What is Kung Fu?

Kung Fu literally means energy (Kung) and time (Fu).

In China, the word Kung Fu came to be identified with the martial arts because according to Chinese tradition, proficiency in a martial system required at least ten years of devoted practice.

Kung Fu is a distinctive outgrowth of the Chinese culture. No other society of people has supported and endorsed a system of martial arts as have the Chinese. Historically, Kung Fu in China was an integral part in the education of scholars and the leaders of government. The Chinese people placed great value on the practice of Kung Fu because they felt it to be a great teacher of respect, patience, humility, and morals as a whole: all those qualities which a scholar and leader must live by. Kung Fu was cultivated in the highest circles of scholarship and government.

With the intimate involvement of Kung Fu in Chinese culture, one fact becomes extremely important. Kung Fu, like Chinese culture, is over three thousand years old. During those three thousand years every possible aspect of martial theory and technique has been exposed, developed, and practiced. This long history of practical development has made Kung Fu one of the most complete systems of martial arts in existence. To reject three thousand years of experience is to reject everything of proven value.