| It's odd that we would think in terms of | | | | resurgence of old, hard style kung fu. You will |
| differences when it comes to Kung Fu and | | | | have Chinese boxers, full of vim and vigor, |
| Karate, for there are more similarities than one | | | | wanting to return to the good, old punch in the |
| would suspect. They are both combative arts, | | | | face philosophy. For the most part, however, the |
| after all, and karate is actually descended from | | | | people who espouse such a return are young and |
| kung fu. To really understand the differences one | | | | don't know better, are half trained and |
| needs to consider the arts as a whole, and how | | | | overwhelmed by data from other systems, or |
| they evolve. | | | | otherwise guilty of youthful exuberance. |
| In the beginning, those beautiful, refined kung fu | | | | On the whole, however, you will see techniques |
| forms were most likely designed by peasant | | | | become more polished and, eventually, making a |
| conscripts who were given swords and | | | | translation to a softer, easier to work method. |
| commanded to fight or die. Training methods | | | | Thus, hard style karate, even such bulls as |
| came about, and eventually workable routines | | | | shotokan or kyokushinkai, will become smoother, |
| were taught. Is it too much to imagine that | | | | require less effort and require more intelligence. It |
| certain of the soldiers, weary and tired of war, | | | | is an interesting concept, that the die hard karate |
| would find their way to the Shaolin monastery, | | | | of today will transmogrify into the liquid style of |
| where art as an art blossomed? | | | | shaolin kung fu in the future. |
| From the Shaolin Temple the arts exploded, | | | | Or, and here's a kicker, that the extreme combat |
| spreading across China, and growing into concepts | | | | karate style of today will become combat wudan |
| and taking on different forms. This was the | | | | style of tomorrow. Could that bassai dai and |
| beginning of such styles as wing chun (vin tsung) | | | | bassai sho form of today eventually translate into |
| kung fu, Long Fist (Choy Lee Fut, Hung Gar, and | | | | the bassai tai chi of tomorrow? Could those |
| so on), and the various animal methods (mantis, | | | | young men doing their makiwara training |
| monkey, dog fist, five animal, and so on). And, of | | | | eventually become like the old men of Chen |
| course, Shaolin styles most likely grew into soft | | | | village tai chi chuan, doing their shuto uke and mae |
| style arts as Pa Kua Chang and Tai Chi Chuan. | | | | geri as if they are being filmed in slow motion? |
| This being the basic history of the matter, we | | | | This author believes that this change is bound to |
| can see a certain evolution of art. Hard, practical | | | | happen. The effects of growing old slow martial |
| tricks tend to become softer, more flowing, and | | | | arts practitioners down down, and the effects of |
| people come to understand that one's art can be | | | | wisdom tend to make men smarter, and it is this |
| workable without too much reliance on strength | | | | combination of factors that will change the hard |
| kung fu. Thus, the arts change from hard fists to | | | | into the soft, the karate into the kung fu, and the |
| guiding and sliding palms and turning and flowing | | | | overzealous into the temperate. Now, pardon me, |
| whole body motions. | | | | I need to go do my sochin kata tai chi style. |
| Oh, sure, every once in a while you will see a | | | | |