Benefits of Kung Fu
for Children

1. Our reward system improves children's self-esteem - Kung Fu is different from team sports because the emphasis is on developing the individual's self-esteem, not the team’s winning record. Our ranking system is the key. When kids earn their new rank, it gives them a great sense of accomplishment that really improves the way they feel about themselves.

2. Our program teaches children discipline - One of the things parents appreciate most about our classes is the improvement in their child’s self-discipline. We have a wonderful staff of patient instructors who love to work with children, but are also very clear about limits. We enforce good rules for behavior in class, and we expect the same good behavior at home and in school.

3. Our activities channel children's aggression - Many doctors recommend our academy for treatment because of the positive outlet it gives our kids to channel their energy.

4. Our confidence classes enhance children's self-esteem - We believe confidence is one of the most important things we can give our kids. That is why every class we teach includes confidence-building drills.

5. Our program teaches children essential self-defense skills -
Our program teaches practical, proven self-defense methods. We also teach kids that the moves they learn in class will work, so they should not go home and try them on their friends or siblings. More importantly, our children learn to handle difficult situations with bullies and strangers.

Martial Arts: A Family Affair

Benefits of Martial Arts

When Sam began studying martial arts, he was having trouble with a couple of bullies at school. They would tease and goad him into losing his temper, and he would invariably do something that got him in trouble? Throw something, yell, and even bite.

Soon after we started Kung Fu we sat down together with our instructor for a talk.

"You're not tattling if you go to the teacher for help," our instructor said. "You need to decide that one way or another, you don't have to tolerate being treated like that. I want you to avoid fights, but you don't have to let these guys pick on you, either."

With prayer, a few meetings with the school's principal and our instructor's encouragement, Sam soon worked his way through the situation. More on that later.

Self-defense was the only benefit I really had in mind when Sam started, but I discovered it was the least of the benefits martial arts had to offer:

·         Self-discipline. Imagine trying to get a bunch of 6-, 7-, and 8-year-olds to stand at attention like a squad of Marines. How about getting them to do a daily list of chores and submit a weekly checklist?

We demand this and more from the kids who study with us? And since children tend to achieve what's expected of them, we usually get it. They learn quickly to listen, pay attention, sit still, and apply themselves and other skills. Sam's as energetic as any other 8-year-old, but he's able to concentrate and stick with a task to a degree many adults would envy.

Recently Sam and I were practicing at home together on a particularly complex series of movements with a wooden staff. Without any prompting from me, Sam worked at it for more than two hours until he'd mastered it. And that same perseverance and attention to detail is showing up in his schoolwork and chores as well.

·         Confidence. Martial arts training, belt testing and tournaments are so challenging that kids who face them come away with loads of confidence to apply in other areas. I've especially enjoyed watching this bear fruit in Sam's life:

We teach students to shake hands and introduce themselves to new students and visiting parents. Sam has taken this practice to heart; he'll walk up to anyone, stick out his hand and say, "Hello! My name is Sam; what's yours?" Sometimes he's so bold about this people don't know how to react!

Anytime we're somewhere there are people Sam doesn't know, he begins working the room like a veteran politician. In minutes he knows everyone and everyone knows him. He's also relaxed and confident in situations that cause many kids to freeze up: Speaking to people in authority, answering the phone, ordering at a restaurant, asking for help at a store, etc. When new, shy kids arrive at Sunday school, Sam's teachers invariably buddy them up with Sam? He introduces them to his friends and gets them relaxed and involved in minutes.

·         Respect. Trash talk, mouthing off to officials, foul language and the like have, sadly, trickled down from professional sports into college and even high school sports. We won't tolerate anything like it, though. We insist that our students treat one another, the instructors and their families with respect? And our instructors check up on it, too. Students can't take belt tests unless their parents and schoolteachers sign statements saying they're respectful at home and at school. Since Sam started Kung Fu, I've heard more pleases, thanks yours, Sirs and Ma'ams from him than I'd hear anywhere this side of a military school.

·         Fitness. GameBoy, the Internet, TV and other passive entertainment is turning our kids into a nation of couch potatoes. Children who study martial arts aren't among them, though. For Sam's last belt test he had to, in quick succession: jump rope for three minutes; do 25 push-ups and 30 sit-ups; do numerous sets of military crawls across the room; demonstrate mastery of self-defense material; and do nearly an hour of sparring and grappling? A grueling three-hour workout altogether. He passed with flying colors, thanks to the cardiovascular and aerobic benefits of our class warm-ups.

·         Relationship building. Many parents cheer their kids on in a sport. I help teach at our Kung Fu school; many parents teach or officiate in their kids' sports as well.

But how many parents get to practice and compete in the same sport with their kids? Sam and I go to class together, we practice at home together, we go to tournaments together and we cheer each other on during competitions and belt tests.

