Can you teach yourself Kung-Fu?
You can teach yourself the base movements of a kung fu style. You saw it with the jacket on, off, thing. Or wax on, wax off. The point is to instill in you body a basic movement and lock it in with muscle memory. As opposed to actually understanding it in the mind and body the right way to do things, that's going to require some complications without an instructor. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZvXpO1fz... I recommend you watch and learn from that video for the base principles in striking. Then if you get some kung fu forms, keep that in mind as you practice them. There are also various traditional or conventional physical exercises you can do, such as putting yourself up with your back to the wall and holding a squat, 90 degrees. Then there's the horse stance. Do a low horse stance and try to hold it to build up your endurance and leg strength.
I'm going to ASSUME you're talking about learning with another person that's equally (un)skilled. Without a partner for at least part of the time, you can't learn anything of real world application. You can get better at punching a bag and faster at waving your arms around, but that's not really "martial arts"... And obviously with grappling arts, other than conditioning, there's very little you can practice by yourself.The biggest problem is that if you were to only view videos, you have no objective way to judge your progress or effectiveness.Let's use learning the PIANO on your own as an analogy.With a fair amount of work, you could surely teach yourself to play lots of songs. But with no one actively teaching as you practice, you will likely end up going down a lot of dead ends and need a fair amount of ingenuity to figure the more difficult things on your own. And of course your progress will be slower since the lessons won't be tailored to your strengths or weaknesses.Worse still you will almost certainly end up with bad habits that will be very hard to eliminate later. Eventually the bad habits will prevent you from reaching beyond a certain level.Unfortunately with martial arts there's another even bigger downside to learning on your own.With piano you can HEAR your performance and judge that against your expectations.Even if you record your own martial arts "performance" or "do it" against your training partner, it's not going to be a good indication of your effectiveness.How well would that arm bar work against a real opponent? Would that have stopped a real punch? Would that throw work on someone that doesn't want to be thrown when I don't have to worry about hurting them?Shifting your weight or loosening a muscle at the right time can be the difference between a technique working or failing miserably. And that's the sort of thing that can easily be missed in a video.Unfortunately not ALL teachers are going to be able to teach effectively, customize your training to fit you, be sure you have the important foundations, catch bad habits, etc. But they should at least be able to do a better job that just watching videos.Of course "how to find a good teacher" is a whole different question... ;)
Can you teach yourself kung fu?
As mentioned Randori is a mandatory factor in learning to fight, but Kung Fu has many doors some that have no fighting value for the MMA arena such as Yang Tai Chi. http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Philosophy/Tai... The principle here is Health as no Randori is taught for fighting application. The art offers Pushing Hands combat application that varies greatly from Yang Tai Chi Long or Short Form common taught principles, and again has no resistance taught to the students about combat application of technique which is commonly known as Randori Free Play with a Fully Resistive Partner. Kung Fu can be learnt under any condition as long as the teacher and student have a close understanding and concept of the goals. Any move can be taught on line inspite of what anyone states. Now if the instructor is willing to take the time and online review with you all the moves and discuss principles , yep you can. Fighting techniques are Human and not some secretly evolved event of stuff. You need to learn proper body mechanics, and this takes a teacher to help with correction. Many advanced forms ( katas ) take a teacher to go over the complicated movements. But fighting techniques can be taught by a book, video or person quite well. http://www.progressivecombatkenpo.com/ph... If you are willing to practice with a friend in a Randori fashion than the only difference from having a teacher present is a missing person. What works will, what doesn't wont. you will quickly get the idea if you and a friend play Randori. Sweeps are the easier to start with. And as an example here is a simple sweep to try ; Have a friend throw a left jab at ya, when he does block circularly with a right up block continuing the block till you grab his left foot, you will see you need to bend for this action. And sweep out his left foot with your right hand. There are only 2 major factors Teacher and Student !
It depends on your level.Do you already have a strong foundation and good knowledge of kung fu (KF)? If so, you will be able to watch forms and fighting patterns online, discern their meaning and most effective application.If you are a beginner, the answer is No. you cannot learn KF online. One of the most effective ways to learn any martial art, in my opinion, is a 4 step process.Drill the movement/technique soloDrill the movement/technique with a partner back and forth (they do it once on you, you do it once on them)Structured sparring with a partner: you spar, but are only allowed to use specific moves - you only use the technique(s) you’ve been practicingFree-form sparring, you fight, using all the tools/tricks you have, and learn to use the new technique in there too.Part of the joy of learning kung fu comes from interacting with other fellow enthusiasts, some of the strongest friendships I have grew from hitting other people who could take it without getting annoyed. We helped each other grow.I could give you some wishy-washy escoteric chat about how kung fu means hard work in Chinese and true kung fu develops from earnest application. How true power needs to be developed through chi kung in tandem with kung fu.But in essence, I prefer the fact that if you wanna learn how to fight, best way to do so is by fighting other people. Can’t learn that online, you need to have real people to hit!
