Kung fu or Chinese martial arts is a term that envelopes a variety of different styles of martial art forms found in China.
At the kung fu training school in China, an exciting martial arts programme you can opt to train in various different fist forms or styles.
Chinese Martial Arts more commonly known in the west as Kung Fu has hundreds of styles originating from main land China, which is commonly related to in China as ‘Zhongguo Wushu’ or ‘Gong Fu’.
Zhongguo Wushu literally translates to Chinese martial arts and Gongfu means hard work. Wushu is a more precise term for general martial activities.
The term Wushu is also the name for the modern sport Wushu also known as contemporary Wushu or Modern Wushu, an exhibition and full-contact sport of bare handed and weapons forms.
China probably has the longest history of martial arts with many distinctive styles with their own sets of techniques and ideas. Some focus on mimicking animal movements, some focus on harnessing Qi (energy), while others just concentrate on performance for competitions and exhibitions but no matter which style you choose to learn they all have their own approach to solving common problems such as self defence, health and self cultivation.
Some of the styles available at the Xtreme Gap Kung Fu School
- Sun Style
- Shaolin Quan
- Modern Wushu
- Sanda,
- Qinna,
- Baji
- Quan,
- Pigua Zhang,
- Qigong,
- Taiji Quan,
- XingYi
- Bagua and /or White Crane (a rare local form).
Chinese martial arts can be split into different categories such as External, Internal, Northern and Southern.
Northern styles are fast with powerful kicks, high jumps, acrobatics and generally more fluid and rapid movements.
Southern styles focus more on strong arm and hand techniques, stable immovable stances/footwork and generally no kicks above the waste.
External styles are characterized by fast and explosive movements and a focus on physical strength and agility, most Chinese martial art styles are classified as external styles with the most famous being Shaolin.
Internal styles focus on awareness of the spirit, mind, Qi (Energy) and the use of relaxed leverage rather than muscular tension. The 3 main internal styles are Xingyi quan, Bagua zhang and Taiji quan, Tai Chi being the most famous in the west.
Chinese Martial Arts training consists of basics, forms, applications, body conditioning & weapons. Each style has its own unique training system with a varying emphasis on each of those components.
