Kung Fu: Principles and History

The Term: By History, the term “Kung Fu” is not really mentioned in any old texts. It was coined by a French by the name Jean Joseph Marie Amiot, a missionary who lived in the 18th Century, in reference to Chinese martial arts. Kung Fu is also called Kuoshu, Gongfu, or Wushu, and originally refers expertise in any ability, and not singly to martial arts.

Short Historical Account: The philosophy, concept, and practice of Kung Fu can be drawn back to old Chinese writings such as Zhuang Zi, Dao De Jing, and Sun Zi Bing Fa (Art of War authored by Sun Zi), all written between 1111-255 BC. These texts contain passages related to the practice, propagation, and principles of what is known today as Kung Fu. One theory on the early history of Kung Fu says that the Yellow Emperor, who reigned from 2698 BC, wrote the first documents on Chinese martial arts. Others give credit to Taoist monks for introducing an art form that resemble 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 the popularity of martial arts progressed, a physician named Hua T’uo also wrote his own treatise entitled, “Five Animals Play” in 220 AD. Kung Fu had become a common word in the West beginning in the late 1960s, made popular by TV and movies depicting martial arts. The Western world today has also seen an immense upsurge in the filming of martial arts movies featuring great actors/masters such as Jet Li and Jackie Chan.

Fundamental Principles: The concept of Kung Fu revolves around three fundamental principles – Motivation, Self-discipline and Time. As the experts says, the real motivation behind learning Kung Fu is to be inspired and not to use force, which should emanating from an inner craving for learning and development of mind and body. Motivation here is the fundamental driving force. There is no external or worldly benefits for the learner, and the only reward is that of strength, wisdom, knowledge, and skill. In Kung Fu, discipline is complementary to motivation. Discipline puts motivation into deed and action. A learner has to make an effort for what makes him/her motivated, and self-discipline assists him get started and guides him in reaching that goal. Thus, 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 spend a considerable amount of time putting mind and body into practice. An inspired learner uses time in fruitful activities.His/Her doings should reflect real motivation and self-discipline.

Variants and Styles: As time passes by, many other variations and styles have come up in Kung Fu Some of the more famous types include Escrima, Wing Chun, Jujitsu, Judo, Tae Kwon Do, Shaolin, White Crane, T’ai Chi Ch’uan, Bagua Zhang and Karate.

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