KF Dude

Sorry to jump to conclusions. Just a pet peeve of mine.

It's the person not the style that makes a martial art the best. Choose another topic to debate.

IMO I wouldn't be in such a rush to get to the next "new" thing. The basics are the foundation advanced techniques are built upon. Brush over them & your kung fu will never get strong.

Stonecrusher69 you are right on point. Well Said. During forms practice you strive to perfect body mechcanics, principles & philosophy of the style. The only objective in fighting is to survive. If you have trained correctly you will realize that relying on your chosen martial art is the best means to insure your survival of the conflict. There is a similar footwork debate in Hung-Ga in the proper use of horse stance while fighting.

Our animals are so intertwined with other core basic principles & philosophies of Hung-Ga, I don't know if they could be of any value as a separate system. I'd look further into how Shorin Ryu has intergrated the crane into the style.

Kung Fu guys tend to be very flashy but have no real striking power. Tomo Some but not all of us.

- I think you are taking those kung fu movies a little too seriously, it's just entainment. -Master of kung fu - no. -Like several others on this forum I can use only 'kung fu' for fighting. The style I practice is Hung-Ga. There are many other good kung fu styles for fighting: Choy Lay Fut, Wing Chun, Jow Ga, Hsing-I, BaGua, Tai Chi Chuan, White Eyebrow & Praying Mantis are just a few I can name off the top of my head. Many more to chose from. -No I haven't gone to any temples. I would like to visit China one day. -In general most of the 'kung fu' experts are outside of China. If you want 'wushu' experts China is the place to go. -Only a fool thinks they can handle any or every situation -To be a effective 'kung fu' fighter I'd say 6 months to a year to be able to defend yourself. 2 to 3 years to be an effective fighter. Assuming focused daily practice is the standard we are going by. As time goes by kicking * becomes less important than acquiring the skills of the system. Which makes you a better fighter anyway. -IMO mastery comes along somewhere in the journey of practice. It's not the end goal because you'll never get there. There will always be some aspect of the art to improve upon.

Lineage matters to me - it's the conection to the past & shows a clear progression of the style into the present day. Honoring your lineage pays respect for the brilliant contributions of past masters to an evolving art. Reminding you that only through dedicated daily practice can you attain the martial skills the style is recognized for. It helps me stay motivated when I'm lazy & don't feel like training.

Congrats on the date. Life always finds a way to get in the way of training. Plan workouts around your schedule. Workout in the early morning if you know you can't make your normal training routine.

Assuming you had to fight your way out, I would look to use anything as a makeshift weapon to stop the swinging momentum of the chain. If I had to go unarmed, I would do my best to follow the attacker's elbow & attempt to bridge the gap. Not the ideal situation to be in. You could also throw something like a beet to distract before charging in.

I think you going about this the smart way. Give your new students some skills to work with before sparring. Focus on the basic techniques of your system. Drill a block into a straight punch. Then have everyone pair up - one side throws the the punch, the other blocks. Keep the drill very regimented. Everybody does exactly what you demonstrate - nothing else. Once everybody feels comfortable with the drill have the attacking side punch for real. The technique still remains the same, nothing changes except for the intent of the attacker & defender. It's amazing what this little shift in mindset will do to a simple drill. Have the attacking side wear a glove for safety.

HUNG-GA Tang Fong Lineage Yee's Hung-Ga Traditional Southern Shaolin 5 Animal Kung Fu

Have you asked your Sensei or Sifu? They would be your best source of information.

It depends if we are wearing sparring gear or not. Gloves make it difficult to grab

Weird hand positions??? Perhaps some of the animal claws might seem strange to you. Rest assured they have specific usage for self defense. They compliment other familiar hand shapes such as the fist or palm.

There is no separation between mind & body. That's at least the goal of the martial art I practice. The body needs to be strong enough to handle the demands of the mind. The mind needs to be focused enough to lead the chi through the body.

The style does have an established reputation as a good kung fu style. That being said, Hung-Ga demands daily focused practice to produce the power & skill the system is known for in a self defense situation.

It's more like " I do Hung-Ga" which usually brings a response of recogniton or "What's that - karate?". "I am Hung-Ga" is very funny "He/She has good kung fu" is a common saying among Chinese martial artists.

Chin cue bridge the hook punch above the elbow having the opponent smash his/her bicep muscle, tendon against the bridge. Straight punch to the sternum. Done correctly opponent will colapse.

The philosophy of leopard is fast, strong muscular movements. Smaller size it can't soley focus on attack like a tiger can. Fast in, explode the power using leopard fist, then fast out. Like the tiger, leopard uses the emotion of anger. I've only heard of leopard as a part of the five animal form, not as a stand alone system.

In general, we identify ourselves as martial artists by the kung fu style we practice. It's history, past masters & reputation does our speaking for us. It's our responsibility as practioners of "X" kung fu to up hold style traditions by continously training & improve the standards for future generations.

You have nothing to spar with yet. Train the basics, get them down first. You get more out sparring when you have some techniques or skills to work with.

There isn't anything I've seen in Krav Maga that I haven't seen before in Hung Ga. I think both are good for self defense when properly trained. There is no short term learning Hung Ga, it takes time to develop the foundation & skills. Of course I'm biased, there is a method to the madness. I have continued to benefit from it's training method. So I don't see it as a weakness. I guess it all depends on what you are looking for. Most effective technique is a matter of opinion that can't be honestly answered.

:o You lost three sparring matches!!! Get over it. Investing in loss (Chen Man Ching) can be a valuable lesson. Analyze & learn from your mistakes & think of ways to improve. Don't let your pride & ego get in the way. Sparring in class is for training not competition. Train a technique until it works or focus on a weakness. You mention you are new to kung fu, make sure you have something to fight with. Don't be so eager to spar if you don't have any technique to use. Anyone can brawl & flail punches/kicks around. Take the time to gain a little bit of skill before sparring - you'll get more out of it.