Getting to topic....per how I was taught/told:
We do not train for wushu-ish properties of athleticism, performance, or competition.
We train for defense, the drills, called gungs, or repetitious routines, that will bore the average beginner with a mindset on flash. Thus, the results become skills (gung fu)
Several of us, HAD, used it in defense situations, including ONE of us had legal problems/court because of using it. (Semantics among other things turned the case and won it in our favor-I can post the short story of this if anyone should request)
What is it that makes kung fu applicable to being used on the street?
How one is trained. We are trained and told that it ISN"T a martial art, but development of skills (gung fu)
What is it that makes in ineffective for pure self defense?
Too many emphasize long drawn out moves and/or xings (hsings/zhings), instead of realizing the gungs, are simplistic methods focusing on the particular skill (gung fu)
If you study CMA do you do so for self defense?
We train under a Chinese in America, but he and/or we, never consider it a CMA. The reason, perhaps, Shifu doesn't not want to consider it prejudicial. In fact, others that train with us of higher skill (gung fu). Shifu would observe a particular gung being progressed by a student and state that their gung fu (skill), is developing or had developed for that particular routine.
Speaking of Chinese vocabulary, does anyone know the Chinese word for "Grand Master"? Our Shimu, is our historian and had recently posed this question to us. Both Shifu and Shimu speak Mandarin. However, Shimu reads, writes, and speaks sanskrit also. Speaking of which Sifu, is not pronounced "Sea-Foo" but has close to a "Sh" sound like Shifu.
If so, why did you decide on kung fu for that self defense training?
Our Shifu trains us that way. Because it is a acquired or developed skill (gung fu) used for protection. It has another property of health, but when examined by a modern physician, such as mine, they sort of conjecture on how certian body functions and muscles look or behave.
Can kung fu be compared to systems like KM as far as usefullness or realistic usage goes?
Again, the answer being the same this question;
What is it that makes kung fu applicable to being used on the street?
It is how one is trained and progresses with their skill (gung fu)
Naming Kung Fu as only a CMA, decriminates it per semantics. For anyone practicing a skill, practices gung fu.
Speaking of semantics, in Webster's Dictionary, they define martial arts as:
..any one of Asian hand-to-hand combat or self defense methods, such a Judo, Karate, etc., usually practiced as a sport.
As martial artists, shall we allow such semantics to hold per this definition? As martial artists, upon reading this, would we want to clarify, or change this definition?
This was a discussion that I had with someone about computers-PC or Mac....They informing that either "IBM" or Mac, are both PC's (Personal Computers).
