[wuming]

I actually started practicing Pa Kua by accident.

There's alot of reasons why I like Pa Kua, but let me just some up by saying that I like it because it fits me.

[RobNyc]

But it takes a longer time to learn Kung-Fu than other styles too because its more rewarding I hear. Especially Internal very advance, hard to learn, internal is deeper and stronger.

Yes, there's hundreds of KF styles. Just find out what's in your area and examinize the teacher, the class, go in for a free class they should offer you one, do you want it for competition or just traditional non-sport? A lot of bull going on .

[zed]

i showed up at class one time drunk and got sent home, so i dont know what you guys are doing making a style out of it? just kidding.....no flames please.

[xcal]

I trained karate for many years as a kid...only because it was absolutely the only thing available. I enjoyed it tremendously until my sensei quit the system(he had personal issues with his sensei). A string of poor/aggressive senseis slowly drained my enthusiasm, then my sensei hurt me in training...that was the last straw.

fade to about 15 years later

I moved to the big city (this time around with a good job), and was given a pamphlett about a wushu school near work. It took a few months for me to settle in with home/work, and I searched the 'net for that school, but found www.shaolin.co.za instead. I honestly intended to try out that school for a couple of freebie lessons, and a few other schools before deciding....in fact Si Bah suggested that I do exactly that, but...

There is a samurai saying that I cannot quote exactly but the main idea is about a warrior who steps onto the 'right path' and every stone,bird,insect etc on that path calls out to the warrior saying 'this is your way'.

I had that feeling almost 30 months ago. and feel it every time I practice my form, walk into class, see my classmates around town.

[nbotary]

I had always had an intrest in Kung Fu thanks to Bruce Lee (like so many of us). However, my parents were either not big on putting me in MA or they were against it. Anyway, I didn't get started until college. I started with Jiu Jitsu becuase my roommate had just gotten his black belt. He had also learned a little Wing Chun and was showing me that too. After I graduated and moved back to Houston, I happened across one of Sifu Bolt's senior Tai Chi instructor's while looking for gym to workout at. I began doing Tai Chi along with my Jiu Jitsu and it helped tremendously. After awhile, my roommate and I had a falling out, but I continued on with the Tai Chi. After awhile, I began to feel like I wasn't learning what I wanted, so I left my Tai Chi instructor and began studying under Sifu Bolt. The rest is history...

[Gazelle]

My dad used to do Kung Fu Hung Ga. It looked, dare i say it, more interesting than Karate. It felt like there was this whole deeper culture to Kung Fu. The teacher out our club was really good. Unfortunately about two months after i started, the club stopped doing it, i was a bit disappointed, but i ended up just doing Kick boxing (the club doesn't offer much else), which is great for some action and a work out.

[PunchDrunk]

As a kid, I did a few weeks of Karate, and in High School, I took a night class in Akido. Neither of them worked well enough for me to continue the effort. I was probably just the impatient American, but so be it.

I didn't really start Martial Arts until I was 31. One of my co-workers had done Martial Arts since he was young, and had fought off three gentlemen (one armed with a knife) who requested that he hand over all the money he had to buy his family their Christmas presents. He was very excited about the opportunity to study Southern White Crane under Jeff Bolt. I told him that when he joined up, I'd go with him. It was basically the only way I knew at the time to find a legitimate teacher.

The things I saw in the school convinced me that Kung Fu was dramatically different from the garbage I'd tried before. After almost three years with Jeff Bolt, my friend Jamie became ill. I dropped out thinking that we'd start back together and be on the same page. I'm not the easiest guy to train with, and in addition to being able to put up with me, Jamie was also my same height and weight (as well as a fan of excessive Fa Jing).

Alas, Jamie never recovered from his illness and passed away at age 30. I tried to go back, but got caught up between two instructors who couldn't agree on how I should run forms. After three years of Kung-Fu I was interested in working on sparring and advanced forms. Two hour long classes on Lim Bu Chen (pardon my spelling) for the rest of my Kung-Fu career weren't worth either my time or money.

Thankfully, Bloodybirds approached me and gave me a chance to focus on footwork, sparring, and techniques that would allow me to properly condition myself and become an effective fighter instead of a performance artist.

I don't claim to be the most worldly guy on the planet, but having viewed some other systems, and attended some ATA events, I can make the following observations:

Kung-Fu is a BIG TENT! Wrestiling, Grappling, punches, kicks, weapons, health, medicine... it's all in there. So much in fact, that I doubt I'd be able to cover it all in the few short decades I've got left on the planet.

Kung-Fu presents it's practitioners with the ability to DEFEND as well as ATTACK. I'd say that some arts focus on attack due to their lack of ability to defend.

[graham1]

In Britain, Wing Chun is now the most practiced style of kung-fu, but a close second to it is Lau Gar kuen-shu. This style's main kwoon is in Birmingham, England. It's head-master is Jeremy Yau & he has been teaching since 1961.

I have practiced this style for 31 years. The main emphasis of the style is on defence - including blocking & parrying, bodily displacement & side-stepping, integrated predominately with punching, striking & kicking, although grappling, throwing, locking, holding, trapping, chi-sau & breakfalling are taught later on.

Hand techniques are taught initially at short range & kicking is initially taught at long range. Eventually, through training, the ability to utilize all of these techniques at all ranges is acquired.

The emphasis on sparring & competition, within rules, enables practitioners to experience use of the system under varying degrees of stress.

[PunchDrunk]

To be honest, I was lucky enough to have met Jamie Mitchell. He knew a great deal about martial arts and had extensive knowlege in many types of arts as well as having held belts in several. I had done some Karate and Akido and was unimpressed with the results. Jamie introduced me to Sifu Bolt who's explanation of Kung-Fu made more sense to me than aything I'd heard my old instructors say. In short:

1) The best defense is to RUN AWAY! Do this first, do this second, and if this best of all defenses fails, then we will train you for the next best option.

2) Kicking and Punching is 10% of Kung-Fu. 90% of what we learn is how not to get hit!

The third thing I learned over time... Kung-Fu is a VERY big tent! It's not about joint locks, throws, or blocks... it's about all of them and the medicine to fix the results. I'd far rather go into battle with a sword and a shield than just a sword any day.

[graham1]

Would that we could solve all our problems by running away. Unfortunately there are so many times when it is simply not feasable to do so.

A dead end street or alley - where are you going to run to?

Your attacker's 'turf' - would you necessarily know where to run to?

You've got people with you - your partner, your mother, your children - would you run & leave them to it?

It might be quite late in a confrontation before you realize that you're in danger. So many things can confuse us as to whether we are actually in danger.

If you turn to run, you will necessarily move slower, until you can pick up speed, than a rapidly advancing attacker.

You simply might be surrounded.

I'm sure others will suggest other variables.