The transcript below is from the video “Don’t Mess With Kung Fu Masters” by Brutal TV.

Brutal TV:

Is Kung Fu a good fighting style? We think it is pretty safe to assume everyone has heard about Kung Fu before. But do you know how many branches of Kung Fu there are? Do you know which styles emphasize hand work, animal forms, or sport fighting? If you practice Kung Fu and you are familiar with its history, you might be able to answer questions like that. If you can’t, you are not alone. In all honesty, the history of a fighting style and philosophy as ancient as Kung Fu is too much for any person to know. But in this video, we are going to take a closer look at Kung Fu and see if it is any good as a fighting style.

Brutal TV:

But before we do this, remember to give us a thumbs up and a quick click on our subscribe button to get more videos like this one and support Brutal TV. Thanks. But for now let’s get back to Kung Fu. Kung Fu is a word in Chinese that roughly translates into “skills achieved with time and effort”. Thus, the word in Chinese society could be used for not just a martial art exponent but also exponents of different skills such as a carpenter, tailor, electrician, or a Karate expert.

It was in the 60s that Bruce Lee popularized the phrase in the West and people accepted it as a fighting style. He was the king of Kung Fu as far as Hollywood was concerned. There are many forms of Kung Fu namely Shaolin Kung Fu, Wing Chun, Tai Chi, etc and are practiced all over the world. Each form of Kung Fu has its own principles and technique. But it’s best known for its trickery and quickness, which is where the word Kung Fu derived. So let’s take a look at some of the more popular styles of Kung Fu, starting with Wing Chun.

Brutal TV:

According to legend, Wing Chun was created by the Buddhist Ng Mui who was a master of Shaolin Kung Fu. Using her martial art training and personal experience, she synthesized a compact form of Kung Fu to exploit weaknesses inherent in the other combat styles of her time and give an advantage to smaller fighters like herself. Her style was named after her first student named Yim Wing Chun.

The main reason that Wing Chun has grown in popularity is that it is very practical in the modern world. It can be learned in a relatively short period of time and it can be practiced by people of all sizes, shapes, and degrees of athletic ability. It is primarily an empty hand system allowing someone to defend themselves even when unarmed. It is based on reflexive movements, training you to respond instantly and instinctually to a surprise attack as opposed to a consensual fight or sport combat match.

Brutal TV:

Wing Chun is effective in a real fight since it is a unique martial art designed to provide self-defense using both offensive and defensive techniques simultaneously. Practitioners are taught to use quick punches, fast kicks and a powerFul defense, along with coordinated agile stances and footwork.

In order for wing chun to be effective in a real fight, the practitioner must have an understanding of range and know how to have guard that’s not particularly obvious. Fighters must be able to take hits without falling into flight mode or freezing in fear. If applied properly, this makes Wing Chun highly effective.

We’re almost at the halfway mark now, so just a reminder to like this video and subscribe to Brutal TV for more top quality fighting videos. Now back to Kung Fu.

Brutal TV:

Shaolin Temple style Kung Fu originated around 1500 years ago. The style was created because monks in China’s ancient monasteries needed a way to defend themselves from bandits and robbers. This need for defense led to one of the most deadly styles of martial arts. Shaolin Temple teaches about a dozen or so different varieties of Kung Fu related Wushu. Among them a discipline that is akin to what is called Kickboxing today. However Sanshou or Sanda, as the discipline is called in China today, can best be described as free fighting, which although it may seem to imply anything goes, has a number of restrictions as well as being composed of a number of fixed elements.

In fact, Sanda is taught together with Taolu. The latter of which refers to a series of specific movements, depending on the attacker’s approach, designed to repulse the attack and then to overpower the attacker. It combines full contact Kickboxing which includes close range and rapid successive punches and kicks with wrestling, takedowns, throws, sweeps, kick catches and elbows and knee strikes.

Brutal TV:

The essence of Taolu is to study and practice a series of specific movements based on the actions of the opponent, beginning first with the response to the opponent’s initial approach. After this, any number of sequences might follow and the Sanda/Taolu fighter must adapt to these. This therefore requires careFul study of the various possible moves of the opponent so that the practitioner can be prepared for the appropriate response to any eventuality. This however, is the easy part. For all these responses, defensive as well as offensive moves must be coordinated so as to flow together in a single fluid movement. This means that the Sanda/Taolu fighter must constantly be aware of precisely where in this duel he finds himself and instantaneously and fluidly execute the appropriate next move, be it a locking movement, a throw, a kick or a punch.

Choy Li Fut is a form of Kung Fu that even martial arts hero Bruce Lee enjoyed. Lee gave Choy Li Fut high praise, describing it in the book between Wing Chun and Jeet Kune Do as “the most effective system that I’ve seen for fighting more than one person. It is one of the most difficult styles to attack and defend against”, he said.

Brutal TV:

Choy Li Fut is the only style of Kung Fu that traveled to Thailand to fight the Thai boxers and hadn’t lost. Choy Li Fut is generally a striking style with a variety of stances. In general, they tend to be of the lower variety designed for movement. Fighting stances require practitioners to hold their torso at an angle, giving an opponent more of a shoulder than a chest in order to lessen the amount of their body that can be struck. This differs starkly from the straight on fighting stance of Wing Chun, for example. There are several types of hand strikes within the art, including those that connect from the fist, open hand, claw hand, and more.

Kicks are also used in Choy Li Fut. The long fist and Buddhist palm Boxing styles are taught as part of this style as well. The Choy Li Fut system has over 150 various single person, multiple-person, weapon and training apparatus forms. For example, the Ching Jong, the Sui Sau Jong and the Mahjong.

Brutal TV:

Taking into account just some of the fighting styles of Kung Fu, we think it’s pretty safe to say that it is a good fighting style. But of course, it really does depend on which one you choose. In short, Kung Fu can be highly effective in self-defense and real fighting, if you learn to use it under these two reasons. It is good for self-defense because there are no rules in Kung-Fu and the art is primarily focused on striking designed to incapacitate an opponent.

What do you think of Kung Fu? Tell us about it in the comments below. Don’t forget to like and subscribe to Brutal TV for more top fighting videos just like this one. Thanks for watching. We’ll see you next time.