How to Learn Kung Fu Fast

Co-authored by Yvonne Mo

Last Updated: September 9, 2021 References

Kung fu is often described as a lifelong journey. While it does take years, if not decades, to achieve expertise in this martial art as a whole, it is possible to learn the basics in a relatively short period of time. With dedication, patience, and foresight, you can master basic moves fairly quickly.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Practicing Basic Moves and Stances

1
Create a safe training space where you can observe your form. Choose an area with plenty of clearance from furniture and other obstructions. Place a standing mirror (or, failing that, a long mirror propped against a wall) where you can see yourself as you practice. If needed, place your computer or TV where you can easily see it so you can refer to video tutorials.
2
Warm up. Go for a quick five-minute jog around the block, do some jumping jacks, or any other light exercise to get the blood flowing. Then do some stretching to limber up so your body is nice and flexible. Finish with some push-ups and sit-ups to wake your body up for some serious action.

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3
Assume the Horse Stance.^{[1]
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Expert Source

Yvonne Mo
Fitness and Health Coach & Kung Fu Instructor
Expert Interview. 2 September 2021.} Face the mirror. Spread your feet so they’re three to four feet apart. Sink into a squat until your hips are only a little bit higher than your knees. Straighten your spine by leaning your upper torso slightly backward. Make sure you can see from your hips up to your head in the mirror. It's like sitting in a chair without the chair.
- Use the Horse Stance to lower and stabilize your center of gravity when practicing strikes and punches with your arms. Keep your posture straight in order to keep your body and muscles properly aligned.
- This stance is intended to be difficult to hold. Practice it in 30 second increments at first with 1-2 minutes rest in between, then try to hold the position for longer and longer.
- Practicing your Horse Stance every day will help you quickly strengthen your core and leg muscles and will make you more a powerful and stable martial artist.
4
Practice basic strikes from the Horse Stance. To learn kung fu quickly, stick with the simplest moves. When you first attempt a new strike, move in slow-motion. Concentrate on form. As the movement becomes more natural, requiring less thought on your part, gradually speed up the action from rep to rep until you’re striking with full force. As your endurance builds, increase the number of strikes per rep. Start off with the Straight Punch, one of the most basic moves, if not THE most basic move:^{[2]
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- With each hand, form a fist with your thumb closed over the outside of your index finger. With your arms close to your sides, draw your fists back alongside your hips with your thumbs facing up. Pull your elbows back and open up your chest.
- Strike with one fist. Keep your elbow directly behind it as your arm extends forward. As your elbow straightens out, rotate your fist so its thumb faces down. Leading with that shoulder, draw your other shoulder behind you, twisting from your waist, as you strike. Your shoulders and striking arm should form a straight line aimed at your target upon contact.
- Reverse the action. Draw your arm back in, rotating your fist so the thumb faces up again, with your elbow directly behind it as you pull it back. As your first arm draws in and your shoulders realign above your hips, strike with your second arm in the same manner.
- Breathe out as your strike. Breathing is an important part of learning kung fu and learning proper breathing technique first will help you advance more quickly through your training.
- Use your body's trunk to power your punches. Your power comes from your torso in kung fu and this strike is meant to work these muscles and get you stronger faster. Use the torque gained from pulling back one punch to help fuel the next.
5
Assume a basic Fighting Stance. Face the mirror. Turn your body at a 45 degree angle with left foot and left shoulder forward. Your right foot should behind and to the right of your left. If you're right-handed, this should feel like your natural stance. Get comfortable and don't have your legs more than shoulder length apart. Keep your hands up to protect your head but stay light on your feet.
- This stance is akin to a western boxing stance and should also be practiced in reverse (right leg forward). Many (but not all) kung fu styles incorporate this stance.
6
Learn basic punching. With fists closed, try punching straight out with your left hand. Turn your body to the right as you do, stretching your arm and making your shoulders as straight as possible. This punch is often called a "jab". Focus on form first, then develop speed and power. Next try a punch from your right. This is often called a "cross" because your right fist must "cross" your body. Allow yourself to shift on the ball of your right foot as you complete this punch.
- If you want to learn fast - go slow and teach your body the form of the movements first. Adding power and speed is easy if you have the form correct. If not, you will be slowing down your progress quite a bit by having to later re-learn correct form.
- Practice the full movement each time. Make sure your arm completely straightens out and then resets. Each punch begins and ends with your elbow bent and your hand protecting your head.
- Your strength always comes from the center of your body.
7
Learn blocking. From your fighting stance, imagine another person the same height as you standing directly in front of you is throwing a punch. With your forearm extended use power from your core to move it left or right and connect with the imaginary arm of the punching opponent and move the punch off course. These are called inner and outer blocks.
- Inner blocks start at the outside of your body and move inward. Outer blocks do the opposite.
- Practice blocking with both arms. Learning kung fu fast is about getting stronger with your dominant and non-dominant sides.
8
Practice basic kicks. As with everything else, you'll need to focus first on your body learning the correct form. Kicks may seem intimidating at first but they can be broken down into parts and practiced separately. Learning quickly will depend on how diligent you are about getting your form correct early on and practicing consistently. Begin by practicing these techniques from the fighting stance.^{[3]
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- The beginning of every kick is to raise your knee to your chest. Bring it as high up towards your shoulder as you can. Practice this movement to become more flexible and practice holding your knee above your hips to gain better balance. At this point, your leg is "ready to strike", very similar to having your elbow bent and your fist protecting your head.
- For a front kick, the next action is to extend your leg straight forward, pushing from your hip and making sure that the bottom of your foot is striking your intended target and pushing it away from you.
- For a side kick, your leg extends forward using power from your hip and your foot still on the ground shifts 90 degrees to accommodate the movement. With this kick, your foot will end horizontal (instead or vertical as with the front kick).
- For a roundhouse kick, imagine kicking the hip (or higher up) of your opponent with the top of your foot (the same place you make contact with a soccer ball). You hip still supplies the power but instead of pushing forward the force of the strike will be either left or right (depending on the kicking foot). Your foot still on the ground will shift on its ball 90 degrees to facilitate this striking motion.
- With every kick make sure to bring your knee back to your chest after the strike before lowering it. Dropping your leg after a kick is very bad form and will not help you get better faster.
- Practice slowly and with good form. Try holding each individual position in the kick (knee up, kick out, reset the knee to your chest) for multiple seconds to imprint the proper movements on your brain. If you practice this way soon it will become second nature to you and your kicks will feel (and appear) as one smooth motion.
9
Practice changing stances. Once you’ve mastered individual moves, practice moving from stance to stance with a strike. Dropping from fighting stance into horse stance can lend extra power to your strikes.^{[4]
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- To adopt Horse Stance quickly, draw your left knee up to a 90º angle, turning your knee out to your left side, with your left foot drawn in and grazing your right knee. Quickly plant your left foot three to four feet away from your right foot and drop into Horse Stance with both feet pointing forward.
10
Practice shadowboxing or use a punching bag. Once you've got the basic stances and forms down what you need to get better quickly is lots of practice. Staying light on the balls and move around as you punch, kick and block either the air or the punching bag. To build stamina consider practicing in rounds as if you were competing in a tournament (for instance 3 minute round of intense movement followed by a 3 minute break and then repeat).

