Soft styles of Kung Fu: More powerful than any hard style?

[shuriken_girl]

Soft styles of kung fu use a whipping-like motion of hands and feet that requires little muscle power but supposedly deeply penetrates your opponent.

 

Raw strength doesn't seem to do this "penetrating" thing.

 

Do you believe soft styles of kung fu outpower harder styles like panther kung fu or karate etc.?

 

Please, do not answer if you have no idea what you're talking about. I'm looking for an educated answer from a person who knows something about the theory of soft styles.

[ckdstudent]

That'd probably be what we call impact shock. I only know a little about soft styles, but I'd have to say that no, they don't overpower hard styles.

 

A soft style may be able to wind you with a light palm strike, but I've seen people lifted off their feet while holding three inch thick foam shields. They can't really be more powerful than one another, simply because both rely on human strength. A hard style encourages you to put all your strength into a blow, I can't see how (forgive me if I misunderstand here) a style that says you should not use all your strength could overpower one which does.

 

Overpower I take to mean produce more power with techniques, not win in a fight, that's a different matter entirely.

[Kensai]

I study Aikido, although not a traditional Chinese soft style, it does have a chinese and Japanese heritage.

 

Soft styles take alot longer to master than there hard style brothers. I think that a good soft stylist would stand a good chance of defeating an equal oppenent of a harder style.

 

This is my reasoning. As soft styles take a lot less energy, you can keep fighting effectively for a lot longer. The strikes, tend to be more hard hitting, on the inside, Bruce Lee discribe it as getting hit with a chain and a iron ball. IN the soft arts, there are very few blocks, removing the idea that all attacks must be stopped by blocks, allows the soft practioner more movement, attacking an attack, rather than blocking it.

 

Also, with Aikido, you dont feel the lock, until it is finally applied, so you dont really have that reflex action of quickly removing your arm.

 

This is only my opiniuon.

[metalhead]

My Sifu teaches a combination of the styles as you have described them. We begin by learning Shaolin style (hard) to achieve the basics and improve fitness levels. When you have learned the punches, kicks, forms, stances, etc.. and can demonstrate this knowledge only then do you progress to the internal(soft) styles of Tai Chi, Hsing I and Pa Kua.

 

I do not agree that soft styles require little muscle power. I believe that the power is just applied differently. Hard styles show their power where as the soft styles are more deceptive in approach. The "penetration" thing, as I understand it, comes from proper execution and focused strength.

 

I hope this makes sense as we are taught this as one system/style and it is difficult to describe in terms of hard and soft. However, everything revolves around conditioning and the proper application of power/strength.

 

I do not think that one out powers the other because we are taught both as compliments to one another (ie, sometimes you need to go with the flow and sometimes you need to stop the flow).

 

Again I hope this makes sense and it is only my opinion.

[Iron Arahat]

Soft styles of kung fu use a whipping-like motion of hands and feet that requires little muscle power but supposedly deeply penetrates your opponent.

 

Raw strength doesn't seem to do this "penetrating" thing.

 

The whipping motion will penetrate to do internal damage. Is it better? It is tough to say. However, there are many styles which incorporate both hard and soft, Shaolin being one of them. That I believe has better versatility, than a strictly hard or soft style.

[El Guerrero Loco]

How can one say that a soft style is better than a hard style, they may attack in different ways, but the result is ultimatley the same, the destruction of one's opponent. Say my opponent threw a punch, i grabbed his arm, threw the opponent down then slapped on an arm bar, is that better or worse than say an aikidoka who redirects te oponents engery into a throw of his own then slaps on an aikido lock? I'd say their about even, the biggest difference is that harder styles are generally easier to learn but gets weaker with age(like i mean when someone gets old) whereas, with a soft style is takes longer to learn but gets better with age.

[Kensai]

Sorry El Guerrero Loco, did not been to sound like Aikido is better than another art, I dont mean that.

 

I agree with your Analysis of soft and hard MA's at there most basic level there is no difference, they are striving for the destruction of ones opponent.

[shuriken_girl]

Gracias Guerrero...I think you have a good point. Soft styles getting better with age, hard styles being easier to learn.

[El Guerrero Loco]

Thx guys, i eat, live, sleep martial arts. I think about it prolly more than anything.

[Kensai]

I am the same, I cant get enough of it.