Is Kung Fu good for self defense? If so, which style is the most aggressive and effective in a street fight?

Question

Is Kung Fu good for self defense? If so, which style is the most effective? I want to be able to take down an attacker in any situation on the street, so what would be best for me to learn?

Answer 1

Kung Fu certainly can be good for self-defense.

As far as which style, I would recommend Wing Chun. It's the most effective that I've found and, to comment on the JKD response above, it's what Bruce Lee studied before he developed his own style. He never completed his training in WC so he had to come up with something to fill in the gaps. Thus, he created JKD.

I would advise, though, that you check out what's available to you and try everything out. Judge for yourself. If you find something that's more effective...learn it. After all, you're talking about the safety of yourself or those you care about and you should take this seriously.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Kung Fu, and any traditional martial art can be effective as a self-defense system, but you're missing the point if you're looking for someone elses opinion of the best. The best will be the discipline you can find, enjoy learning, and are able to develop skill in. If everyone on here agreed on one discipline and you hate it and suck at it, you're never going to be effective.

The most important thing is not the style/discipline, it's finding an instructor/s you trust, a group of students you actually look forward to training with, and a program that fits within your financial and schedule limitations.

Check out the schools in your are - irrespective of the style. Talk with the instructor/s and students. Check out a few classes. You'll know which one is right for you.

Ken C
9th Dan HapMoosaKi-Do
8th Dan TaeKwon-Do
7th Dan YongChul-Do

Answer 3

Is Kung Fu good for self defense? Of course, if you actually know how to do it. But it can take many years of training before somone can really be good enough to be able to beat almost anyone they could possibly fight. It's like any skill, like playing the guitar. Does playing the guitar make good sounding music? Yes- but it takes years of practice to be really really good at it. Back to fighting, thats why professional fighters spend all their time for years practicing and training and sparring.

As for which style, all styles can be effective if you know how to use them. There is no BEST style, there are only better individual fighters. Differant styles do have differant methods of how to fight, though, and so choosing the best one for you is simply a matter of your own preference. If you want something aggressive, the Tiger style and the Leopard style are the most aggressive of the traditional animal forms of kung fu. But that doesnt even really matter because I've never heard of a martial arts school in America teaching any specific animal form like that. they all seem to be either mixed martial arts or some generic form of non-specific Kung Fu or Karate or Tai Kwan Do or whatever. Also, a lot of modern schools seem to focus on tournament competition, treating martial arts more like a sport and less like real-life fighting. So if real life fighting skill is your goal, make sure to find a school that focuses on that... if you can.

Answer 4

Well wing chun will take a long time for you to learn. It is quite a difficult art to be good at. Often I see a wing chun person lose to a kickboxer because the wing chun guy spent the same amount of time as the kickboxer in training, when actually he should've spent more. Wing chun either makes you the best or the worst. There's no such thing as a wing chun person who is struggling to hurt the other guy with his hits. It's either he hits him properly, and the guy collapses, or he hits him improperly which causes the other guy to take him out. So I think it depends on the seriousness of your situation. If you think that you won't be getting into serious trouble for the next couple of years, then take wing chun. Else, I wouldn't recommend. The more serious the situation, the more simpler should the art be to learn e.g. boxing or muay thai. However, the best way to survive is to be wise and to be good in conduct. If you enjoy walking around in arrogance, expect to get in trouble very soon. If you can walk in modesty, then that should give you enough time to practise wing chun. Not to mention that you will actually gain more in life. The true side of life which is not all about external power but internal realisation and connection to the world. Peace.

Answer 5

In my years as a practitioner, researcher and observer of Martial arts, I have witnessed many arts. I can say that whether I was or was not impressed, it was due to the skill of the practitioner executing the art.

I have been left reeling by some and terribly disappointed by others. So any martial art can be learn correctly or incorrectly and even practiced in such manner.

As far as the ART that best describes what you are seeking, it would have to be the Art of Bak Mei.

Do a google video search and see what I mean.

Answer 6

Any system will teach you to kick punch take down block deflect stand move ect...

If the thing that you seek is a Chinese style that is direct then I suggest Wing Chun or Xing-i especially Xing-i for directness. Also eagle claw is along a similar line. All of them will take quite a while to master though, I feel that Wing Chun gives you a very good base to incorporate any other system into as it is very balanced.

Answer 7

Yes. My favorites are the southern styles. Southern Shaolin, Hung Gar, Wing Chun, etc...

Answer 8

I agree with u all ,but i think all martial art are the best ,example aikido with a soft move can make a deadly impact and also taichi move like a dancing but they have a deadly impact too.

Answer 9

actually,if you want to fight in streeet,jeet kune do or street combat is the best.But if you want kung fu,monkey fist and drunken fist is the best

Answer 10

Yes.
Hung Gar.