Too late to learn kung fu/taekwondoe?
A lot of kung fu classes start with stance work and muscle endurance conditioning. If you aren't going to stay with that, you're not going to get much out of kung fu since most of the movements come from the legs up. Kung fu is normally light to no contact in terms of sparring training. TKD can be point sparring, touch sparring, or full contact sparring. I can't give you a breakdown of what the curriculum will be exactly, but the sparring standards tend to be applicable across a broad section of kung fu styles vs TKD. If you take martial arts classes and want to progress at a good rate, you need to do self-training in addition to class training. Is this teaching yourself? I don't know. Being nervous is normal. It's like a new day at school and you go in and you want to make a good impression and you don't everyone to hate you and exclude you and make you a social outcast and kill off your survival chances or something. Learning martial arts is partially about developing your inner strength so that you can exhibit confidence and the ability to disregard social coercion like that. As a tip, it's not too late. Nor is it too late to make new friends. You also got to brush up on your social skills. I know teenagers never get that whole Etiquette 101 course they really should have offered for people who want to integrate well with mainstream society, but generally you want to introduce yourself by telling people your name, and remembering to say their names to help yourself remember them. Then when you have time, start some light conversation about either the class or some hobby the other person finds interesting. People will often always talk about their hobbies and what they feel passionate about if you ask them a question about it. It tends to break the ice in conversations. If you don't understand what is being done in the class, ask questions. Not just of the teacher, but of the more senior students. It doesn't matter if it goes not as well as you think, just follow directions and try to listen. The point is to demonstrate the ability to accept instruction, rather than anti-social tendencies like starting up arguments about meaningless stuff. In TKD, from what I have heard, you do a lot of kicking starting off. Air kicks, kicks against foam mats or cushions, and so on. And then 30% striking.
If you want the painful, injury prone way, go get into lots of fights. Eventually you will figure out things that let you hit your opponent, and not get hit yourself. You'll have invented your own form of kung fu! But you'll probably discover a lot of things that other people have already discovered. The best answer I can give you is don't teach yourself. Find somebody experienced, because they can tell you why you should do one thing, and why you shouldn't do another. If you can find such a person, sign up for their school!If someone isn't available, and you need to learn from books, then get at least 1 friend that wants to learn with you, and get some focus mitts and bag gloves. Take turns practicing the moves you see on the mitts. When you're practicing your moves your partner should be looking for holes in your guard where he/she can counter attack. When you're doing your drills remember to move. Move into range when you're throwing your attack, and get out of your partners range as soon as your attack is done. Don't move in straight lines, always try to circle your opponent. Think about what happens as you circle your partner left vs. right. Do you end up in our out of range of one of his hands? What about his feet? Once you move to a new position what are you set up to do? Remember that when you're holding the mitts, your the coach, not a competitor. Don't take advantage of the fact that you know what your partner is about to do to hit them. Think about how you would realistically react to a drill, and act that way. Then you're teaching your partner how to be ready for the real world. And if this really works for you, and you invent something new, share it with the rest of us!
