| The Term: | | | | |
| | | | Basic Principles: |
| Historically, the term "Kung Fu" is not | | | | |
| really featured in any ancient texts. It was | | | | The concept of Kung Fu revolves around three |
| first coined by a Frenchman named Jean Joseph | | | | basic principles - Motivation, |
| Marie Amiot, a missionary who lived in the | | | | Self-discipline and Time. |
| 18th Century, in reference to Chinese martial | | | | |
| arts. Kung Fu is also called Gongfu, Wushu, | | | | According to experts, the real motivation |
| or Kuoshu, and originally denotes expertise | | | | behind learning Kung Fu is inspiration and |
| in any skill, and not exclusive to martial | | | | not force, which should come from an inner |
| arts. | | | | craving to learn and develop the mind and |
| | | | body. Motivation here is the fundamental |
| Brief History: | | | | driving force. There is no external or |
| | | | worldly gain for the learner, and the only |
| The practice, philosophy, and concept of Kung | | | | reward is that of knowledge, skill, strength |
| Fu can be traced back to ancient Chinese | | | | and wisdom. |
| texts such as Zhuang Zi, Dao De Jing, and Sun | | | | |
| Zi Bing Fa (Art of War written by Sun Zi), | | | | In Kung Fu, discipline is complementary to |
| all written between 1111-255 BC. These texts | | | | motivation. Discipline puts motivation into |
| contain passages related to the practice, | | | | deed and action. A learner has to make an |
| propagation, and principles of Chinese | | | | effort into what he has been motivated for, |
| martial arts, or Kung Fu as it is known | | | | and self-discipline helps him get started and |
| today. | | | | guides him to achieve that goal. Therefore, |
| | | | without discipline, motivation is just a |
| One theory regarding the first written | | | | dormant state of mind. |
| history of Kung Fu suggests that the Yellow | | | | |
| Emperor, who reigned from 2698 BC, wrote the | | | | Time is the path to perfection in martial |
| first treatise on Chinese martial arts. | | | | arts. Once motivation and self-discipline |
| Others give credit to Taoist monks for | | | | have set in, a learner has to spend a |
| introducing an art form that resemble modern | | | | considerable amount of time putting mind and |
| Tai Chi around 500 BC. Then in 39-92 AD, Pan | | | | body into practice. A truly inspired learner |
| Ku included "Six Chapters of Hand Fighting" | | | | does not have the privilege to waste time, |
| in his discourse on the history of the Han | | | | stay idle or indulge in fruitless activities. |
| dynasty (Han Shu). As the popularity of | | | | Everything done by him/her should reflect |
| martial arts progressed, a physician named | | | | real motivation and self-discipline. |
| Hua T'uo also wrote his own treatise | | | | |
| entitled, "Five Animals Play" in 220 AD. | | | | Variants and Styles: |
| | | | |
| Kung Fu had become a common word in the West | | | | With the passage of time, numerous variants |
| beginning in the late 1960s, popularized by | | | | and styles have come up in martial arts, or |
| martial arts movies and TV series. The | | | | Kung Fu. Some of the more popular ones |
| Western world today has also seen an immense | | | | include Karate, Escrima, Wing Chun, Jujitsu, |
| upsurge in the creation and production of | | | | Judo, Tae Kwon Do, Shaolin, White Crane, T'ai |
| martial arts movies starring great actors | | | | Chi Ch'uan, and Bagua Zhang. |
| masters such as Jackie Chan and Jet Li. | | | | |