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Strengthening Your Kung Fu Skills

1
Find a training partner. A quick way to get better and challenge yourself it to train with a partner. You'll be psychologically driven harder and longer in your workouts.
- A partner can also help you get better by holding pads for you, and vice versa. By kicking and punching pads you'll develop your strength and stamina much faster than shadowboxing or hitting a heavy bag alone.
- Holding the pads for a partner is also a good way to develop your hand and foot work and should not be discounted as good practice. Learning different combinations of punches and kicks from both sides of he pad is important and holding the pads will also help you stay loose until the striking moment.
2
Toughen yourself up. There are many ways to make your fists, forearms, and feet stronger. Realize that apart from technique, speed, and strength, your body needs to get more accustomed to hitting and getting hit.
- On your own simply hitting a heavy bag may be an effective toughening exercise, especially when it comes to roundhouse kicks and connecting with the top of your foot. Go lightly at first and focus on getting the form right, then as your foot gets a bit tougher try hitting the bag with strength.
- With a partner try strengthening your forearms with a common blocking exercise. Stand face to face or in a horse stance if you're comfortable, then extend your right arm with your hand pointed downward in an inner block. Your partner will do the same and your forearms will collide (lightly at first) as a way to practice the block. Next rotate your right arm clockwise 180 degrees. You partner will do the same and your forearms will connect again. Now rotate your right arm 180 degrees counterclockwise again for a third connection. Now try the exact same thing with your left arms and repeat again and again. Make sure you're getting torque from the rotation of your torso.
- Fist pushups (or knuckle pushups - even tougher) may be a good way to strengthen your fists.
3
Strengthen your core. Improve your ability to draw strength from the ground into your strikes. Increase the amount of force that you deliver with your kicks. Focus not only on your abs (which is only one part of your core) but the sides and back of your waist as well. Core-strengthening exercises include:
- Planks
- Traditional and reverse sit-ups
- Drawing your knees up to your chest while hanging from a pull-up bar or while in the pushup position (these are sometimes called "mountain climbers")
4
Develop your arms. Wear wrist-weights when you practice your kung fu. Exercise your arms with traditional methods on a daily basis. Do push-ups, pull-ups, curls, etc. Give extra attention to your forearms, which will improve your ability to grapple with opponents.
- An “easy” way to strengthen your forearms is to simply do fist-clenches with your arms held out straight in front of you.
5
Work on your legs. Solid footing and powerful legs are very important in any martial art, so make sure you strengthen your legs. Wear leg-weights when you practice your kung fu moves. Make a daily routine of doing squats, squat jumps, and step-ups.
- Other quality leg exercises include: toe jumps, frog jumps, Cossack jumps, one-legged jumps, duck walks, and sprints.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Studying Kung Fu

