Social progression brings it's good and it's bad. So, that bad things happen, is a fact of life.

In order to be equipped to live happily and confidently, without fear or paranoia, learning to defend ourselves should be just as much of modern-world upbringing as putting one foot in front of the other, or saying "please" or "thank you."

However, kung fu is not only for the young! Adults too find value in the fact that training can help us, and not only with the obvious self-defence and health benefits.

Hung Leng Kuen is a true martial art that instructs it's students in no-nonsense, on-the-street self-defence.

Hung Leng Kuen has also helped many of it's students focus themselves, get back on track and, to quote: "sort their lives out".

Learning kung fu / wu shu is a huge personal responsibility. You learn tools for life that can never be abused. Martial artists are not thugs. True martial artists know that sometimes walking away from conflict can take more strength than fighting.

When conflict is unavoidable, we act - decisively. But remember - the first form of self defence is "run" (not always in a literal sense). As accomplished, confident martial artists, we have nothing to prove.

The first goal in training is to acquire a sufficient degree of skill in practical self-defence. This consists of first increasing awareness of surroundings and ways to avoid conflict.

Then - what to do if conflict arises. i.e. "What can I do if someone tries to hit me? grab me? strangle me? rape me?" etc. Also covered in the self-defence aspect are strikes, kicks, locks, throws, restraints and acquiring "Fighting Spirit".

The other aspect of training is to learn the art. This is based on mastery of classical forms, which intially develop strength, endurance and flexibility through regular training.

The purpose of studying the art is to develop your form. That is - to understand the underlying body mechanic and flow (Chi) behind each movement. From this we can begin to develop the internal focus of chi and apply fa jing (explosive power) to make our actions as effective as possible.

Practice of real martial arts begins when the self-defence aspect is integrated with an instinctive understanding of form. The aim is for all practice to become Hung Leng - Free Spirit.

Sifu T. D. Prescott