Expert: Joe McSorley - 10/25/2009

Question
Ok, I am a 13 year old boy. I have been trying to figure out what style would work for me the best. I want a style that involves grapples, takedowns, and jointlocks. I also want a style that includes pressure points and acrobatics, but not too much acrobatics like monkey style.  I have done a lot of reserch and have found a couple of styles. Mantis style, Eagle style, leopard style, and snake style where the ones that involved what I wanted. Mantis style has the right amount acrobatics that I want, and has the pressure points and quickness that I like. Eagle style has the joint locks, takedowns, and pressure points that I like, but not enough acrobatics from what I have seen. Leopard style has the quickness, take downs, jointlocks, grapples, and the acrobaticks that I like.and snake style has the pressure points.  I am not all that big and weigh a good 120lbs. I am 5 feet 9 inches and skinny. But i am athletic, strong, fast, quick, and I have a lot of stamina. I have been practicing some of the styles. I can already do push ups on my knuckles, as needed for leopard style and eagle style fists. I read that you are never supposed to punch with jaguar fist untill you can do a full push up on your knuckles. I know that fists and claws needed for the styles I named, and i know a couple of moves for each one. I read that you are a mantis stylist so maybe you could tell me more about the style. But i am still trying to find the perfect one. If you could please help me that would be great and I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks a lot!

Malik Reid

Answer
Hello Malik,
  There is no such thing as the perfect style and there is no one style that includes everything you want.  You will have to practice a style and then adjust it and add to it as you develop.  Acrobatics is not part of kung fu, that is from the movies.  I have been involved in martial arts/kung fu for over 37 years and have never seen a master from China teach acrobatics till after the movies came out.  It looks good and is cool but acrobatics will get you killed in a fight.  There is a reason you never see it in the ring.
  It’s great that you have all this enthusiasm but you have to keep things in perspective.  Learning specific techniques from a style does not mean you know or can do that style. The hands of Southern Mantis mean nothing without knowing all of the body mechanics behind it.  It’s the difference between playing air guitar and real guitar; you need all the basics behind it to make it work.  Another thing is finding a legitimate kung fu teacher.  This is very difficult.  Many schools today are run by students who learned a few forms of a style but did not spend the years training under a master that it requires to really do the style.  I see people that list 5 or 6 different styles at their schools.  It’s like going to someone who teaches guitar, piano, violin, trumpet and harp; they are entirely different instruments and though you might be able to play songs on each you will not have mastered that particular instrument. Learning the forms is like learning a song; you are confined to that form.  Someone who has mastered guitar can play any song but someone who only learned songs on guitar is limited to those songs.  Someone who learned forms in kung fu is limited to the motions of that form.
 Another problem with crossing styles is that some styles rely heavily on the legs and thus do not build the correct foundation for those styles that rely heavily on the hands.  The legwork of a true American boxer is very different from a kick boxer who has added boxing to his kicking.  Kung fu styles are complete systems that evolved over the years and have their own logic and method.  They were not mixed and matched over the years as they are in today’s schools.
 I strongly suggest that you buy the book “ The Sword Polisher’s Record” by Adam Hsu and read it.  I think it will really help you find a style.
  Take care,
           Joe