Our shared challenges, successes and failures are more than precious memories; they're strengthening our relationship against the pressures of the world and the inevitable stresses of Sam's upcoming adolescence. Husbands and wives, parents and kids, siblings? Whole families can enjoy the martial arts together just as Sam and I do.

·         Self-defense. I alluded to this earlier: Self-defense is about 1 percent physical skill. The other 99 percent is a combination of attitude and brains? The courage and confidence to stand up to bullying or violence and the wisdom to foresee and avoid it.

A few weeks after Sam started studying martial arts, he also started going to his teacher whenever the bullies in his class tried to pick on him. Finally one of them confronted him on the playground, accusing Sam of getting him in trouble. Sam stepped aside, said, "I don't want to fight you," and simply walked away from the astonished bully.

Sam had been in Kung Fu for only a few weeks; his physical skills were almost nonexistent. But my 6-year-old son had already gained the self-control to keep his temper when teased and the confidence to withstand peer pressure and avoid an unnecessary fight. The bullies left him alone after that.

I've found martial arts to be a tool that shapes my son's character much more than his body or skills.

? Greg Hartman

How to choose a good martial arts school/classes

There are a lot of things you should consider while choosing a martial arts school. At first, why do you want to practice martial arts? For self defense? For sport? To get in shape maybe? That should influence upon your decision on which system (style) to get involved in. Being determined with the goal of your future training and the specific martial arts style to learn, you can start choosing the school to train at. Location of your training place is important – try to find a school situated not far from your home, otherwise sooner or later you will be tired of a long travel times to and from classes and thus will decide to stop your education. Check your local phone directory (yellow pages) to find schools in your area. Ask your friends, may be they can recommend you good, time-proved school. When looking for a new place to train, first of all make sure that you’re going to enjoy yourself at practice. The atmosphere in classes and surrounding people (your companions) play important role in training process as well as instructors. See how things run and who teaches in the class. If the atmosphere is unfriendly, try to look for another school.

You should be prepared to ask an instructor lot of questions when visiting a new school. Beware of schools offering unbelievably easy programs, where “anyone can progress quickly”. Promises of quick rank and skill motivate new students to join and keep members from looking for other schools. They will say anything to make you join. Ask how long does it take to get a black belt, if they say anything less than three years, go somewhere else. It will be also quite suspicious if they award black belts to children under fifteen.

Check the qualification of teacher. Lots of degrees and certificates won’t evidence his mastership. There are no universal grading standards in martial arts, and ranks may be simply purchased in a modern world. What is important to know about your instructor?
- Who was his (or her) primary martial arts teacher?
- How long did your instructor study martial arts with his (her) primary teacher?
- How long has he (she) practiced this art?
- Does he (she) have any experience as a teacher, or is he (she) simply a skilled martial artist? Great martial artists are not necessarily great teachers.

There are lots of martial arts schools attracting people by claiming that their style is the deadliest, greatest, etc. Don’t yield to these persuasions and evade such schools – most probably they are ruled by non-professionals who actually can’t teach. The most skilled practitioners in such schools usually have nothing to prove. Remember that some styles are better for certain situations than others but no style is the best.

Pay attention to the practitioners’ skills. Students with high rank and low skill show that the instructors have little to offer. Never be impressed by the instructor’s skill, if it does not reach the students, it does not help them. Good instructors only care about the student’s ability.

Don’t get fooled with “gurus” who claim that they created their own unique style. Many "masters" believe they are so skilled that they can improve upon centuries of accumulated knowledge. Most of them are self promoted and have created "new" styles because they could not master existing ones. Many legitimate martial artists study more than one form and create and teach "hybrid" forms. They however know the difference between a combination of styles and new undiscovered techniques.

The concept of hard/soft and external/internal martial arts is not one easily described. In terms of styles which most people are familiar with, Karate would be an example of a hard style and Aikido or T'ai Chi examples of soft styles. A hard style is generally considered one where force is used against force; a block is used to deflect an incoming strike by meeting either head on, or at a 90 degree angle. A soft style does not use force against force, but rather deflects the incoming blow away from its target. There are uses for both hard and soft techniques. A practitioner may wish to break the attacker's striking arm with the block. On the other hand, a much smaller opponent would not be able to accomplish this, so instead may wish to deflect the incoming attack.

An external style is one which relies primarily in strength and physical abilities to defeat an opponent. In contrast, an internal style is one that depends upon ch'i and timing rather than power. Aikido (at the master's level) would be an internal style, while most karate styles are external.

However, the concepts of hard/soft internal/external are finding fewer proponents among senior martial artists. Both conceptual twins are impossible to separate in reality, and masters will generally acknowledge that any distinction is largely only a matter of subjective interpretation. Arguments about the reality of the concepts are often waged by novices and philosophical dilettantes, ignorant of the inseparable nature of duality. They see yin and yang as elements that can exist independently, while philosophical and physical reasoning demonstrate that they cannot. Without their union (=Tao), neither can exist. Ergo, a "hard" technique such as a straight fist is guided by the soft power of mind and the internal component of ch'i. Equally, the softest projection of Aikido requires the "hard" element of physical contact and movement, coupled with actively redirecting the opponent. In short, preoccupation with distinguishing soft from hard is a distraction from learning martial arts and moving towards a unifying technique and mastery.

