Drunken Kung Fu

[Jake90]

Having practiced Shotokan Karate for some time now, i've been considering the benefits of moving into a new MA. I've looked about a bit and i like the look of drunken kung fu (I should stress that this is just from sparring videos i've watched) simply on the basis that i think the non-linear movement would compliment my powerful (yet decidedly conformist) shotokan.

I'd like some opinions from anyone who has any experiance with the art on it's combat effectiveness, and if rather then complimenting my Karate it would hinder it.

Any advice would be very welcome.

[ovine king]

you won't find drunken kung fu as a stand alone style and if you do, chances are it'll just be a modern wushu school teaching the performance form.

if you want my advice and even if you don't , you'll get it anyway, i'd say stick to your shotokan and start to look deeper to see why and how the things work. the more you look, the more you'll see how to make movements smaller and smaller. soon, you'll be doing things that isn't shotokan but still is.

how does this relate to you asking about drunken kung fu styles?

do a search on the forums for other people who have talked about drunken kung fu and you'd find the answer.

[Kajukenbopr]

drunken kung fu is pretty cool to look at and makes you achieve a great sense of elasticity and strength however I dont see how it would go well with your well based Karate postures since drunken kung fu doesnt use that many solid postures but strikes using any means of attacking without focusing on a stable position.

If you just want to expand on your martial arts knowledge, try any kind of Chinese Martial arts

[Jake90]

Thanks for the advice from both of you. I guess your right, it wouldn't work well with my shotokan.

Ovine king, i'm sure your right that probably is the best way forward, i was just thinking of ways to increase my overall M.A knowledge, perhaps in areas my style doesn't cover.

Kajukenbopr-This is much along my line of thought. It is damn cool to look at, but having the unfortunate disadvantage of not really being what im loooking for.

Thanks for all the replies, you helped a lot.

[Kajukenbopr]

I got a question though, just how long have you been practising shotokan for?

If you havent reached black belt status or even if you HAVE reached black belt, you might find areas within your Shotokan which can still be worked so you dont feel like your style needs more work.

examples:

1.are you moving as you should?

2. are your katas (or self defense techniques) effective?Demonstrate why they work or dont work for you.

3. are you fast and strong enough?

4. Could you train harder ans improve what you already know?

I hope you are not bored with your style because it could make you jump from style to style tiring from things easily, instead of finding what you really like and working hard at it.

[ovine king]

actually, I said the things i did because that is the first step in learning "drunken" style.

[IronWarrior]

Moving into Druken style from Shotokan.... well your going to have to change alot! as a Martial Artist thats for sure!wow! I would stick with the Shotokan it would be much easier to make the transition to say... Wing Chun being a Shotokan Stylist then to a style like Druken Kung fu, again this is just based on 'my' years of experience e.t.c..good luck in you journey.

[back_fist]

If by chance there is a hung gar school near you, i think that it would an absolutely perfect transition from shotokan. Hung is also known as tiger crane style, and it may have the perfect balance between your powerfull shotokan techniques (tiger) and the alternative techniques of the crane. I dont think you would have much success with drunken fist, in my opinion it would be better to stick with your style and increase your training.

[lilxaznperson]

the linear movements of karate i think would be a hinderance to drunken

kung fu is circular i think i would have trouble transitioning to karate

u have to be very flexible in hips and waist.... i have never take karate but i dont think karate stresses balance like drunken does u need great balance

but the bottom line is despite these obsticles in the end its your committment and your discipline that will get u there... if you are enthusiastic of learning it pursue it

[MizuRyu]

I agree here. Personally, I found a lot of good in taking Wing Chun, if it's available. I didn't take shotokan, but I took a few years of Tang Soo Do, and I found that Wing Chun, being a soft/hard style, compliments hard styles well.