1
Research different kung fu styles.^{[5]
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Expert Source

Yvonne Mo
Fitness and Health Coach & Kung Fu Instructor
Expert Interview. 2 September 2021.} Compare and contrast the teachings and philosophy of each practice. For long-term goals, consider which one emphasizes areas that you wish to develop both mentally and physically.^{[6]
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Expert Source

Yvonne Mo
Fitness and Health Coach & Kung Fu Instructor
Expert Interview. 2 September 2021.} To learn kung fu quickly, however, choose one that already plays to your strengths.
- The two most prominent schools are Wu Dong and Shaolin. In Wu Dong, the emphasis is on the “internal” with the aim of developing your chi (life force). Shaolin focuses on the “external” with exercises that strengthen your body.
- Kung fu styles are further distinguished by the geography of their origins. Northern styles tend to incorporate a lot of leg work and acrobatics. Southern styles, on the other hand, emphasize solid footing and more arm work.
- Another distinction between styles is hard versus soft. Hard styles teach you to meet your opponent with equal or greater force, while soft styles rely more on using your opponent’s momentum to their disadvantage.
2
Watch online tutorials.^{[7]
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Expert Source

Yvonne Mo
Fitness and Health Coach & Kung Fu Instructor
Expert Interview. 2 September 2021.} See exactly how your body is supposed to move and orient itself to execute moves and stances correctly. Begin with basic moves like kicks and punches. Then watch how these individual moves are incorporated into longer katas (choreographed exercises that combine a variety of movements).
- Watch each clip multiple times. Each time, pay close attention to just one area of the demonstrator’s body. Focus on their feet in one viewing. Then focus on their hips. Then their waist. And so on. This way, when you practice it yourself and, say, strike with your arms, you’ll know exactly how your feet and legs should be reinforcing your body so you can deliver your strike with the most efficiency.
- To further expand your understanding of kung fu, also watch clips of other martial arts to see how they differ.^{[8]
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  Yvonne Mo
  Fitness and Health Coach & Kung Fu Instructor
  Expert Interview. 2 September 2021.} Note how kung fu appears more fluid in motion. utilizing more circular techniques than are found in other arts, like karate, where movements are more direct and linear.^{[9]
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3
Adopt the kung fu mindset. Even though you want to learn kung fu quickly, resist the temptation to train too hard too fast. Although kung fu aims to instill discipline in those who practice it, it doesn’t expect it from you right away, so relax. Forget “no pain, no gain.” Build a training schedule sensibly, according to your capabilities and overall fitness, in order to avoid injury or burning yourself out.^{[10]
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- For example, instead of practicing 100 kicks right off the bat, start off with reps of 10 kicks spread across the course of the day. Learn how to execute correctly and efficiently without tiring yourself out. Then, once you’ve mastered how to execute a kick, build your endurance by gradually increasing the number of kicks per rep: from 10 to 15; from 15 to 20; from 20 to 30; and so on.

Expert Q&A

Question

Can you start kung fu at any age?

Yvonne Mo
Fitness and Health Coach & Kung Fu Instructor
Yvonne Mo is a Fitness and Health Coach and Kung Fu Instructor. With more than 21 years of fitness industry and martial arts experience, she specializes in combining and teaching eastern and western fitness and health modalities, which include Tai Chi, sports acupuncture, Chinese medicine, and fire cupping. Yvonne received her Personal Trainer Certifications through both the National Strength and Conditioning Association and the American College of Sports Medicine.

Yvonne Mo

Fitness and Health Coach & Kung Fu Instructor

Expert Answer

Yes, you can! Just make sure that you go to a school that has people around your age to train with you.
Question

Is 30 too old to learn martial arts?

Yvonne Mo
Fitness and Health Coach & Kung Fu Instructor
Yvonne Mo is a Fitness and Health Coach and Kung Fu Instructor. With more than 21 years of fitness industry and martial arts experience, she specializes in combining and teaching eastern and western fitness and health modalities, which include Tai Chi, sports acupuncture, Chinese medicine, and fire cupping. Yvonne received her Personal Trainer Certifications through both the National Strength and Conditioning Association and the American College of Sports Medicine.

Yvonne Mo

Fitness and Health Coach & Kung Fu Instructor

Expert Answer

Not at all! Obviously, before training, make sure you know if you have any injuries. If you want to spar and fight, try looking for more of a martial art and MMA hybrid school.
Question

How do I choose a martial arts school for my child?

Yvonne Mo
Fitness and Health Coach & Kung Fu Instructor
Yvonne Mo is a Fitness and Health Coach and Kung Fu Instructor. With more than 21 years of fitness industry and martial arts experience, she specializes in combining and teaching eastern and western fitness and health modalities, which include Tai Chi, sports acupuncture, Chinese medicine, and fire cupping. Yvonne received her Personal Trainer Certifications through both the National Strength and Conditioning Association and the American College of Sports Medicine.

Yvonne Mo

Fitness and Health Coach & Kung Fu Instructor

Expert Answer

It's important that you look for a more traditional place, as they really do look out after the students' health. The more traditional schools know that, at the end of the day, kung fu is not about hurting each other.