Kung Fu: Basic History and Principles
May 14th, 2009
The Term: Historically, the word “Kung Fu” is not actually mentioned in any old writings. It was first coined by a Frenchman named Jean Joseph Marie Amiot, a missionary who lived in the 18th Century, in reference to Chinese martial arts. Kung Fu is also called Wushu, Kuoshu, or Gongfu, and originally denotes expertise in any skill, and not solely to martial arts.
Brief Historical Account: The practice, philosophy, and concept of Kung Fu can be drawn back to early Chinese texts such as Zhuang Zi, Dao De Jing, and Sun Zi Bing Fa (Art of War written by Sun Zi), all written between 1111-255 BC. These writings contain passages related to the practice, propagation, and principles of what is known today as Kung Fu. One theory regarding the first written history of Kung Fu mentions that the Yellow Emperor, who reigned from 2698 BC, wrote the first treatise on Chinese martial arts. Others give credit to Taoist monks for introducing an art form that is close modern Tai Chi around 500 BC. Then in 39-92 AD, Pan Ku included “Six Chapters of Hand Fighting” in his discourse on the history of the Han dynasty (Han Shu). As its popularity progressed, a physician named Hua T’uo also wrote his own discussion entitled, “Five Animals Play” in 220 AD. Kung Fu had become a vernacular in the Western countries beginning in the late 1960s, popularized by martial arts movies and TV series. Even in the Western World, there is an notable increase in the creation and production of Kung Fu movies featuring great actors/masters such as Jet Li and Jackie Chan.
Fundamental Principles: The concept of Kung Fu revolves around 3 basic principles – Self-Discipline, Motivation, and Time. According to experts, the real motivation behind learning Kung Fu is to be inspired and not to use force, which should emanating from a deep desire to learn and develop the mind and body. The vital driving force is motivation. There is no external or worldly benefits for the learner, and the only reward is that of knowledge, skill, strength and wisdom. In Kung Fu, discipline is complementary to motivation. Discipline puts motivation into deed and action. A learner should do an effort into what he has been motivated for, and self-discipline assists him get started and guides him in reaching that goal. Consequently, motivation is just a state of mind when there is no discipline. Time is the path to perfection in martial arts. Once motivation and self-discipline have set in, a learner has to dedicate a considerable amount of time putting mind and body into practice. A truly inspired learner does not waste time in useless activities. Everything done by him/her should reflect real motivation and self-discipline.
Variants and Styles: As time goes by, many other variants and styles have come up in martial arts Some of the more famous types include Karate, Escrima, Wing Chun, Jujitsu, Judo, Tae Kwon Do, Shaolin, White Crane, T’ai Chi Ch’uan, and Bagua Zhang.
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