Just Wondering Why people feel kung fu doesn't work

[Drunken Master]

(I am sorry if its wrong place to put this thread, i weren't sure)

I know alot of people value kung fu but i have had too many people say it doesn't work in the street and its useless. I wanted to know why you people say this?

I am a kung fu practitioner, i have got into a few fights (challenges, i won't fight someone unwilling to fight) and believe it or not i have won, I've made it clear you can do BJJ, muay thai or MMA and i will still take you on. (I'm 17 and the people i have fought have been under 20).

I do apologize if it sounds like im bragging but the thing is my kung fu has worked, i know i can fight yet people are like its useless so i was unsure whether people think kung fu itself as an art is useless or just the people who practice traditional only stuff. I value the traditional stuff and use what works, also i do pad work, use the punch bag and incorporate techniques from other arts..but i still practice and am a kung fu practitioner. So again do people feel kung fu is useless?? or ONLY those practitioners that practice forms and think they can fight?? ( i do value forms for what they are..a useful training tool, nothing more. Sparring has no substitute).

Please take this thread seriously because i am confused as to why people feel Kung Fu is not an effective fighting art when i have found it is. Also i again apologize as it might sound as though im bragging (about winning fights) i don't mean it to come across that way.

[hEmPY]

what kung fu you know

[DickHardman]

if it has worked for you and you enjoy it then what is there to prove? no matter what style you do, or what you are into, there will always be someone telling you it sucks etc.....if you enjoy it and feel its worth your time money and effort then thats all that matters.

as for why people say this, the answer is obvious. mma is whats currently hot right now, its all you see on TV, not kung fu. people like what they see on tv. plain and simple.

[darrianation]

I think it comes down to relevance. Is it relevant to me, my situation, and to the threats I may likely face?

I think many folks wrongly dismiss kung fu on the basis it is complicated and contains large numbers of intricate patterns or techniques, and takes to long to learn. I say they “wrongly dismiss” it because kung fu is a canopy of many systems that range from intricate to very simple.

For me personally (and I am not just pointing the finger at kung fu) any self-defense program needs to account for all the variables in play, robustly and efficiently.

To me training in long swords, spears or just in unarmed combat alone is inefficient when you consider the likely threats I may face such as a Glock wielding thug who is trying to shoot me for the five bucks I have in my wallet so he can score another hit of crack or the three experienced ambushers who just escaped from the State Penitentiary closing fast with knives and baseball bats, or the terrorists taking hostages in the office building where I work.

I need something that will help manage today’s thug, his mindset and the weapons/ tools and tactics he employs. Sure the broad sword maybe great fun and may lend itself to other improvised weaponry but why go about things in a round about way when there is a more direct way of getting there?

When I use this as the litmus test i.e. “Is it relevant to threats I may face?” Many systems fail the test not just kung fu.

And please don't confuse fighting with self-defense.

[jubaji]

the thing is my kung fu has worked

No it hasn't. You have beaten other people, your 'kung fu' hasn't done anything unless KUNGFU is the name of the killer robot you keep with you at all times to beat the hell out of people who annoy you.

[darrianation]

I know this is slightly off topic but the problem as I see it (and alluded to earlier) is that many systems simply do not have the full package.

A good street system will meet the needs of today’s potential threats and can account for a wide set of parameters, from developing awareness to stress inoculation, from default states to emotional states management, from tactical decision making to efficient threat management against both armed and unarmed threats, single and multiple threats, and from the bad breath range to stand off distance.

Why people pick on kung fu so much is likely do to boastful claims made by many of its practitioners that simply cannot be backed up (common in any martial art really), its flowery movements, and people like sherwinc.

I am harping on these "other" aspects becuase this question is in the combatives section so I am not making the standard comparisons between KF and BJJ, MT, or MMA, etc.

[dogzilla]

lol jubaji



drunken master, maybe you just gaved your self to the art and you are efficent and thats it, every art needs dedication, maybe you gaved it alot and thats why it has worked for you,..

well cya