Fight Like Bruce Lee

So-called “combat” classes are everywhere these days, taught by young, good-looking instructors to the masses who often want nothing more than a good workout to keep off the pounds. But if you want to fight like Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li or Gordon Liu, you need proper training from a genuine Chinese martial arts master.

But how can you tell if your master is the real deal? “If you want to really train for proper martial arts you need to seek them out,” says shihan (master) Pierre Ingrassia, founder of The One Martial Gym. “It is too easy for big gyms to claim they have experts. Some of these so-called experts have dubious or made-up qualifications - they’re retrained aerobics teachers. Ask them if they’ve really been a fighter, in competitions; ask for proof, a certificate, reports from the press, especially for belt degrees. Who graded them? Did they just make it up? Who is certifying these people? Check the Internet and find out who they really are,” he advises. That said, let's take a survey of what's out there.

Kung Fu Hustle

Kung fu is a generic label used for any martial art from China, and it encompasses literally hundreds of individual fighting arts, both “soft” or “internal” (like tai chi) and “hard” or “external.” Translated literally, kung fu means “skill from effort” and in those terms a chef, artist or engineer can be said to have good kung fu.

Everybody Wing Chun Tonight

Bruce Lee trained in wing chun (or ving tsun) under grandmaster Yip Man, widely acknowledged as the grandfather of kung fu in Hong Kong. Fostered by the legendary Yellow Emperor Hugangdi more than 4,000 years ago, wing chun grew into different styles in the Wudang, Kongtong, Kunlun and Yellow Mountain regions, and at the Shaolin Monastery. A more romantic version of the discipline’s history is thought to have been put about by the Shaolin monks to disguise the fact that they were developing techniques to fight the Qing dynasty. In this version, the system was named after a young woman named Yim Wing Chun, who was being forced into marriage with a local bully. She met a Shaolin nun named Ng Mui, on the run from the Qing after the monastery was burned down for harboring revolutionaries, who taught her to fight. Wing Chun defeated the bullies, and later passed on her skills to her husband, who in turn trained a traveling acrobatic troupe.

Whatever its true history, wing chun was designed purely for fighting rather than artistic or sporting applications, and its techniques emphasize effectiveness and practicality over athleticism or strength. It differs from “hard” styles in that instead of blocking, it uses parries to deflect force rather than meeting it head on, using the opponent’s energy against themselves. Punching is straight from the chest rather than angled from the shoulders because the distance is shorter, and kicking is kept below the waist for speed and to avoid being grabbed. It has a rich repertoire of close-range moves, which is why it is popular with smaller people. A longer-limbed opponent in close quarters may be unable to fully extend and develop power.

Wushu

Wushu, which literally means “martial art,” has been around in some form for at least 2,500 years, and there are at least 128 recorded styles. But the discipline as it is practiced today - notably by Jet Li - is relatively modern. It was developed mainly as an exhibition and full-contact sport based on a reinterpretation of traditional martial arts. Some observers say it has its roots in the circus, which is perhaps why it is so spectacular, with its mid-air flips, weapon work and intricately staged routines. Hong Kong’s wushu medal haul at the East Asian Games included silver medals in an event called duilian, which is a spectacular group fight featuring 540-degree and 360-degree airbound flips. There are three events within modern wushu: barehanded, short weapons and long weapons.

WHERE TO DO IT:

HK CHINESE MARTIAL ARTS ASSOCIATION