Tat Moh, an Indian monk who is also known as Bodhidharma, is known as the founder of Shaolin Kung Fu. Tat Moh was originally from Southern India where he was a prince. In spite of his luxurious and royal life, he decided to live the life of a simple monk, and he embraced Buddhism. In order to be an inspiration to other people and spread the principles of Buddhism, he traveled all over the world until his travels brought him to China. It is here that the origins of Shaolin Kung Fu come to light.In order to have a better understanding of the origins of Shaolin Kung Fu, it is also important to take a look at their early applications. In the past, villains and bandits were common in China, and a general disregard for the laws was common place. Monks being of a gentle persuasion did not know how to defend themselves. Shaolin Kung Fu, even during it’s early stage of development provided them with a practical, simple and effective ability with which to defend themselves.Originally, the monks practiced a style of Kung Fu known as Lohon characterized by strong body posture and low stances, this formed the basis of the style to be. Through the years, the style has evolved, acquiring a wide variety of stances, moves, combinations, kicks, punches and acrobatic movements to become the Shaolin Kung Fu that is known today.Before Shaolin Kung Fu, there were already other forms of martial arts that were practiced in China, such as Shuai Jiao or Chinese wrestling. None of the earlier forms of martial arts however developed the level of following and popularity as Shaolin Kung Fu.If you are interested in learning Shaolin kung fu in China from genuine Chinese masters and Shaolin Warrior Monks then our kung fu school (the Dragon Mountain Martial Arts Academy) offers full time kung fu training to international students of all levels. You can find more info on our home page Kung Fu Training in China丨Dragon Mountain Martial Arts School
Personally, I think it’s ridiculous to claim that Jeet Kune Do (JKD) is only a philosophy and therefore it cannot be taught…Are not the philosophies of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle discussed, lectured about and taught?Jeet Kune Do is both a martial art method and a martial art philosophy. Jun Fan Kickboxing and Jun Fan Gung Fu are considered the precursors to the ultimate evolution, Jeet Kune Do.During his lifetime Bruce Lee certified Dan Inosanto to teach JKD.In subsequent years Sifu Inosanto has in turn certified a number of his own students as instructors of Jun Fan Martial Arts in pursuit of the Jeet Kune Do concept.To say that JKD schools are teaching merely “a hybrid kung fu/karate system that teaches moves similar to how Bruce Lee moved” is ridiculous.Actually to refer to Jeet Kune Do in any form with the word ‘hybrid” is to reveal a grave misunderstanding of the art.A hybrid vehicle makes use of two dissimilar elements… JKD on the other hand actively seeks after the similarities or commonalities within martial art methods.Today there are many people out there carrying the title of Jeet Kune Do instructor.And as in many other spheres of human activity, they are at different levels of competence.
First, let me say that I learned all my best kung fu at home. However, I had a 42-year practitioner of Wing Chun come to my home five times a week and teach me daily before I headed off to work. That cost $1500/month but it was so worth it because as other posters to your question have mentioned, touching hands with a competent master is important and a serious part of the transmission of good kung fu.Secondly, I want to address the idea that you can’t do kung-fu anywhere, everywhere, and anytime. If you’re laying in bed, go over qi-gong exercises in your mind or trace your meridians up and down your body counting the points. Don’t know either of those? Google it! If you learn to run energy along your meridians, you can do that standing in line, driving your car to work and waiting for the elevator. Kung fu doesn’t mean ‘martial art’ as much as ‘skill gained through daily attention and practice’ so you are encouraged to be a every day kung fu person, then a every minute kung fu person and you will be doing that at home.Third, the idea of going out to a school terrifies you because you are “weak” is definitely a nice paradox you’ve gotten into. Your journey to being a kung fu master begins by deciding to do it, and then taking action on that decision. If you literally know nothing about kung fu, your best place to start is to go to a class. They won’t expect a newbie to be tough. They might put you through some exercise to toughen you up but that is part of how you become strong - conditioning exercises.Fourth, the answers also call you “mentally weak” because they say weakness is a state of mind. I’ll go further and say that weakness is a state of being and I’m very familiar with it, which is what prompted me into my first martial arts class at the age of 13 back in 1985. I was the smallest, weakest, shortest person in school and a clear target for everyone. Even girls picked on me. I parlayed that into a ‘I’ll show you’ attitude that gave me guts and stamina to start going to martial arts class. Yes, even in class, I was bullied because I was smaller and less aggressive. I stuck with it. And now I’m a very strong martial artist and almost everyone else who was bullying me in those classes are sedentary and feeling middle-aged, jealously commenting about my youthful looks because they didn’t stick with it.I sincerely hope this finds you in a receptive mood and your journey has already begun.
I have done many years of both.TKD has flashy kicks and can look impressive and is a better choice if you wish to compete in a more sport orientated martial art… but in my opinion the styles of kung fu I have studied are much better choices for self defence, are technically much much harder and I’ve also had a lot more fun with kung fu trying out all the amazing variety of weaponry to bring into your training.I mostly train in kick boxing and Lau Gar having transitioned from TKD. I have found the transition incredibly difficult as far as the kung fu is concerned. The line work in TKD is much simpler which is great for the beginner, but for the advanced practitioner there is so much more finesse in kung fu and a much wider variety in techniques and targets.I constantly find myself getting lost in kung fu walks as I have to much more to think about… in TKD when doing high blocks in lines the blocking hand is retracted and the opposite hand blocks and so on, it’s an effective block, but when we do the same in kung fu two extra blocks are involved before the hands switch places.. the blocking arm falls into a window block and the other arms performs a low block before they switch places. I generally find that the drills in TKD are just pared down versions of what I am learning in Kung Fu.I am not saying TKD is not as good as Kung Fu, but it is definitely not as difficult to learn.