10/21/10
Kung Fu goes
You wouldn't typically expect me to be writing about Kung Fu, right? A colleague has been practicing with a teacher five years and asked me to join him for a class today. So I did. There were a lot of kicks and jumps initially during the warm up. Then there were twists and turns, more jumps and more kicks. Since this is related to what they teach the monks at Shaolin Temple in northern China, it's probably cool to learn. Not that I need a new physical activity. We'll see how I feel tomorrow and how my yoga goes. One interesting thing of the class was that all the students but one are from Latin America, so they all speak Spanish. The other student is French.
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4 comments:
Very interesting, Arturo. I don't think you know this, but I happen to be Chinese, and have always been interested in the relationship between kungfu and yoga. Not to bore you with this, but legend has it that Shaolin kungfu started when an Indian monk called Bodhidharma came to the Shaolin temple and taught the monks there a set of yoga exercises. Over the centuries, the monks then modified these exercises and truned them into what we know today as Shaolin kungfu. Of course, it's just a legend, but if it is true, then kungfu effectively originated from yoga! How cool is that :-)
On a lighter note, I wonder if you have ever seen this movie titled Kungfu vs. Yoga? It's really fun. Here's a clip from the movie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TThT0etHTIw
Enjoy!
Best,
Nobel
Cool! I've been eyeing a Taiji class here and was gonna go last night, but ended up working late. From what I've read up on it - Taiji's the martial art form of Qigong. I'm not sure how it's related to Kungfu though... Or where they all trace their lineage back to? :)
Simply put, kungfu is primarily Buddhist in origin, while qigong and taiji are Taoist in origin. So they basically have different lineages.
This is admittedly a bit of an oversimplification, since there are a few kungfu styles that have Taoist origins. But the majority of kungfu styles that are practiced today either can trace their lineage back to Shaolin kungfu (which is Buddhist) or are heavily influenced by Shaolin kungfu. There is even this popular Chinese saying, "All martial arts under heaven originate from Shaolin."
Best,
Nobel
Dear Nobel
I didn't know you were Chinese. I know that Bodhidharma brought Buddhism to China. One of the chapters of the book, Zen Baggage, which traces the origins of Zen in China, talks about Shaolin. Some of us like to think of Shakyamuni as a favorite yogi.
Thanks for explaning the origins of Taichi vs Kung Fu. You should write a blog, Nobel.
Dear Jaime
My perception, perhaps somewhat limited, is that Taichi is more gentle than Kung Fu. Judging by what I was learning yesterday that would be the case. I think that learning Taichi would be very advantageous, particularly as we age. Practicing it would be akin to doing yin yoga, in my opinion.
hugs
Arturo
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