What is kung fu, what does kung fu mean?

Kung fu means skill through effort.

Kung fu also refers to the many hundreds of martial arts styles and lineages found in China.

Some people divide kung fu into external and internal styles.

The best-known internal styles are Tai Chi, Baguazhang and Xingyiquan. The best known external styles are the many branches of Shaolin.

Regardless of internal or external kung fu encompasses a variety of methods: kicking, hitting, throwing, locking, weapon use.

The methods are based on:

• Body use principles and conditioning
• Breathwork (qigong)
• Focus and Meditation.

These create the foundation of power and health required for martial skill. In modern times many people find that the health and energy benefits are more important than fighting skill.

Baguazhang and Xingyiquan are often taught together because they use complementary body methods but use different strategies which overlap.

Baguazhang and Xingyiquan are not household names, like Tai Chi, Karate Taekwondo or Judo. However for those in the know they have a reputation for depth, power and sophistication.

Is kung fu fighting or art?

The simple answer is both. It depends on the kind of school and the practitioner.

Kung fu includes forms, sets of movements that can be very flowing, explosive or athletic. You can train the movements in these forms for their fighting techniques. You can also practice as meditative movement, health-promoting exercise or as personal expression and self-cultivation. It is hard to perform the movements correctly without understanding the fighting use, however, to have the skills to apply the techniques is a study in itself.

These days people most interested in fighting turn to MMA, BJJ and other combat sports. Kung fu can be a good complement to these modern methods. I believe that modern methods are a good complement to kung fu. Many kung fu schools do not appreciate what combat sports have to offer. These schools usually have naive views of combat and the history of kung fu.

The question is, what interests you? You don’t need to be a fighter to join the courses, but if combat interests you you won’t get flowery nonsense.

Is kung fu Buddhist or Daoist?

The answer is both and neither. Some styles like Shaolin are broadly associated with Buddhism, others like Tai Chi are broadly associated with Daoism.

The reality is that in Chinese culture ideas from Buddhism have influenced Daoism and vice-versa.

It is possible to practice kung fu without being Buddhist or Daoist or to use an art to explore and embody the principles of these schools.

Does Kung fu use Qi or Ki?

Short answer: yes. Longer answer: Qi/ki might not be what you think….

Qi and Ki are Chinese/Japanese terms for breath or internal energy. When these terms were imported to the West they came with a lot of misunderstanding.

In China, there is a lot of nuance and context to the use of the word qi that we largely lack in the West. In a martial arts context, qi is much more down-to-earth than is often presented.

I don’t have space to go into it here. You can find useful definitions and exercises in my courses. If qi turns you off, don’t worry you don’t need to believe in it. If it intrigues you, then you can learn a lot.