In
my view, kung fu is an inherited spirit from quality
instruction. Yes, you acquire the skill-set
and discipline, but most importantly, you acquire the integrity.
It is difficult to find genuine instruction. This does not mean
that the instructors do
not know the art; rather, they fail to teach it.
The major problem today is that most people are not selling you the
genuine kung fu, but rather a commercialized hybrid of such a long lost
tradition. However, the truth is that this
art is not a sport, but like all arts, an expression of ones potential
and an augmentation
of ones abilities. Kung fu should become
a part of your will- stretch your potential.
Additionally, the more knowledge one learns in practice, the
less one wishes to use for real; and yet, such knowledge requires a fighting
mode set- a will to fight- among the proper threat. Most importantly, it is not an art of harm,
but one of cultivation. If martial arts
are truly “martial” by definition, they are intended to hurt. And kung fu can definitely be harmful- even
deadly- but that is not what the expression of ‘this’ art was created for;
rather, it was for self-cultivation and individual enhancement. That is why kung fu (gong fu) signifies
“great skill” or “achievement.” It is
the maximizing of ones body in balance, flexibility, strength, mind, spirit,
and calm.
Tai chi is no less a channel for ones potential, but need
not be separated from kung fu. Many
Schools are teaching them simultaneously and it is hard to trace a time when
they where inseparable. The roots of tai
chi go back farther then those of kung fu.
Like kung fu, tai chi offers a cultivation of the self, albeit with
another philosophy. Tai chi benefits the
practitioner through a concentrated calming of non-resistance. Kung fu on the other hand hardens the practitioner
to destroy opposition; meanwhile, the method of tai chi trains one to deflect
it (let the enemy destroy himself).
My feeling about tai chi is that it has so much to offer in
terms of gaining the insight of an inner strength that was not known otherwise. While many attribute this experience with the
spirit or qi (Chinese term for life energy or life force), the sensation is real,
and it is a totally different dynamic from Kung Fu. While I recommend studying both, some people
are better suited for one over the other.
That is, their personalities and body types fit one more than the
other. I’ll leave it to you to decide
which is for you. Finally, kung fu and
tai chi are not for everyone. Because of
the commitment needed in this long-term effort, I recommend that only those who
have a strong yearning to learn should do so.
-Sifu Dan
