9781422286692

K U N G F U

space is needed, and techniques can be honed for as little as a fewminutes at a time, or for as long as an hour or more. Kung fu is effective as an exercise because it is balanced. Techniques are performed with both sides of the body, and the body is fully exercised because it is moved in all directions. Kung fu is a fascinating and progressive challenge— there is always something new to learn. Practicing kung fu increases strength, coordination, agility, and flexibility. You can also expect to develop confidence, improve posture, and cultivate skill. In addition, kung fu fosters patience, tolerance, and understanding. Well-trained kung fu practitioners try their hardest to avoid actual fighting. In fact, in one kung fu film, Bruce Lee, the famous action-movie star, referred to his style as “the art of fighting without fighting.” A BIT OF HISTORY The techniques that form the basis of kung fu supposedly originated in the Shaolin Temple, a Buddhist monastery in the Honan Province of THE TRAINED MIND “Monks, I know of no other single thing so conducive to misery as this uncultivated mind. Monks, I know of no other single thing so conducive to well-being as this cultivated and well- trained mind.” —Anguttara Nikaya 1–6 Right: Kung fu evolved from the Shaolin Temple, in Honan Province, China, where early practitioners modeled kung fu techniques on animal movements, like the white crane technique shown here.

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