Is Kung Fu very good for self defense?

Question

Who does practise Kung Fu here?

Some say Kung Fu techniques are kind of fantasy(unrealistic).

Answer 1

It depends more on your skill than style.  But I think Kung Fu is primarily offense.

Answer 2

It all depends on the time you put in to it. Studying martial arts will improve your reaction time, give you more confidence, and increase your strength. The only thing is you have to practice every day and throughout the day to get to be good enough.

Answer 3

<begin rant>Ok, it seems that many people that do not know Kung Fu can tell you all about it.  Most people's view of Kung Fu is one of third hand over-repeated junk. <end rant>

I practice Seven Star Preying Mantis Kung Fu, and have used it in real world self defense situation.  I have also put my Kung Fu against other MA's and prevailed.

Kung Fu, just like every other Martial Arts (if taught by a qualified instructor), can be used for self defense.  Also, just like all the others, there is quite a few bad Kung Fu schools, teaching flash and dance rather than real Kung Fu.  

Kung Fu has been around for longer than most other MA's.  This usually means that it has evolved more than the others.  Also, the famous Okinawan Karate(s) started out as Kung Fu.

So to answer your question, Yes, Kung Fu is very good for self defense, provided you find a quality instructor.  Yes, some KF techniques are outdated and unrealistic, but there are not many.  Especially when there are literally thousands that are still very viable.

Answer 4

Kung Fu has come to mean Chinese martial arts for the most part, and there are hundreds of styles of Chinese martial arts (also known as wushu).  In all these styles there are numerous adept masters who can show you how their art is a viable form of combat.  However there are even more practitioners who don't know how to effectively make use of their art.  Does this mean that Kung Fu is ineffective?  NO, NOT AT ALL.

It just means that (as has been said on this forum for thousands of times) the martial art does not make the fighter, the fighter makes the martial art.  Kung fu has received such a bad rap because of over commercialization and instructors who are inadequately trained (or not at all).  Find yourself a competent instructor with a verifiable lineage and you may be surprised as to how good kung fu can be for combat.

Answer 5

I've trained in various styles of Kung Fu (aka Wushu) since age 5, primarily the Southern Shaolin forms.  The movies cram in the most fantastic strikes, but in reality, you use those types of strikes sparingly and only at the appropriate moments.  Kung Fu is a good defense, it instructs on attacks, defense, counter-attacks, awareness and an attitude.  But like any martial art techniques, your ability will depend on your instructor and your dedication to the art. Tai Chi is one style of Kung Fu that was developed solely for self-defense, consisting only of defense and counter-moves.  It is said that if you master the techniques of Tai Chi, you will never lose a fight, although, you will never win one either.  But Tai Chi is more popular these days as an exercise, and rarely will you find an instructor who teaches the fighting aspects of it.  

So learn, practice, and spar.  Sparring practice is very important in Kung Fu, even more so that other martial arts.   Because Kung Fu techniques are complicated, sparring is the only way to learn the timing and reaction, so that it becomes essentially a reflex.  Some people learn the forms without too much sparring practice and think they are Kung Fu experts, that is a big mistake.  I saw a so-called "expert" start a fight with a fantastic flying spin kick.  Looked great, but he didn't defend and left himself exposed for a counter-attack.  Ouch.

Kung Fu isn't for everyone, you need time and dedication.  If you want to quickly learn how to defend yourself, I would recommend another fighting technique, and then come back to Kung Fu when you have more time.  It really is a lost art form.  Only a few instructors still incorporate meditation into its practice.

Answer 6

To be good at defending yourself, you need two things:

1. A great master/sifu who is a great fighter/trainer.

2. You. Ability to consistently put in the hard work.  2- 4 hours per day.

A great master is hard to find these days. Every master say he is good, but unless he has been put to the test, talk is cheap. Also, lots of the martial art moves looks good, but ineffective.

