of Gong Fu. Overall, there is some truth that Southern styles are known more for their…

Why do you wear shoes in Kung Fu?

Chinese martial arts have a history that spans four millennia. They originated as rudimentary fighting skills for survival and evolved into highly sophisticated methods of combat. These methods developed in an outdoor environment, either for use on the battlefield in mass warfare or for individual combat. In both cases, some sort of footwear was necessary….

Kung Fu: Its Real Meaning

The term Kung Fu is made up of two Chinese characters: the first, kung, can mean skillful work, hard training, or endeavor. The second, fu, means time spent. The two together mean time spent at skillful work or hard training. In no way does this term express Chinese martial arts, but because training in Chinese martial arts requires a lot of time…