Kung Fu Life
Icome from a culture a world away (Tunisia in northern Africa), so visiting China was a dream for me since I was a kid. I grew up practicing kung fu and reading books about Chinese philosophy and Confucius, and I have been discovering a new interesting feature of this ancient and coded culture every single day of the past 14 years of my life in China. I use the term “coded” because everything in Chinese culture and lifestyle is rooted in a story or old meaningful practice.
Often, when people hear the phrase “kung fu,” they think acrobatic feats or high kicks. However, that is only a subset of everything that kung fu is. Many
the objective of this mysterious martial art.
Kung fu gradually builds up a practitioner’s flexibility, internal and external strength, speed, and stamina, and it teaches balance and coordination. Many styles involve weapons of various lengths and types, using one or two hands. Some styles focus on a certain type of weapon. Forms are meant to be practical, usable, and applicable as well as to promote fluid motion, meditation, flexibility, balance, and coordination. World-famous kung fu master Bruce Lee once said, “Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless— like water. When you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup; When you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle; When you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”
In other words, kung fu is more than a type of martial art, but a sophisticated philosophy that guides the mind, soul, emotion, and body to reach harmony, clarity, and tranquility. It enables the body to deliver the highest quality performance, not only in physical activity, but also in other aspects of daily life.
Kung Fu Influence on Chinese Life
I once sat for tea in a very old and traditional teahouse in an alley in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, where I was served by a very athletic waiter who poured tea with a very flexible kung fu move without spilling a drop. I was really impressed at how kung fu penetrates so much of Chinese lifestyles and entertainment. Even when Chinese people share New Year wishes, they cover the fist with the hand to say “Gong Xi Fa Cai” (literally, “wish you prosperity in the coming year”).
Kung fu’s presence is obvious in Chinese everyday life even if most people don’t realize it.
The lion dance often staged during the Chinese New Year is also performed for important occasions such as business openings, special celebrations and weddings, and to honor special guests of Chinese communities. The lion dance is a subject with which every student of southern kung fu systems should be familiar. It is one of Chinese martial arts’ most valued training methods, as well as an excellent source of historical information regarding kung fu.
Kung Fu Soul in Chinese Sports
Kung fu also influences many of the most popular sports in China like ping pong (table tennis) and badminton.
In ping pong, for example, hitting a ball with a paddle repetitively with very accurate moves and a high level of hand-eye coordination in flowing moves characterized by speed and flexibility is reminiscent of Wing Chun, a kung fu style.
Many analogies from martial arts are often applied to table tennis in Chinese communities. Among the most quoted related phrases is “30 percent handwork, 70 percent footwork.”
Kung fu is so integrated in Chinese lifestyles and sports such as ping pong and badminton because the art shares common features with sports: flexibility, speed, and a high level of coordination between mind and body, which were the original basics of kung fu. The features of kung fu draw Chinese hearts closer to such sports than other globally popular sports. “Kung fu lives in everything we do,” says Jackie Chan’s character in The Karate Kid remake. “It lives in how we put on a jacket and how we take off a jacket. It lives in how we treat people. Everything is kung fu.”