The concept of a style is a rather complicated one, and Chinese martial arts claim as many as 1500 different styles. By "style" we mean a particular school of martial practice, with its own training methods, favored techniques, and emphasis on attack and defense. While it is impossible to quantify differences between most styles, it is easy to see the distinctions between such disparate approaches to combat as practiced by Tiger, Crane, and Monkey stylists. In choosing a style (a contemporary privilege; traditionally, styles were assigned by the teachers), try to find one that suits your physical attributes, interests, and sense of utility. It does no good to study the graceful single-leg and flying techniques of White Crane if you have the flexibility and grace of a turtle! On the other hand, and kung fu practice will enhance your physical skills, dexterity, and alertness, and it is not uncommon for a beginner in one style to change to a more "appropriate" style later. Whatever else may be said of styles, the first year basics are almost universal--punches, kicks, and stances show little variation at the beginner's level.

For many people, especially those who are not familiar with martial arts, the question often arises on what the difference between karate and kung fu is. Upon watching somebody doing martial arts, the untrained eye will find it hard to tell whether that person is doing karate or kung fu. Even those who are beginning martial arts may sometimes be confused about the different styles until further exposure to them will reveal just how different they really are.

Historically, the people living in the islands of Okinawa just south of Japan got exposed to Chinese kung fu martial arts due to the close proximity to China. Over time, the Okinawans and Japanese developed their own styles of martial arts now known as karate from the original influence of Chinese kung fu. Although both karate and kung fu utilize many similar martial arts techniques, most kung fu styles will usually have more variety of techniques compared to karate systems. It’s almost like the Japanese streamlined the number of techniques from Chinese systems to develop karate. The Japanese also modified the way techniques are executed in karate as they became more linear compared to kung fu. This is especially evident in the forms or katas (traditional sequence of set moves) where karate techniques are performed with crisp movements that have distinct stop and go motions.

In kung fu forms, movements involve the use of more circular techniques, particularly with the hands. These circular motions give kung fu forms a more visually graceful look as techniques seem to flow from one to another. There is less stop and go with most kung fu styles. This is why some martial artists, especially in North America, often refer to Chinese kung fu as ‘soft’ styles while karate and tae kwon do are ‘hard’ styles. This is not to say that hard styles such as karate or tae kwon do are more powerful martial arts than kung fu and other soft styles. The term ‘soft’ is a bit misleading because the power from circular kung fu moves is often hidden. Circular moves can generate just as much power as linear ones found in hard styles. Most kung fu forms are also usually more complex and longer in duration than most karate forms. To most martial artists, a kung fu form will look much more exotic while a karate form will look more straight forward in terms of martial arts techniques. Interestingly enough, there are karate styles such as goju which do have quite a lot of circular techniques similar to kung fu. Kempo styles are considered a hybrid of Chinese kung fu and Okinawan karate techniques with both circular as well as linear techniques. There are also many more different styles of kung fu compared to karate.

Martial arts weaponry is found in both kung fu and karate styles but different sets of weapons are utilized in each martial arts system. Much like the empty hand forms, the kata with karate weapons are also more linear compared to those with kung fu weapons which have more circular movements. As expected, there is a lot more variety of different Chinese kung fu weapons than found in the Japanese karate styles.

Traditionally, practitioners of karate wear a white uniform called a gi which features the overlapping kimono-like top. Less traditional schools like those in North America will allow colored uniforms. A colored belt will be the finishing touch to the gi with of course the black belt for those at instructor level ranking. Most of the time and especially inside a dojo studio, karate stylists will not wear any shoes while training. Most kung fu stylists will wear a very different looking uniform. Kung fu uniforms usually consist of tops with Chinese ‘frog-style’ buttons rather than overlapping fronts like the karate gi top. The uniforms can be black or a variety of colors with often lighter fabrics such as satin and shoes are commonly worn. The modern acrobatic Chinese martial arts of wushu can feature satin uniforms with many different bright colors. Many kung fu schools simply utilize t-shirts and baggy pants as uniforms. Satin colored sashes are often worn to signify rank of students but this is actually more of a North American style as most kung fu schools in Asia do not show rankings in uniforms.

Overall, there’s more variety of techniques, styles, weapons and uniforms found in the Chinese kung fu systems compared to karate. However, that is not to say that one system or style of martial art is superior to another. They are just different and to the observer, it could come down to personal preference. Some prefer kung fu and some prefer karate. Some ambitious martial artists who desire a full well rounded education practice both kung fu and karate.