Kung Fu - Ancient Legends and Magic, Fiction and Truth

 The following is an article I wrote for sify.com, in it's original form.  Please find the published version at http://sify.com/news/imagegallery/galleryDetail.php?id=jerbntadgce?hgallery=14881295&slide=0 and enjoy the web format with pictures at your leisure.  Otherwise, here it is in the unpolished version:

What is Kung Fu?

It’s Origin and Meaning, by David Moore

Kung Fu (Gong Fu, as pronounced in Mandarin) is a generic term used to mean Chinese Martial Arts.  Many family traditions and military traditions exist in China and surrounding countries, and they usually all are attributed to (or have their origins traced to) the Shaolin Temple Monastery in HenanProvince, mainland China.  However, the claims that all martial arts in the world originate there are obviously false.  In truth, as long as there have been civilizations and conflict, there have been preparations made for war and personal combat, and these are the arts of martial action.  So why is Kung Fu, in its many forms and various strengths, considered the Grandfather of all martial arts systems today?  Probably because all of the best hand-to-hand systems in the world today are at least in part based on the work of the Shaolin Monks so long ago.  From any oriental land, we find elements of ancient Chinese thought and movement in Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Okinawan systems, Muay Thai, and many others. 

Because the oldest recorded oriental systems of defense and attack are Chinese, we end up using the term Gong Fu, meaning ‘power beyond mere surface beauty’ or, more accurately and directly translated, ‘the art of work’.  That term, classically, has been applied to any skilled art which betrays remarkable craftsmanship, even painting or blacksmithing, for example.  Therefore, the way of Kung Fu is a way of excellence and practice and talent combined.

There are almost as many types and styles of Kung Fu as there are Chinese families.  Although there are time-tested and long-term developed systems around which were begun thousands of years ago, there are also as many variations on them as there have been practitioners.  It isn’t tradition that is so important when it comes to martial skill.  It’s functionality.  Famous proponents of the martial arts over the ages have often said similar things, such as Bruce Lee (one of my favorite authors on the subject).  Use what works, they say, and they are right.

With that being said, readers may rest assured that in spite of the many types of Kung Fu and the various mixes that may suit certain fighters we can find out there, certainly there are some very important ancient concepts and common threads in these very different Kung Fu systems to be found.  I will illustrate here that within these basic fundamentals and ancient secrets, the power and ability associated with Kung Fu, along with identifying characteristics that enable us to accurately use the general label, exists and is both alive and well – even in our modern and much less physically demanding world.

Qigong

The first and foremost fundamental is Chi, or Qi (pronounced the same way with either spelling).  Qi is the energy with substance, which is found everywhere in the universe, and from which everything is made.  It is not simply one type of substance, but comes in many varieties.  The Chinese differentiate between our body’s qi, the ground qi (called di qi), the sky qi (tien qi), and many other types.  There are entire medical disciplines related to the arts of working with these various qi types (called Qi Gong), and hospitals in China often even feature qi gong wings, where qualified Qi Gong Doctors practice energy medicine, teaching patients healthful exercises and meditations.  This medicine is sometimes the only medicine which can help those with terminal or degenerative diseases.  Working with qi, or Qigong, cannot be overstressed when it comes to the cultivation of Kung Fu power.  This is how the Kung Fu Masters manage to perform seemingly superhuman feats of strength, show unusual amounts of endurance, and control their bodies to extents not commonly known elsewhere in the world.  To be fair, the Yoga Masters of India do very similar things and have a very similar knowledge and skill related to working with their body energies, but among the martial arts at large, without this area of study, students are left with mere mundane physical skill, and cannot possibly match those who have harnessed the power of understanding and cultivating internal power.  All systems which are called ‘internal’ systems of Kung Fu (such as Tai Chi, Ba Gua or Pa Kwa, and Xing Yi) are centered around the mastery of the energies of the universe, always starting with one’s own body energy.  From this wellspring of power we learn how to break hard objects with our soft hands, lift otherwise impossible weights when needed, and feel strikes coming before they physically touch us – and we also may use this ability to strike our opponent with greater internal damage than a merely physical strike.

There are two (opposite) types of Qigong energy movement: Yin Qi and Yang Qi.  The Yin Qi is based upon the female principle, black or dark and mysterious, and pulling or acquiescing movements.  I witnessed a man dip his hand only halfway into a large bowl of water and lift it using only Yin Qigong power.  Yang Qi is the opposite principle, male in nature and pushing or forceful.  I witnessed a man only gesture slowly toward a large urn, and it shattered into pieces from a distance of about 6 or 7 meters.  This is not only possible, but is done on a regular basis.  Also possible for one who has mastered Yang Qi is to strike through one opponent without harming that one, and hit the man behind that one with great force, knocking him down.  Selecting intensity and focus like that are legendary and difficult skills to gain, but they truly do exist.  I have experienced them and can even perform a little of each of these types of Qigong.

