We often think of “tradition” as something that never changes. When we say we practice “traditional Kung Fu” does it call to mind martial arts systems that have remained unchanged for generations? I think so. But what if the idea of tradition is that things should be ever-evolving, ever-changing? The #1 guy to challenge the idea of tradition in the Chinese martial arts in my lifetime has been none other than the great Bruce Lee. He once wrote a very provocative article entitled “Liberate Yourself From Classical Karate”, which won him just as many detractors as fans. That article, however, and the martial philosophy that followed seemed to change all martial arts, all over the world. People have credited him with such ideas as cross training and simplicity, even the idea of MMA had supposedly started with Bruce Lee. I know I could be committing Kung Fu blasphemy by saying this, but I can confidently assure you that Bruce Lee was not the first to propose the “Forms don’t hit back” philosophy that he is so credited with promoting. And yes, I know I screwed that up. LOL
Before Bruce Lee entered the scene–many years before Bruce Lee was a twinkle in his Daddy’s eye–the founder of my style, Jow Ga, and the founder of yours looked at the traditional Kung Fu he or she was learning and thought to himself, “I think I can find a better way…” So he took some of this, some of that, tested it on multiple opponents, trained it, then tested it again, and then one day canonized all that hard work and research, and (get ready) BROKE FROM TRADITION and created a new style.
Am I right? Is that how your system came to be? The founder learned a traditional style, then learned another one, then decided to blend ideas together, created new ideas, and then slapped a new name on what he created after proving over and over that this new creation was superior. I know I’m right because if I’m not, we would still be doing the arts our founders learned in their entirety. What caused the classical mess that Bruce Lee was talking about are guys like you and me, who learned these new arts then decided that the evolution would end with us. We are going to teach this art exactly as we learned it–never mind that perhaps your Sifu didn’t even teach you the exact art that he learned. In other words, most of us are wrong. Traditional Kung Fu is a living, breathing, ever-evolving, ever-changing thing. And the fools are those who are so attached to nostalgia we think going back in time will improve what we do because all these guys keeping up with the times got it wrong.
In a previous article I mentioned how many people get promoted to the expert or Black Sash level and immediately start teaching. This is valid, as many of our teachers did the same. I would recommend, however, a major review of everything you learned in the art while comparing or testing what you know against others. It can be adversarial, like a tournament or fighting career, but it can also be educational, where you train regularly with other practitioners be it from your own style or systems unlike yours. This will give you more time to work with your knowledge and forge your skills in the fire of experience–then go and teach. This can be done under the guidance of a mentor or just in a circle of peers with whom you can discuss, debate, and compare ideas. This is very similar to a newly licensed craftsman who works under a master craftsman learning the hidden knowledge, not covered in shop class, who is getting these lessons OJT. The result of this stage of your development is a more seasoned veteran who has a little experience under his or her belt–who then decides to teach and take on pupils of his or her own.
Along the way, you might come up with some very non-Traditional Kung Fu ideas. Perhaps, consider the following:
- Taking Kung Fu weapons and engaging in mock battles with HEMA fighters. In case you are unfamiliar with HEMA, that is a community of Historical European Martial Arts practitioners. Hint: They don’t do forms at their events. You’ll need a suit of armor!
- Learning to box, then applying those skills and experiences to Kung Fu hand techniques
- Use your system’s hand techniques, and use them in the Chi Sao competition against Wing Chun and Praying Mantis fighters–or go into Tai Chi competition and try it with Push Hands. It’s much harder than it sounds!
- Use your Kung Fu to heal physical ailments that you’d normally see a doctor for. Be very careful with this one, however. You don’t want to risk permanently injuring or worsening your existing condition.
- Combining Kung Fu philosophy with non-martial arts related philosophies, like Stoicism or even your religion’s views on warfare and combat
- Looking at the needs of the modern self-defense student–anti-mugging, home invasions, car jackings, sexual assault, even defense against dog attacks–and then solving those situations using techniques from your Kung Fu forms
- If you aren’t Chinese, how about applying lessons and practices from Kung Fu and blending them with your own culture? Here in my country, Kung Fu is not taught with Cantonese terms in many schools, only forms have Chinese names, everything else is done in Tagalog. We even use traditional Filipino music when performing Lion Dance.
The list goes on. Being a practitioner of the Chinese martial arts is something we all can be proud of. There are so many valuable lessons to learn, and so many ways to benefit from the culture and traditions that surround it. We must also acknowledge that the martial arts is still a part of the human existence, and one thing human beings will always do is evolve, change, and look for ways to improve. If Kung Fu aims to improve our way of life, it only makes sense, that we who do Kung Fu must give back by looking for ways to improve the Kung Fu that we were entrusted to pass on to the next generation. We should never forget the history, but we should also never forget to make history as well.
Thank you for visiting the Dean Chin Jow Ga Federation.
