NaamKyun.com Discussion Forum

Some people mentioned separated lin gung classes and it kept hanging in my mind.
Just for separated lin gung classes, what do you consider to be lin gung and what not?
Do you consider strechting, cardio, plyo and other aerobic exercises (that e.g. help stances) to be lin gung too? Or do you prefer to stick to old traditional methods?

Regards,
C.

in my school, lin gun is an integral part of each class; however, some classes concentrate on lin gung more. a beginner student goes through the general lin gung exercises first, intermediate and advanced students have a specialised lin gung programme.

short overview of the tools/methods we use in my school:

http://www.lghk.org/en/curriculum/lin_gung.htm

of course strechting, cardio, plyo and other aerobic exercises are part of lin gung. i would not call them modern, as most of them were a part of various traditional martial arts since the beginning of time. the new thing is the scientifical explanation how the things work and more detailed training protocole of developing the various types of power (maximal, speed, explosive, endurance; periodisation etc.)

btw. i wouldl ike to note that Hung kyun is very lin gung based system, just look at the first parts of gjffk, fhsyk, syk or whole tsk, weapons etc.

Seperate lin gung classes, would that mean that some students would for example just do the techniques based classes and skip the lin gung classes? Or will lin gung still be part of those classes as well?

Somehow to me a balanced class sounds best, balanced between techniques (forms, drills, etc.) & lin gung. A 1,5hr or longer lin gung class might be a bit too much, but otoh just techniques for such a long time does not sound didactically correct either....

Maybe separate as in during the span of a weeks worth of classes, one or two days is devoted to nothing but lin gung. All the other training sessions would be a mixture of lin gung warm ups with focus on core techniques and form training. So those that want to be serious students of Hung Gar will attend both the strictly lin gung sessions as well as the balanced sessions whereas the casual student looking for some sort of exotic work out would perhaps skimp on the lin gung sessions.

Strictly speaking, I think lin gung encompasses any and all physical exercises that are primarily aimed at fortifying the body in order to better perform and utilize techniques. As they say, "if you aren't strong enough to throw or take a punch, why should I teach you HOW to punch?" So strictly speaking, all the running, jumping, stretching, weight lifting etc would be considered proper lin gung equal and alongside of stance training (both moving and static), iron palm, tiger claw training etc.

I personally would define it as a basics class. One where there is a proper warms, physical conditioning (plyo, stance, cardio), basic stances and cool down stretching. If the group is more advanced, maybe application drills.

I think that I would omit forms and teach them in a separate class for those that are more serious about learning the art.

My students are also 90% women. They right now are more interested in the working out aspect of the Kung fu I know. They want a good, intense workout. I am hoping that after a couple of months they will be open to forms. But I want them to learn the basics reallly well first. Hopefully I can introduce forms later this year.