Wu-shu w/ the wu-shu master

Who doesn’t want to be a kung fu fighter? I know I did, and still do.  So in the last couple of months I’ve been training with Bryant Fong a Wushu Shi Fu.  Shi Fu Fong has been practicing and teaching Wushu for the Majority of his life.  I originally was opposed to doing Wushu because it seemed like the current trend.  Also, if I learned a martial arts, I wanted to learn something that I could use in a real life basis.  However, since I decided to pick up acting on the side, I would need a talent that could use on screen if I ever got it.

The dictionary and direct translation of Wushu to English means, “Martial Arts.”  Today, we know Wushu in the term of contemporary or modern Wushu, a fighting style.  Jet Li can be blamed for Wushu’s current popularity, particularly in the Chinese community.  When visiting Hong Kong I often see people practice this style of martial arts in the park.  What makes Wushu so beautiful, and a popular sport/performance art for film is because all movements are exaggerated.  This allows the sport to be more beautiful and less violent.  Lets face it, in a real fight if you exaggerate the movement you are not going to win.  That is something they teach you when you are fighting for combat.

In the past I’ve taken classes in Kung fu, Thai Kick boxing, Qi Gong, Tai Chi, and of course basic self-defense.  Learning Wushu was very different in style and form, however, one thing remained the same; the beginning is always boring.  One must always work on form, this is what Kung Fu, and Wushu’s basics were all about.  Bad form can lead to injury, or in the case of Wushu, a bad look.  I highly recommend everyone get a professional to watch proper form in whatever sport he or she does.  Really I can see 80% of injuries prevented, just by finding an expert in form.

After mastering the form, I was ready to jump into the juicy stuff.  Unlike traditional Kung Fu, movies I did not have to stand in Horse Stance for a month before I got to move.  Each class seemed to advance me to a different level.  I was sure to do my homework. Within the first couple of weeks I had to breeze through the fundamentals.  Soon after I started to do sidekicks, and punching combos, which made the class very interesting.  I felt as if I was doing Tai Chi in the park, except in fast forward.  When practicing I was able to put together some great combinations so that I could practice everything that I have practiced.  But, again as I said before, form is always important, which is why Shi Fu Fong has me perform in front of a mirror.

For anyone out there that is looking to do something a bit more active in life, I recommend doing Wushu, or adding it to your normal routine.  Shi Fu Fung, has a class that he teaches out of Berkeley and he teaches out of the YMCA in SF, feel free to contact him through his website on the bottom.

For more on Bryant Fong visit: http://www.alivenotdead.com/baguabf  or www.sfwushu.net