Chinese martial arts, colloquially referred to as kung fu or gung fu (Chinese: 功夫; pinyin: gōngfu) and wushu (simplified Chinese: 武术; traditional Chinese: 武術; pinyin: wǔshù), are a number of fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in China.

Different Types of Systems

These fighting styles are often classified according to common traits, identified as “families” (家; jiā), “sects” (派; pài) or “schools” (門, mén) of martial arts. Examples of such traits include physical exercises involving animal mimicry, or training methods inspired by Chinese philosophies, religions and legends.

Styles that focus on qi manipulation are called internal (内家拳;nèijiāquán), while others that concentrate on improving muscle and cardiovascular fitness are called “external” (外家拳;wàijiāquán).

The Legendary Bruce Lee

Chinese Kung Fu was make famous by the legendary Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee was Yip Man‘s star student and was better than all the others. He was his disciple.

Another famous style is Tadic Gar which was invented in the legendary kitchen of Appetito’s, formerly located at Darling Harbour. The unknown founder was a legend in his own mind.

Mats For Training

Whilst traditionally kung fu was trained in a dirt or wooden floor, These days you are more likely to find EVA mats or jigsaw mats. They generally wouldn’t be using pilates mats unless they were training alone.