The Term: Historically, the term “Kung Fu” is not really featured in any ancient texts. It was coined by a French by the name Jean Joseph Marie Amiot, a missionary who lived in the 18th Century, referring to Chinese martial arts. Kung Fu is also called Gongfu, Wushu, or Kuoshu, and originally denotes expertise in any skill, and not solely to martial arts.
Short History: The concept, practice, and philosophy of Kung Fu can be drawn back to early Chinese writings such as Zhuang Zi, Dao De Jing, and Sun Zi Bing Fa (Art of War authored by Sun Zi), all written between 1111-255 BC. These texts carry passages related to the practice, propagation, and principles of Kung-Fu. One theory on the early history of Kung Fu says that the Yellow Emperor, who reigned from 2698 BC, wrote the first documents on Chinese martial arts. Others give credit to Taoist monks for introducing an art form that resemble modern Tai Chi around 500 BC. Then in 39-92 AD, Pan Ku included “Six Chapters of Hand Fighting” in his discussion on the history of the Han dynasty (Han Shu). As its popularity progressed, a physician named Hua T’uo also wrote his own discussion entitled, “Five Animals Play” in 220 AD. Kung Fu had become a common word in the West beginning in the late 1960s, made popular by TV and movies depicting martial arts. Even in the Western World, there is an immense upsurge in the filming of Kung Fu movies starring great actors/masters such as Jackie Chan and Jet Li.
Fundamental Principles: The concept of Kung Fu revolves around three fundamental principles – Motivation, Self-discipline and Time. As most experts says, the real motivation behind learning Kung Fu is inspiration and not force, which should come from an inner craving to learn and develop the mind and body. Motivation is the key. There is no external or worldly benefits for the learner, and the only reward is that of knowledge, skill, strength and wisdom. In Kung Fu, discipline is complemental to motivation. Discipline puts motivation into deed and action. A learner has to make an effort into what he has been motivated for, and self-discipline assists him get started and guides him to achieve that goal. So, motivation is just a state of mind when there is no discipline. Time is the path to perfection in martial arts. Once motivation and self-discipline have set in, a learner has to spend a considerable amount of time putting mind and body into practice. A truly inspired learner does not waste time in useless activities. Everything done by him/her should reflect true self-discipline and motivation.
Variants and Styles: As time passes by, many variants and styles have come up in Kung Fu Some of the more popular types include White Crane, T’ai Chi Ch’uan, Bagua Zhang, Karate, Escrima, Wing Chun, Jujitsu, Judo, Tae Kwon Do, and Shaolin.
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