Are you getting insanely fit training Kung Fu

1. Are you getting insanely fit training Kung Fu? Jow Gar Kung Fu

2. Kung Fu helps to develop lifelong mental, physical, spiritual and emotional skills. Kung Fu training takes you beyond your physical limit where you’ll find the discipline, mental focus, growth and skill acquisition. Kung Fu forms contain internal energy work (Chi Kung), dynamic tension exercises, breath training and also strength, cardio and endurance training. If not, then you are doing something wrong with your martial arts training. Some people pay personal trainers to get them fit, others join gyms. Most modern group fitness classes in any commercial gym you go to will feature classes such as Body Combat or Punch Fit. These classes are designed to mimic martial arts training, yet they can never truly deliver any other benefit than fitness. I understand that some people need the external motivation of a personal trainer or group lead fitness class….

3. But, there are the other people who are looking for something different. These are the type of people who will come to us looking for an experience much deeper, much healthier and much more fulfilling. Training in Kung Fu rewards its students with lifelong physical, mental, emotional and spiritual skills. People come to us to teach them the skills to be Life Warriors. Physically fit, healthy, confident and happy (with the ability to kick butt if required). Kung fu is different to most other martial arts in the methods it employs in training. The predominant training method for individual practice in Kung fu is called Taolu in Chinese, or simply Forms in English. And, although other styles of martial arts use some forms, they are usually short and nowhere near as complex as the forms of most Kung Fu Schools.

4. To the uninitiated and misinformed, Chinese forms look like choreographed gymnastics or dance, and although they are sequenced and flowing their beauty hide their devastating effectiveness as a training method. The discipline involved in training kung fu to your physical limit and beyond, is where the mental focus, discipline, growth and skill acquisition are found. It is also where the physical fitness and health are found, if you train them correctly. Kung Fu forms contain breath training, internal energy work (Chi Kung), dynamic tension exercises and also cardio, strength and endurance training. When trained with a sense of purpose and 100 percent mental engagement, forms become a rigorous and exciting method of finding mobility, flexibility, strength and aerobic and anaerobic conditioning.

5. I have personally trained other martial arts and many different styles of physical exercise. None are as challenging, physically and mentally, as kung fu forms. Thankfully, like most other martial arts, kung fu has a progression of learning for a beginner to follow. The forms and skills start out at a level achievable by all ages and abilities; we have children as young as 3 and adults as old as 70 enrolled in our programs. The beauty of kung fu is that it has something in its disciplines for everyone. If you start with the premise that anybody should be able to learn some level of self defence and achieve a level of fitness and health appropriate to their age and ability, then all you need is a great school, with great instructors who are able to teach and tailor their martial art to each individual student.

6. I believe at Head Academy Kung Fu that is what we do very well. So if you want to get the most out of your kung fu training you need to train with the best, and put 100 percent of your mental and physical energy into your training. For one of the best narratives on Kung Fu forms watch this. (Hung Gar is one of the styles used by our founder Jow Lung to create the style of kung fu we practice, Jow Gar. We also have a version of the Tiger and Crane set which is taught at Light Brown sash.)

7. Thank You Head Academy Kung Fu