Introduction

Lingua-kung fu is a course targeting 6 to 16 years olds.

The course seeks to engage the students in the the Chinese language and culture using kung fu as an activity.

Lingu-kung fu has been running in Alaro for 1 and a half years, and currently has 25 students from the village from the age of 6 to 13.

The course aims to be culturally broadening using a merging of the three areas of sport, linguistics and music.

White Crane Kung Fu

White crane kung fu is a system of kung fu developed around 350 years ago in the Fu Jian province of China. It has particular historical and geographical significance as this is a coastal area of china linking both to the islands of Japan and to the Cantonese / Hong Kong region. From a martial arts perspective, it has connection with both traditional karate through the trading with the Okinawan islands ( Goju Ryu, Euchi Ryu, Shito Ryu ) and also with the Cantonese systems which have been widely practiced in the West since the 60's and 70s ( Wing Chun / Hung Gar ).

From a cultural perspective, the various Diasporas of the Chinese people around Asia culminating in the Chinese revolution and expulsion of the followers of Chiang Kai Shek have been in large part from this province. This means that the Fu Jian roots have spread throughout Asia and the style of kung fu has gone with it.

The system is relatively compact to learn for students, although it becomes more detailed in its adult form which deals with body conditioning and internal work.

Teaching Techniques / Linguistic Curriculum

The 1 hour classes take the form of 45 minutes of kung fu followed by 15 minutes of Chinese although this varies from class to class.

The Chinese instruction is integrated into the kung fu – for example simple commands and counting. In addition all the movements taught have Chinese names which must be learnt. The movement names are not the traditional names, but have changed names using the most commonly used characters in Chinese. For example a movement which might in the original system be called “Add a knife to cut a lotus blossom” is changed to “boy and girl close the door”. In the first traditional form taught 27 basic words are taught in this way.

A series of proprietary songs are learnt in the fashion of nursery rhymes. These start with basic greeting and phrases ( e.g. the thank you song, the hello song ) and work up to sentence structures which are most commonly used in basic communication ( e.g. The Come to to China song ).

Selection of vocabulary is a combination of 3 sources:

1. The list of most commonly used 3000 characters

2. The “basic” root characters ( e.g. Person 人 )

3. Characters of “imagination and kung fu” ( e.g. Dragon 龍 )

4. Overall compliance with the Common European Framework of language learning.

Course Aims

The course was developed with the following long term goals:

1. Students who take the course from the age of 8 for 8 years will have completed the same content as the Taipei University Level 1 conversation course. This covers 24 chapters of content which starts at 1 chapter per year and finishes at 1 chapter per term at the age of 16.

2. Students who take the course from the age of 8 for 8 years will be in a position to teach the course to other students.

Cultural Elements

Throughout the course it is sought to give the students an appreciation of Chinese culture, basic geography and history.

A series of traditional kung fu legends are told to the students which tie in not only with the kung fu , but also with the particular events unfolding in china at the time. For example, “the legend of the Chin Wu” concerns not only the origin of the International Chin Wu society ( a well known martial arts society ) but also the racial prejudice that the Chinese were experiencing at the time as the “sick men of Asia” and the reconciliation of the Chinese martial artists with the fact that their arts were of little power against the then all powerful states of England, China, Russia and Japan.

In this way the legends span from the exploits of monkey ( from the Chinese Classic “ the journey West “ ) to Bruce Lee and his remolding of Western mainstream media portrayal of the Chinese stereotype. This ensures that the same base stories have ample material for students of all ages.

Gradings

In traditional Chinese Kung Fu there are no gradings indeed the belt system in Karate is a relatively new invention ( circa 1950 ). However the students respond well to having a target to aim for and a level of hierarchy which respects the work done by each students. For this we have badges which are sewed on to the suits worn by the children.

In February the Chinese celebrate their Chinese new year. For the last 2 years we have organized a large dinner at a Chinese restaurant where we have invited other clubs or people interested in Chinese culture from around the island to attend. Attending clubs or teachers are offered the opportunity to perform a short demonstration.

In the last dinner the lingua-kungfu group performed kung fu katas and songs from their curriculum. This is a large focus of the training after Christmas.

Kung fu Level 1 – 8 year old timetable - Term 1