What Happened to Kung Fu?
The lost art and its role in MMA
We all heard of Kung Fu. It’s one of the oldest martial arts in the world dating back thousands of years, since the beginning of Feudal China. Throughout the years there has been many branches of Kung Fu to become popular for the times. Many styles are still popular today: Wing Chun, Jeet Kune Do, and Tai Chi to name a few. At the peak of its popularity in western culture there was an entire genre of movies dedicated to the art. Bruce Lee, a man who can arguably be considered the best martial artist to ever live, dedicated his whole life to the art. Kung Fu had a huge head start in terms of maturing than many other martial arts, yet when we look at the styles of MMA fighters we don’t see many Kung Fu fighters at the top of the list. The key is that they are there, we’ve just lost touch with the art itself.
To understand this, let’s take a brief look back at the history of Kung Fu. Like most martial arts, Kung Fu originated as a means for warriors to train for battles. Dating back to feudal China, it included skills such as boxing, wrestling, and sword fighting. As time moved on and dynasties rose and fell, Kung Fu went through some big changes, and was even banned by certain Chinese cultures. As we approach modern times, the use of rifles proved to be more effective than swords. Soldiers began to fight at greater distances than hand-to-hand. Kung Fu slowly moved from being an effective art used in battles, to a cultural celebration of China’s rich history. Then came the westernization of the art.
When Kung Fu became westernized, it lost a lot of its integrity. Cheap and flashy versions of Kung Fu dojos would pop up in many areas claiming to teach self-defense, but really it prayed on individuals that didn’t know any better. As a result, many westernized Kung Fu fighters became, as Conor Mcgregor calls it, “stuck in the mud.” They couldn’t react well to threats, their attacks were 1-dimensional, and they couldn’t adapt in real time. Many fighters would train punches and leave their hands extended after a strike. They weren’t taught the importance of movement, and their sparring wasn’t realistic. To top it off, there were no popular organizations like the UFC to show to a large scale audience which techniques had high success rates and which ones didn’t. These westernized versions of Kung Fu continued to spread and gain popularity. Due to the lowering integrity of the art in westerns cultures, one Kung Fu celebrity that did have great, practical skills was able to easily rise up: A true Kung Fu master by the name of Bruce Lee.
Bruce Lee was a master of Wing Chun Kung Fu before he ever created Jeet Kune Do: his own style of Kung Fu. Jeet Kune Do was very different from the other forms of Kung Fu. It was against the traditional & cultural elements of the older styles and concentrated more on the “martial” and less on the “art.” Bruce is quoted saying his style is “fighting without fighting.” He emphasized minimal effort with maximum effect and extreme speed. I’m sure we’ve all heard his “be like water” speech (if you haven’t, please have a listen). He was a big believer that precision and timing would beat power (sound familiar to all you Conor fans?). Bruce’s philosophy reminds me of a quote from a great jazz musician Charlie Parker, “Master your instrument, Master the music, and then forget all that bullsh*t and just play.” Bruce’s philosophies teach the same thing, where the body is the instrument and fighting is the music.
An MMA fighter must master different skills for their body. The specific skill set is up for debate, but we all know that each fighter needs to be skilled in long distance striking, close distance striking, and grappling. Some fighters get away with being dominant in one style (Damien Maia or Stephen Thompson for example) where they learn how to defend against other styles and try to implement theirs. This worked for a very long time, but as MMA evolves these types of fighters become easier and easier to pick apart. The trend we are seeing in MMA is that many of the best fighters are formless. They have not just one style. They adapt and overcome by not being traditional. They’ve mastered their craft, whether it’s Karate, Boxing, Wrestling, Judo, Jiu Jitsu, Sambo, etc. and when they step in that cage, they forget everything, and just fight. They have all their separate skills, but the glue that brings all those skills together is the Kung Fu that Bruce Lee speaks of.
I think these types of fighters are becoming more and more abundant in MMA and especially in the UFC. Below is my personal list of the top fighters who demonstrate this formless style. Please comment below on if you agree / disagree and what your list would look like.
#10 Robert Whittaker
I know, I know maybe he’s a bit more Hapkido than traditional Kung Fu, but remember, we’re not talking about traditional Kung Fu. Bruce Lee talks about formless fighters. Robert Whittaker is a master of many arts (Karate, Hapkido, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and Wrestling to name a few). But when you watch him fight, you wouldn’t be able to tell where he’s strongest. When you think of a formless fighter, Robert Whittaker is always in the mix.
#9 Conor Mcgregor
“Precision beats power, and timing beats speed.” Conor Mcgregor’s style may be a bit heavier on boxing now, but he’s always said he doesn’t care about the rule set. He goes in to fight, and if the opponent wants rules, then so be it. His earlier fights were filled with acrobatic kicks. His arsenal of weapons is huge (don’t forget about his shoulder strikes). I do think he’s looking to box a bit more, so he may be concentrating in that area more and more, but his career has definitely captured the idea of a formless fighter.
#8 Israel Adesanya
Israel’s kickboxing is amazing, but he’s skilled in all the areas. As a result, he’s been beating everyone he comes into the cage with. A phenomenal athlete, taken straight out of an anime, Israel puts everything together beautifully.
#7 Stipe Miocic
This may seem like a weird add, but honestly, when I saw Stipe Miocic vs Francis Ngannou, what I saw was a fighter that knew the basics of every craft and made beautiful work of them all. Nothing he did was ever flashy or fancy in technique. Stipe put on a clinic of how technique and precision can beat even the most extremely powerful.
#6 Anthony Pettis
He jumped off a cage and kicked his opponent in the face, knocking him out. Enough said. If you haven’t seen that highlight check it out here.
#5 Yair Rodriguez
Another man that is formless. You really have no idea what you’re going to get when Yair Rodriguez fights. Bruce Lee’s style stepped away from traditional styles, and Yair’s style took 5 more steps further away.
#4 George St. Pierre
GSP is one of the greatest fighters to ever fight in the UFC. One of the things that made him great is that he was a bit ahead of his time with the MMA style. George rose up still when many MMA fighters were still mainly one style and a little bit of a few others. GSP was good in many different styles. He’s one of the first fighters that didn’t really have any area weaker than another, and he would use that to his advantage. If his opponent was a wrestler, he’d keep it standing; if they were a good boxer, he took it to the ground. I think he’s not just one of the earliest formless fighters, but also one of the best ever.
#3 Rose Namajunas
Have you seen her last fight against Jessica Andrade? It was a work of art. There’s not much to say here. I’d be truly surprised if anyone disagreed with this pick. She mixes up her skills so well. Her movement is fluid. She’s not the strongest, but her timing and precision are beautiful to watch.
#2 Tony Ferguson
I mean, Tony Ferguson does train Wing Chun from time to time. He has plenty of training videos of him using the wooden dummy. His Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu coach, Eddie Bravo, talks all the time about using Wing Chun for hand fighting in BJJ. I don’t think anyone could label his style if they tried.
#1 Weili Zhang
Is this one obvious? She is a Shaolin Kung Fu practitioner, but obviously much more. A formless fighter with Chinese ancestry. All the other fighters were a little bit of a stretch to say they’re Kung Fu fighters (I’ll admit it), but Weili is truly a fine example of what can happen when you integrate Kung Fu into your skill set, master that skill set, and when the cage door closes, forget it all, and just fight.