Training in Kung Fu means much more than learning a few cool moves and gaining the ability to fight. It also helps you develop lifelong physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual skills. In addition, it meets and expands your physical limits to a place where you find better mental focus, skill acquisition, discipline, and growth.
Beyond such significant benefits, Kung Fu training entails becoming familiar with forms that contain dynamic tension exercises, internal energy work (Chi Kung), and breath training that combines with cardio, strength, and endurance training. Therefore, Kung Fu, like most martial arts, is a dynamic discipline that has far-reaching effects on your body and mind.
But as you go through training, you must establish benchmarks that help you keep track of whether you are undertaking training in the right way. So, you can use the more straightforward avenue beyond the observation of complicated matrices. That is by answering one simple question: does kung fu make you fit?
If it’s not, you’re doing something wrong with your martial arts training.
Kung fu differs from most other martial arts in its training methods. The predominant training method in this discipline for individual practice is called Taolu in Chinese (Forms in English). And, while other martial arts use some forms, they are typically shorter and much less complex than the forms of most Kung Fu Schools.
To the misinformed and uninitiated, Chinese forms look like dance or choreographed gymnastics. But, although quite flowing and sequenced, as a training method, their beauty hides devastating effectiveness.
The discipline involved in kung fu training takes you to your physical limit and beyond. That is where you find control, mental focus, skill acquisition, and growth. You also find physical fitness and health if you train correctly.
When you train with a sense of purpose and complete mental engagement, Kung Fu forms become an exciting and rigorous method of finding strength, flexibility, mobility, and aerobic and anaerobic conditioning.
But there are also a few martial arts disciplines whose training is as physically and mentally challenging as kung fu forms.
Fortunately, like many martial arts, Kung Fu has a learning progression for a beginner to follow. The skills and forms start at a level attainable by all ages and abilities. Therefore, the beauty of Kung Fu is that there is something in its discipline for everyone.
Suppose you begin with the premise that most anybody should be able to learn some level of self-defense and attain a level of fitness and health appropriate to their ability and age. In that case, you only need an excellent school with exceptional instructors who can teach and tailor their martial art training to each student.
Enhancing Mental Focus and Clarity
Kung Fu training is one of the most effective ways to increase your mental focus and clarity. By practicing Kung Fu regularly, you can boost your concentration and awareness. Kung Fu has been practiced for centuries in China, and its underlying concepts remain unchanged today. It encompasses aspects that are not just physical but also mental and spiritual.
The act of meditating while doing Kung Fu helps to center the mind, and bring clarity and self-awareness to the practitioner – leading them to a state of total body integration that can be carried into daily life. It helps the practitioner be mindful, and gain deeper insight into their emotions, thoughts, desires, intentions, and motivations. Practicing this ancient martial art requires precision in specific movements which helps build mental discipline too.
Combining both internal martial arts with breathing exercises increases focus further by making it easier for practitioners to remain present in their actions – as it is said ‘mindful action’ means ‘action with awareness’. This kind of mindfulness provides a greater presence in our lives allowing us better judgment on daily decisions by staying connected to our inner selves.
As you learn and practice Kung Fu skills over time you will increase awareness of your body language along with increasing cognitive abilities providing better decision-making coupled with greater agility – all fundamental skills necessary for sanely intense physical fitness training!
Increasing Flexibility and Balance
In addition to building strength and power, martial arts training has been shown to increase balance, flexibility, and agility. By practicing dynamic stances and kicks, your muscle groups become conditioned to move freely while exerting strength. You may also be surprised at how much faster you can land after jumping so you can perform a kick or jump back quickly.
An important aspect in martial arts practice is the use of proper techniques to increase effectiveness while decreasing the potential for injury. Balanced stances, body alignment, and mobility all work together to help keep your body safe as it moves. Martial arts techniques also require stretching before practice to further enhance flexibility and decrease soreness after training.
Improving Overall Health and Well-Being
Regular training in Kung Fu can provide many benefits to your overall health and well-being. On top of developing strength and agility, an essential goal of Kung Fu is for practitioners to learn how to nurture their physical and spiritual well-being. Besides the physical martial arts skills, Kung Fu also helps improve balance, coordination, flexibility, and reaction speed.
By using mindful movements aimed at developing specific martial arts skills, practitioners also learn how to increase their stamina and endurance through extended periods of concentration without tiring too quickly. Practicing regularly allows them to stay focused on the task at hand while preventing mental burnout while engaging in the physical activities involved in kung fu training. For example, when doing partner drills with a partner, a practitioner will pay attention to the timing of joint locks or strikes that require precision accuracy & timing versus simply relying on brute force.
Furthermore, consistent practice helps create a steady mental state of relaxation that not only lowers stress hormones but also teaches practitioners better breathing techniques for improved self-regulation during both rest & activity states. Additionally, as you progress in your training you will become increasingly aware of how regular poses from specific internal styles affect your body’s energy centers and build mental strength, enabling you to better manage difficult situations without unhealthy or counterproductive responses.
Therefore, as you seek to build your fitness through Kung Fu training, your first task is to find a school that does the above well. And remember: if you want to benefit from your training, you need to train with the best and put 100 percent of your physical and mental energy into the process.
