Ok what are your thought on Kung Fu, I have my own opinions but I will wait a few posts to state them.

it works in the movies...

It depends on what you mean by "kung fu" just as I tend to laugh when I hear karate mentioned as a fighting system.

Bas Rutten taught us that kyokshin karate is an awesome standup style.

When it comes to kung fu, most is flowery crap that looks so gay even George Michael and that guy from the B52's would feel shame.

Kung Fu San Soo is different.

Although not popularized like many due to it's lack of flashy crap, it's an impressive style with some serious fighters sporting San Soo black belts.

Kyle Olsen is an excellent example.

http://www.combatdvds.com

It amazes me when I watch bjj guys trying to make excuses why one of their black belts loses to a kung fu guy and what comes out of their mouth is the same crap we heard from karate guys 10 years ago.

it depends on what style... but the majority of it will work on ppl who've never trained a day in their life.. unless u put weapons into the equation.. if a kung fu do comes at u with a sword.. u'll probably die... staffs too! lol :)

there's a kung fu style of wrestling called "shuai chiao" (the oldest chinese style) which is the mother art to judo and such.. they have throws and armlocks in it.. it's said to have influenced mongolian wrestling too..

o yeh.. and a lot of other styles focus on eye gouges, breaking fingers/wrists and stuff.. so a lot of it can't be practiced with full-power.. limiting their training..

that;'s my 2 cents

Kung Fu can work. Styles such as Hung Gar Kung Fu or Korean Animal Styles are practical and can be used on normal ppl. Against trained opponets however I believe you'll need to adapt and Kung Fu doesn't really allow that.

In kung fu you have to hit the a button really fast or else u will lose

cmon, post yours ninja

I trained in "southern black tiger style" which is simular to hung gar for about a year. I wouldnt go back to it. Granted kungfu is a very general term, and what you learn will vary hugely depending on who teaches, and although I'm sure there are some effective styles for the most part they seem to lack the fundamentals (conditioning withstanding). Ive trained at a few differnt schools and all failed to teach proper footwork, effective boxing (using the jab, using angles, defence), clinching and grapling, and I never learned any ground fighting (when I insisted, I was treated with a very brief uninformative demonstration, and told not to let it get to the ground, but not how to effectivly prevent it).

What I disaprove of the most is how they project an aura of mistique and secracy onto it, as though in addition to athleticisim and technique there's some magical force at work that cant be explained by science.

Some of the techniques for self defence COULD be effective, but theyre "too dangerous" to properly train and cultivate into an effective technique. Back when I was training, and when I hadnt had any bjj experience besides watching some pride/ufc I got into a fight, ended up slipping on ice and ending up on my back, at which point i secured an armbar. The kung fu didnt help me at all in that fight, even when it was standing the lack of proper drilling and frequent sparing really reduced the effectiveness of anything they taught.

I'm also not a fan of static forms, even only as a form of exersice. I wasted way to much time learning whats little mroe than dancing. I felt as though I progressed much more in 1 month of BJJ than 1 year at kungfu. I only use a couple kicks I learned in kungfu when I spar at muaythai (sidekick, though rarely seeing as the teep leaves you in much better position to follow up, the spining back kick, again rarely, and a "hook kick", a heel kick w/ the lead leg).

even for straight self defence (aka foul tactics) the hands on styles have been MUCH more effective even though they dont really have techniques for that direct purpose. Being able to keep proper distance and take advantage of my reach with the jab has enabled me to fingerjab/eyegouge effectivly (not that ive had to yet), even though kungfu teaches the technique you dont have an opertunity to cultivate it. Same goes for pretty much everything else, it seems too focused on the technique itself, and how deadly it is, rather then on the basics and fundamentals you'd need to properly apply said technique.

