Chinese Kung Fu

Kung Fu could be defined as any of the various Chinese martial arts. Chinese Kung Fu was studied, organized and systematized by the Shaolin monks. Shaolin Kung Fu is known for their many animal styles such as Tiger, Crane, Dragon, Monkey, Praying Mantis and Snake. The word Kung Fu was originally used by the West. It means "skill" or "ability". It literally does not have anything to do with martial arts such as the word Tae Kwon Do, which means The Way of the Hand and Feet. In China today, Wushu is the preferred word to describe Chinese Martial Arts. The word Kung Fu was first used by a western Jesuit Missionary named Pere Amoit after witnessing exercises and training regimen in China. He called it "Cong Fou" in his personal journals. The term "Kuo-Shu" was popular in China until about 1930. This term has since been popularized by the Taiwanese Government to describe Chinese Martial Arts.

Chinese legend says Bodhidharma; also know as Tamo (Damo), was the founder of Chan (Zen) Buddhism and the founder of Kung Fu. He traveled from India to China around 527 A.D. and it is said that he visited Shaolin monks in the Henan Province. While the monks excelled in meditation Bodhidarma realized that they lacked the secrets of physical discipline. He invented Kung Fu as a system of exercise for Buddhist monks who spent most of their day in the seated meditation position. He taught and trained them in exercises designed to strengthen the body and their physical endurance.

The true origins of Chinese martial arts can be traced back to self-defense needs and military training in ancient China. Hand to hand combat and weapons practice was important in the training of Chinese soldiers and eventually became an important element of Chinese culture.

Kung Fu was greatly popularized throughout the world through the release of Hong Kong and Chinese martial arts movies. These films used dynamic Kung Fu and Chinese martial arts movements, cool sound effects, and other special effects such as flying to sensationalize fighting scenes.

The more famous Chinese kung fu includes:

Choy Li Fut:

Choy Li Fut is one of the most powerful styles of Wushu. It relies on very powerful hand and arm techniques. Four main hand techniques are used, including the straight punch, the back fist, the uppercut and the hook punch. It incorporates oriental medicine and philosophy. The emphasis is on learning through forms practice and many hands and weapons forms are taught, most of which have between one hundred and three hundred moments. Speed, balance and power are all important elements in this style of Wushu, which also combines hard and soft techniques. Many full contact fighters follow this system.

Tai Chi Chuan

One of the three orthodox "internal" styles of Chinese martial art (the other two being Hsing Yi Ch'uan and Pa Kua Chang). The term "T'ai Chi" refers to the ancient Chinese cosmological concept of the interplay between two opposite yet complementary forces (Yin and Yang) as being the foundation of creation. "Ch'uan" literaly means "fist" and denotes an unarmed method of combat. T'ai Chi Ch'uan as a martial art is based on the principle of the soft overcoming the hard.

WING CHUN

One of the most popular forms of Kung Fu. Wing Chun was an obscure and little known art until the mid twentieth century. While multiple histories of the art do exist (some with only minor discrepancies), the generally accepted version is thus: The style traces its roots back over 250 years ago to the Southern Shaolin Temple. At that time, the temple was a sanctuary to the Chinese revolution that was trying to overthrow the ruling Manchu. A classical martial arts system was taught in the temple which took 15-20 years to produce an efficient fighter.

The Chinese people in their effort for survival developed Chinese Kung Fu through the centuries. Its roots lie in ancient society, though, at that time, it was a far cry from the artistic sport that it is today.

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http://www.chineseart.com/chinese-kung-fu.htm
http://www1.chinaculture.org/gb/en_chinaway/2003-10/29/content_44007.htm