Forms

Forms are a term which is equal to the Japanese (and much better-recognized) word Katas.  A form is a series of movements which are taught a Kung Fu student or invented by a Kung Fu Master.  The intent is to put into motion a series of movements which teach the student how to move accurately according to the philosophy of that Kung Fu system.  Important signature movements related to specific techniques are strung together to make something often mistaken for a dance.  When memorized and practiced, this ‘form’ is added to a regular routine of exercise, and helps the information to ‘sink into the bones’, as they say, and conditions the body and mind and spirit to move in synchronicity and harmony in the way of that Kung Fu system’s philosophy.  Students become the art, they don’t learn it in a way one would tap a forehead and say, “I know Kung Fu.”  Kung Fu is not said to be something one knows, but something one does, and then it becomes what one is.  Kung Fu is the way of the warrior, but the most effective systems do come with peaceful practices.  This leads us to the next major component of all good Kung Fu.

Respect, Love, and Secrecy

Yes, these three principles can be said to be the most important when it comes to good Kung Fu character.  Building good character and finding students with good hearts are major focuses for Kung Fu Masters.  It has long been taught to students of Kung Fu, mostly because of the religious beliefs that it was steeped in and the cultural philosophy often affecting daily lives of practitioners in the past, that Kung Fu should be kept secret and only used on other humans in the case of a dire emergency, when all other possibilities have been exhausted.  The ego is diminished as much as possible, and the attitude of a servant to others was the most sought-after personality among true Masters of Kung Fu.  Never wanting to brag or seem highly skilled, Masters would appear as common folks, and would avoid aggression as much as possible.  If insulted, they would prefer to apologize and wish their would-be enemy well.  Only in defense of their own life or the lives of others would they truly show their skill.

Why hide what they work so hard for?  It takes an entire lifetime to master any martial art, and even then in their peak of power and ability, the humble and aware practitioners make it clear that they still have much to learn, and that they know their limitations.  Love for humanity motivates them to show respect for others, and they do not wish harm on anyone at all, except in those rare exceptions we come across once in a while.  If witnessing men harassing a woman, a Kung Fu Master is likely to try to talk them out of it and convince her to run away, then take their leave.  Life isn’t often like the movies, where we see glorious battle scenes and long, drawn-out personal battles, where the hero is beaten mercilessly but then finally finds a way to victory in a huge dramatic and epic climax of the film.  In truth, the most skilled Masters dispatched their enemy very quickly, and often the fight would last only a second or two.  True skill wasn’t in flashy displays of animal-style fists, but was hidden, fast, and extremely effective.  Much like a gun battle in an old Western, when it became necessary, the showdown would be over in a flash and the result was usually deadly.  Leaving one’s enemy alive often was asking for a life of looking over one’s shoulder.  No wonder compassion and mercy were so sought-after – one who lives by the sword truly does often die by it, and the spiritual enlightenment that many Buddhist and Daoist Kung Fu Masters were seeking would not come to a blood-thirsty and selfish person.  Also, once a Master had shown his or her skill, a target was painted upon their public soul, and they could expect to be involved in contest after contest, until one day it killed them.  There would be no peace for the ones most highly skilled if they were too public about it.

Is that the only set of reasoning for hiding one’s skill?  No, not really.  Each Kung Fu system was originally kept secret for purity’s sake also.  Preserving the family tradition was a matter of pride and honor for one’s ancestors.  Showing off the system for others would allow them to copy it, but if they weren’t trained in the traditional way, they would dilute the skill and thusly would be bastardized versions of what would otherwise be a good system.  Also, showing one’s techniques to others was inevitably a way to allow others to come up with good solutions for defense against them.  One was weak, basically, if allowing others to see their way of fighting, and the element of surprise would be gone as well.  Kung Fu is most effective when nobody knows you do it.  Think of the different way you would attack, if you were an aggressor, knowing a person was a Master of Kung Fu, versus how you may underestimate someone who was just any old man or woman walking along a road.  It gives a tremendous advantage if one is not suspected of having any sort of fighting skill whatsoever.  That means one gives away one’s personal power by displaying one’s Kung Fu for others who are not students of that same discipline.

*Publication note:  Grandmaster David Moore is one of the founders of Ming Wei Dao, a relatively new Kung Fu system, and lives in the United States of America, in the mountains of Tennessee.  He practices alone, only occasionally coaching others, and is also an electrician and a writer.  Look for more of his articles to learn more about Kung Fu and other subjects.