IMO its a broken and archaic system. It has its benifits, no doubt (mostly healthwise), but as far as a practical and effective system for self defence or fighting, for the most part it isnt.

it depends on the athelete. but most traditional kung fu in american is taught by a white guy...... i think thats the funniest thing. in san da, it might be effective but it remotely resembles kung fu in the tradition sense. they had muay thai vs sanda fights but the fights usually consist of the muay thai guy kicking the shit outta the sanda guy and the sanda guy just constantly throwing the muay thai guy. each strike is worth 1 point while a throw is worth 3 so they win by points. the only san da guy that really impressed me is liu hailong.

oh yea in san da they also think its okay to throw the opponent out of the ring
http://youtube.com/watch?v=mk5rKEG-gJo

I think its been diluted too much by forms, tradition, dancing and communism. I do however believe that theres certain fighting principles to be learned from styles of Kung Fu that we might see reevolve in the ring such as trapping and polymetrics.

Theres alot of kids on the net who like to bash peoples hobbies just because they find it entertaining trying to make people feel bad. Obviously any martial art that has no live sparring will fail in the ring but full contact Karate and San Shou have shown us that Karate and Kung Fu are just as good as Muay Thai. Its rules that can bring these martial arts down even if they are practiced with live sparring - no hitting the head, no elbows etc. Thats why MMA reigns supreme because you train with a full set of options and mimic real combat as closely as possible. Theres so many factors that create a good fighter such as available training partners, conditioning, strength, reflexes, agility, flexibility, speed, accuracy, recovery, sense of balance, timing, intelligence and the list goes on and on.

hitting the button comment rings true methinks
i prefer boxing as you don't have to open your guard as much
but kung fu is a pretty broad term

knog fu is completely useless, go in the cage with a Sword lol.

knog fu is completely useless, go in the cage with a Sword lol.

Yeah San Shou sucks ass.............

kung fu is a complete choke that has become a mcdojo style in the us it is so diluted that maybe it would work on like a 90yr old grandma ...o yeah and it is really flamboyant and gay

except San Shou this is the real deal...IMO san shou is the exact same thing as muy thai jsut with throws and takedowns (and obv dif rules) but nonetheless it is jsut muy thai...

white crane kung fu is fucking dangerous

Any art is usefull as long as you take the practical techniques that will be effective in your situation. I personally believe in taking things from different arts, but I'm sure there are some badass "Kung Fu" masters out there; and I dont mean anyone in the first few UFC events.

I did Choi Li Fut and enjoyed it, but I got irritated because they wouldn't let you strike to the head in sparring.

there are so many types of kung fu that it seems kinda idiotic just to say it sucks. kung fu basically means all Chinese martial arts.
On a more specific note, most kung fu seems to be kinda intricate, which makes it less well-rounded than western arts and probably means more time has to be devoted in order for it to be effective.

kung fu is great to train mentally

for the mental part of fighting that is

wasted 2years training in kung poo!

wow what a bunch of dumbfucks

I have trained in kung fu all my life and am familiar with several styles, I have used Kung fu to defend myself on the "streets" and have won around 6 street fights and around 9-12 challenge matches.

For those of you who say you trained Kung Fu I bet your teacher was white and ripping you off, you have no idea what real Wing Chun can do to your face so I suggest you shut up and stop talking about what you do not understand.

Go practice your Gracie Jujitsu you shallow idiots.

Good for cardio workout if you are doing wushu, but not an effective self defense system anymore.

Well I feel that the stances and "fighting technique" are pretty useless. Too much focus on tradition. It IS a good way to develop discipline and get some exercise. Just don't fool yourself into thinking it will be effective in a fight or in a competitive atmosphere.

Kung Fu or Gung Fu translated means hard work! So all training is really Gung Fu.

Now with in Kung Fu there are hundres of systems some of them practical and mean IE Wing Chun Hungar Tiger Claw and a few others... You will also find alot of other wierdness...

Now some of the hardest work outs I have ever done have been in Wing Chun training which includes ground fighting and intense cardio ect...

The bad side I see to most Kung Fu classes these days is there is no real application tought. No sparring or Chi Sao, Gar Sao Ect. And also a false since of confidence is given to the students... Just my two cents...