What qualities do you need to learn Kung Fu?

Answer 1

The old masters often replied, that you need three things; 1) Patience 2) Patience 3) Patience Myself personally I only studied different manuals, learned Tai Chi Chuan from a DVD, a form of Chi Kung from a book, and Karate Katas from a Kata manual. I would hardly describe myself as "self taught" though; because, in Kung Fu there is a saying "man sharpens on man." Another saying, taught to me by Jesse Tsao of Tai Chi health ways goes "unless you have been with Sifu for 10 years, he won't let you out the door." I can't share with you any personal experiences but I will share everything I've read in the shortest lists I can. To some Kung Fu masters, spiritual development and Kung Fu skill were one and the same. The same qualities a Daoist needs to attain the Dao, a would be Kung Fu student, also needs. The qualities are simplicity, humility, and compassion. By that measuring stick, Tai Chi Chuan easily adheres to "The Way" more than other Martial Arts, so does Aikido. Well, at least in the humility and compassion parts; neither Tai Chi, nor Aikido, are hardly "simple" martial arts. It is a dream of mine, to see the development of a new martial art, one capable of defeating all others, but that would require only a short amount of training. A martial art that combined the best elements of Baijiquan, Tai Chi Chuan, both Sun and Yang styles, Karate, and Shaolin Kung Fu, condensed into a cohesive form, 108 steps long, half the form fast and vigorous, the other half, slow and meditative, and powerful enough to really set the body on fire with chi, but that would require only 56 steps to do it, instead of 77, or 108. As Huey Freeman said though "its nice to dream." Karate, is effective, because of its emphasis on simplicity. Karate's simplicity, however it is simplicity that also has variety, is what in fact makes it so lethal. Not as effective as Shaolin Kung Fu mind, but still pretty lethal in the right hands. Tai Chi Chuan, because of its emphasis on meditation, and the development of the Dantien (the center). Shaolin Kung Fu because of the development of the five principles of martial arts, they are 1) Mobility, 2) Agility, which, combined with mobility form evasion, 3) Speed, 4) Power, and finally 5) Focus. Shaolin Kung Fu has various forms, in which those 5 principles are constantly trained. There is a form, for each principle, however, each form is 108 steps long, and deeply time consuming. To train in Shaolin Kung Fu requires a minimum of 6 hours; in America, because of time constraints, I believe the Shaolin Temple of America, and all Shaolin temples outside of China teach shortened versions of each form, as the traditional forms are just too long. Baijiquan is effective, because of its powerful base, and how it effectively combines the principles of relaxation and delivering raw, powerful blows in a fight in only half a second. The Sun style of Tai Chi Chuan is effective, because of its use of small movements, and its stepping techniques which, when analyzed, many in fact take place inside an octagon. The principle of the octagon; in the Karate 8 man drill, it is a pre-arranged exercise, where one man stands in the center, and he pre-arranged spars with 8 men, standing in 8 directions, that take turns attacking him. It is an advanced exercise done only by 5th dans and higher, as it requires extreme focus and speed, not to mention knowledge. The thinking behind the 8 man drill, has to do with the fact that if surrounded by enemies, they can only attack from 8 directions. See, it is based on that established principle, known in both Japan and China, that I believe that if a new form is to be created, it MUST take place entirely within the confines of an octagon. Sorry, I'm sharing a little more than is necessary; I tend to get exited when I talk Kung Fu. So anyway, lets see what else do you need.... oh yeah, determination and lots of it, and your heart has to be in the right place regarding determination. Why are you determined? Is it for someone else you are training, or for yourself? See, most people can not be selfish on a level where their entire motivation is the self; by nature, only evil people can be motivated entirely by selfish reasons, good human beings, normal human beings, need a selfless motive, to be motivated to achieve something great. You rely entirely on your own egotism, to achieve martial arts skill not only will your progress will be slow, you may not advance at all no matter how much you practice, or for how many years. See, the old masters tended to choose children, for precisely that reason; a child's heart, is as yet unpollutted by the troubles, and selfish desires of adulthood, their mind is a tabula rasa, on which Kung Fu knowledge may be passed down and written. If someone older than a child is to be chosen, they had to have a good, clean heart. And yes, according to the strictest tradition, there is such a thing as "too old to begin training in Kung Fu." The training, is exceedingly brutal, if you want any real skill that is, for one, secondly, its time consuming, so you have to start as early in life as humanly possible. To train in Kung Fu, the way the old masters intended, is to experience pain, agony, and frustration beyond your wildest imagination. Did you know that U.S. Navy SEALS have washed out of Shaolin Kung Fu training China? The training is so brutal, not even U.S. Marines or SEALS could complete it in most instances. Indeed, in Okinawa and mainland Japan, the majority of foreigners, who seriously train in Karate, tend to be military, not civilians, as, again, the training is often so brutal, only military personal, who became accustomed to brutal training during basic training, are able to handle it. You sound eager and interested; I tell you these things so that you know what you're in for. Karate training in Japan, serious Karate training, is not nearly as severe as Shaolin Kung Fu training is in China. In Japan, a Karateka who trains for 16 hours a day, every day, is considered "tough." In China, a Shaolin Kung Fu monk who trains for 16 hours a day every day, is considered a "typical monk." Think about that. So, from what I gathered from the various books I thumbed through and read? You need, to become a master, or at least highly skilled; 1) A kind heart 2) Patience 3) Humility 4) EXTREME fortitude, that is, high resistance to physical and mental suffering. 5) Determination Those are the 5 ingredients, required to become a master of Kung Fu, or any martial art. See, the majority of children, already have those things; it is largely the corrupt world of adults, that "beats" it out of them, what makes China different, is that, unlike the west, where children are looked down upon, as inexperienced or less intelligent, the way the Chinese view children, are as people in need of guidance, and it is not about making them "grow up," but as PRESERVING THEIR BEST QUALITIES, while working hard to get rid of the bad ones. The five principles presented above, are the best qualities all children under the age of 10 posses, and what Kung Fu masters of old strove for, was to PRESERVE those qualities into adulthood. Again, its not about making them "grow up" in China, but rather preserving what is best when life begins. Irresponsible parenting, not only preserves the bad qualities of a child, it may in fact NURTURE them. Even an inherently evil child, with evil parents, can be a good person if so much as what little good they have in them, is constantly encouraged. By the same tokken, you take a good child, born from inherently good parents, and give him or her to a couple that spoils him or her, and brings about their worst qualities, even someone born a good person can turn out evil. When you have a combination of bad, evil men, breeding out of control because of the stupidity of many women, you end up with a situation where people born with a seed of evil, are brought into this world, and that worst aspect of their person, is actively encouraged, hence the reason why the west, commits so much evil. Also there comes a time in a person's life, when they may be too far gone, beyond any help. If you wish to become a master, you will need to reclaim your proverbial "inner child," the best parts of your person from when you were small. No, not the stomping and screaming if you did not get your way, I'm talking about, climbing tall trees, and yet inexplicably being unafraid. I'm talking about being able to do homework for hours, with horrible neck strain, and yet never stopping until its finished. to become a master you will need to reclaim the best parts of your childhood self. In childhood, you are naturally humble because, come on, everyone's taller than you! If you train hard, you may even become a master (or expert, don't know where his skill is for sure) like Shi "The Most Handsome Monk" Ming. However if you neglect your training, you'll end up becoming a sociopathic w**** who tampers with DNA tests and never apologizes like Natalie Portman. Its all up to you.