Since the 1970s, when the brilliant Chinese movie star Bruce Lee made five wonderful films, the Chinese style martial art films have broke into the worldwide market and some of them became very famous. Consequently, the foreign people who have never actually been to China might get the superhuman concept of Chinese people from the Chinese swordsmen films or from their misunderstandings of Chinese martial art, kungfu.
Kungfu is the traditional Chinese style martial art which has appeared over a thousand years. It requires long-term training follows some specific guidelines. Originally, kungfu is designed for practice and self-defense.
By the time of the period of disunion, China was divided and the living condition was terrible because of the frequent wars. Therefore, some monks who lived on a mountain to avoid wars had to learn kungfu to protect themselves. That is the origin of Shaolin monks and Shaolin temple.
In some people's opinion, kungfu are the fighting skills intend to defeat the antagonist, and there are no differences between individual kungfu styles. Actually, it is no true. Kungfu can be grouped to two major styles: external martial arts and internal martial arts.
External martial arts kungfu concentrates on the strength and power. Shaolin kungfu is their representative. Shaolin kungfu has seventy two kungfu forms, called seventy two Shaolin arts, which include special categories of bare-hand, with weapon, qinggong, and breathing skills. Therefore, the name of external martial arts may come from its purpose: to increase the human body's hardness. For the Shaolin monks, kungfu is not only a fighting technique but also a religious requirement, because they believe that better health can provides them better brain and purer soul for meditation.
Internal martial arts have three characteristics. First, they require in-depth understanding of the leverage in the human body. Differ with external martial arts; it doesn't hurt the antagonist with direct force. That is why internal martial arts are also called soft style arts. Second, they concentrate to the use and the process of qi, which means the specific breathing skills. I think this may be the reason why they are called internal martial art. Third, the way they represent the usage of daoyin and qigong.
From the above contents, we can tell that Chinese martial art is misunderstood in some level. First, kungfu's major purpose is not for fighting and it can benefit on emotional improvement. Second, no matter which style of kungfu, they both require long-term training. If you want to defeat an annoying guy immediately, please make a scary face.
Click to find more about Self Martial Arts Training.
Click to find more about Kung Fu Training Guide.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lee_Baby
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Martial Arts For Health
True natural martial arts movement may be different than most people think or even know about. For hundreds of years martial arts were used not only as a means of self-defense but also to rejuvenate the body with forms and movements.
Martial arts for health is about the various health benefits you may encounter from doing one of the many fighting arts or taking up activities normally associated with the arts. Training in the martial arts and fighting sports does give you potential benefits - physical as well as mental.
Some aspects of martial arts for health are easier to verify than others. Anything that happens on a physical level is easier to test and document. On the other hand, psychological and mental phenomenon is much harder to evaluate and back up with "hard science and facts".
Does this mean that we should say it isn't "real" or "true" simply because we cannot test and document the mental and psychological benefits of the fighting arts like we can with physiology and anatomy, blood-levels, heart-rate, lung capacity, mobility, strength and so on. I for one think we should be aware that these "non-physical" benefits are real for those who experience them! But at the same time, let us not forget that they also are more subjective by nature.
Practicing martial arts will do you good. Martial arts for health are about the whole person, not "just" the physical body! You can have a try and you will see the good result after a period of practice.
Click to find more about Mixed Martial Arts Training Guide
Click to find more about Self Martial Arts Training
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lee_Baby
Martial arts for health is about the various health benefits you may encounter from doing one of the many fighting arts or taking up activities normally associated with the arts. Training in the martial arts and fighting sports does give you potential benefits - physical as well as mental.
Some aspects of martial arts for health are easier to verify than others. Anything that happens on a physical level is easier to test and document. On the other hand, psychological and mental phenomenon is much harder to evaluate and back up with "hard science and facts".
Does this mean that we should say it isn't "real" or "true" simply because we cannot test and document the mental and psychological benefits of the fighting arts like we can with physiology and anatomy, blood-levels, heart-rate, lung capacity, mobility, strength and so on. I for one think we should be aware that these "non-physical" benefits are real for those who experience them! But at the same time, let us not forget that they also are more subjective by nature.
Practicing martial arts will do you good. Martial arts for health are about the whole person, not "just" the physical body! You can have a try and you will see the good result after a period of practice.
Click to find more about Mixed Martial Arts Training Guide
Click to find more about Self Martial Arts Training
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lee_Baby
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