But if you found a great kung fu master, my god, they are so dangerous, their skill level would be incredible. Iron shirt, Iron claws, iron head and body, plus internal chi, one inch explosive power, pressure points, stick hands, circular defends, hard and soft.

Discipline yourself is not easy. You have to love martial arts and love fighting in order to endure the hard work of training.

good luck.

Answer 7

Mr Big is actually correct. Kung Fu moves are more offensive than defensive. It's defense is basically overwhelming opponent with offense so they can't fight back. Ironic thing is, the concept of Kung Fu is for training and healthy exercising rather than for fighting.

Answer 8

Kung Fu is fantasy, whatever small good it ever did has been long erased over years of exploitation.

For purely self-defence try TaiKwanDo, Boxing or Judo. Although Judo isn't very good if you think wrestling someone with a knife isn't very smart.

Self defence courses that have elements of all three can be good but there are a lot of fakes.

Best bet is either a qualified TaiKwanDo teacher, or qualified Boxing coach.

Answer 9

HELLO

I AM A HEAVY WEIGHT SO KUNG FU WAS UNSUITABLE  FOR ME AS THEY JUMP AND LEAP AROUND ALOT SO I DID SHOTOKAN WHERE THEY KEEP ONE FOOT ON THE GROUND

IF YOU GO TO OPEN COMPETITIONS YOU MAY SEE THE DIFFERENT STYLES, ESPECIALLY THE KATA OR SET MOVES WHICH ARE DONE BY ONES ELF AT ALL LEVELS TO COMPETITION LEVEL.  IF YOU GET GOOD ENOUGH TO FIGHT IN OPEN COMPETITION YOU MAY END ANY STYLE THERE

Answer 10

Hi Yoly,

I apologize, as I know very little about kung fu.  What I do know about is using self defense items to protect myself.  http://www.protectusfromevil.com  I did not have the time to learn a martial art as I needed protection quickly in my situation.

Answer 11

i would only train in kung fu if i could go to a shoalin temple. however the most realistic and effective martail art is Brazilian Jiu Jiutsu

Answer 12

I feel like all the people who answer, then talk about how they've instructed for 20 years aren't being completely honest.  One who is skilled allows his or her ideas to show that he or she is knowledgeable.

Kung Fu, like all martial arts, if practiced often, is good to survive an attack.  It is generally an offensive martial art and teaches aggression and attacking.

In self-defense, you never want to go on the initiative and attack someone else, you want to merely survive the encounter.  The best 'martial art' would be anything that you can use to create space and avoid/evade conflict.  A good pair of shoes is a good tool.

The BEST thing to do is simply be aware of what's happening around you.  Stay away from potentially dangerous situations and try to diffuse any violent confrontation.  If all of that doesn't work, kung fu is a good way to resolve the problem, but it takes years of practice and training and dedication to become proficient.

Answer 13

wushu the modern style of kung fu/ stuff u see in films is a bit unrealistic, like butterfly kick, if you actually hit anyone with that you will do a face plant.

shaolin kung fu was created by monks for self defence.

I have had  to us kung fu a few times for self defence and it has never let me down, it is also good for offence as well as when i have had a few people attacking me at once i defended and then went on the offence and it works there to

someone put that being a heavy weight means you cant do kung fu, thats c**p, im a big guy height and weight, and i have just pass the exam to become a sifu, if you train hard and you are committed to something you will be able to do it.

Answer 14

Kung Fu is quite wonderful thing for defense when something is happen with u in aleart time. Anyway, it doesn't mean it gonna help u solve the problem all the time cause the limit of amount of the enemy.

In my opinion I think if u really wanna practise Kung Fu. go fo it for exercise is better than for hit someone.

Answer 15

wing chun kung fu is excellent for street level self defence, some others are more suited for competition or body health and flexibilty such as the shaolin styles...bruce lee only did 5 years of wing chun and hardly covered anything in the syllabus and look where he got!!! but was also an incredibley devoted athlete too...which is not needed for wing chun generally