Most people study martial arts for several reasons. For the sake of clarity, we have divided those reasons into five general categories: General Health: "I want to get into shape and lose weight and martial arts might be a fun way to do it." Sport: I like to compete toe-to-toe against other people, but strictly for fun and excercise." Self Defense: "I want to learn how I can help myself stay safe without learning all of that Bruce Lee stuff." Combative: "I want to learn to be able to fight and defend myself against anyone trying to hurt me." Performance: "I want to learn gymnastic-like set routines that I can use to compete against others." While most kung fu styles cover all of these categories, some are better than others in specific category focus. Use the color-coded categories below to find out which type of kung fu best suites your goals and reasons for being interested in the martial arts.
Your Goals					Best Types Of Kung Fu For You	Classes You Should Take
					Kung Fu Foundations The basic elements required for all kung fu study.	• Group Traditional Kung Fu (1 & 2)
					Traditional Art & Application Traditional kung fu forms, weapons, fighting sets and their applications related to combat. Performances of the Shaolin Monks and the movie “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” are popular examples.	• Group Traditional Kung Fu (3 to 8) • Group Traditional Kung Fu Weapons
					Combative Oriented Kung Fu Kung Fu for face-to-face fighting of opponents both trained in martial arts. Emphasizes economy of movement and effective technique in engaging an opponent whose intent is to cause harm.	• Group Sanda • Special Interest Qin Na • Special Interest Duan Bing
					Self-Defense Oriented Kung Fu Kung fu stripped down and streamlined to teach a person to efficiently and effectively defend themself and escape from a mugging or street attack.	• General Self Defense
					Health & Application Oriented Kung Fu Meditative or “Internal” kung fu styles that emphasize both physical and mental well-being through forms Although not the focus, they can also be effective in combat fighting.	• Group Tai-Chi • Special Interest Xing Yi • Special Interest Ba Gua
					Form Competition & Performance Forms that are as close to Olympic gymnastics as they are martial arts. Requires equal amounts of great strength, flexibility and endurance and is considered to be the most “flashy” aspect of kung fu.	• Modern Wushu
					Sport Fighting Oriented Kung Fu Although potentially very effective in real-world combat, sport kung fu is fast and free-form (there are no forms) competition sparring where the winner is usually determined by points and potential injury is minimized by design.	• Sanda Sparring • Special Interest Duan Bing