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What do
we teach?
•
Tai chi chuan (dynamic balancing boxing)
•
Chin na (seizing)
•
Shuai jiao (take downs)
•
Self defence
•
Weapons
•
Neigong
(whole-body strength)
•
Jing (whole-body power)
Students learn how to strike using various parts of the body, misplace bones,
seize muscles, target vulnerable areas and take their opponents to the ground.
It’s certainly sobering when
after all those years of training, facing Sifu Waller I feel about as
effective as an old lady throwing marshmallows.
I feel very grateful to Sifu Waller for an introduction to a form of martial
arts that as I understand it is not that widely available to western
students in its authentic form. I feel he has generously presented us with a
wonderful opportunity.
For those of us who’ve been involved in martial arts for some time, and have
some experience of Chinese arts and teachers, I feel we can be confident
that with Sifu Waller we have stumbled upon a treasure trove of authentic
Chinese martial arts. It’s tremendously exciting as the lineage and history
is abundantly clear in his approach. It struck me, the first time I saw Sifu
Waller demonstrate it, that 5000 years of Chinese culture and history is
somehow woven into the lethal beauty of his art.
(Graham)
What does kung fu mean?
Kung
fu literally means 'hard work'.
History
Practiced since the dawn of human civilisation,
kung fu has
influenced martial arts development throughout the whole of Asia.
The
fighting skills
have been developed and refined with each generation.
The
Chinese have used martial arts for the last
4500 years.
Their skills have remained relevant and functional throughout the ages.
The
speed and
versatility of the different kung fu approaches make them ideal for armed combat and
self defence.
Martial skill
Kung fu is the martial expression of your skill. A person may study for
decades, but if they cannot fight or defend themselves competently, they have
no kung fu.
Chinese boxing
Although most people think of Chinese martial or fighting arts as being
'kung fu', the actual term kung fu is fairly recent and only came into more
common use in the 1960's.
Before then, Westerner's referred to Chinese martial arts as being 'Chinese
boxing', as in the Boxer Rebellion (1899).
The popular book Chinese Boxing by Robert Smith refers to kung fu as
being 'Chinese boxing'.
The word 'boxing' summons images of fists and punching.
Kung fu is thousands of
years old and is a highly developed system of martial art. The student who
locates a good kung fu school will find the training thorough and
challenging. Kung fu skills, which have been refined over centuries, are not
learned easily or quickly. The sincere student, however, through hard work
and dedication, will not be disappointed with the results.
(Adam Hsu)
If you’re looking for
something easy, then kung fu is probably not for you.
(Anna Spysz)
Internal or external?
This is a tricky one. Many kung fu methods claim to be 'internal' but how
they use their art is decidedly 'external'. In order to fully understand the
question, it is important to research the matter further:
•
Neijiquan (internal
martial arts)
•
The Tai Chi Classics
•
The essence
of the art
•
Tai chi principles
•
The Sword Polisher's Record: Way of Kung Fu
chin na jing neigong neijiaquan self defence shuai jiao syllabus tai chi weapons
Page created
21 May 2003
Last updated
23 October 2023