Kung Fu for life

[Joseph Bronson]

Kung Fu is a philosophy, not a martial art like so many people believe. If a student of mine tells someone that they do Kung Fu. The question is often asked "what style?" This question shows that the person asking actually does not know what "Kung Fu" means.

When we think of the term "Kung Fu" we often think of iconic figures like Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan or Jet Li. That is because popular culture has put that in front of our eyes to demean Kung Fu and put it in the category of being nothing but a powerful show of brute force. Kung Fu is so much more. The philosophy of Kung Fu says that we should be humble, kind and strong. Kung Fu literally translated means "Working hard towards great accomplishment" or "Working to become a skilled artisan". The ideal is to put your shoulder to the task at hand and never give up until you have reached your objective. When one reaches their goal then a true practitioner would immediately set a new goal.

To take on the mantle of "Kung Fu" means to better ones life in every possible way until the day we leave this planet.    

[Rachel Hayward]

I now have a few of these wisdoms hanging up above our lists of forms and belt skills. It's a wonderful reminder.