Kung Fu Isn’t Just About Kicks and Punches

Most of us have an idea in our minds when we hear the words ‘kung-fu.’ We think of stars like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan throwing high-flying kicks, performing incredible physical feats, and battling for their honour. But the actual definition of kung fu is a little different than movies and pop culture have led us to believe.

‘Kung fu’ refers to any skill that takes consistency and perseverance to master. It doesn’t have to be fighting. Which means you can develop good kung fu in anything. You can be a kung fu cook, writer, musician, teacher; if you put effort and time into it, you can even make a kung fu cup of tea. And yes, you can have good kung fu in English.  

Let’s take a look at how kung fu—the science of mastery—can inform your English learning.

Break It Down

In kung fu systems, complex skills are often broken down into constituent parts. Each of those parts are then practiced in isolation. Once skill has developed, more parts are added and then eventually they’re brought together and integrated into one cohesive whole.

This is a useful technique because it allows the student to focus on concrete and minute aspects of incredibly complex skills.

This can be helpful when learning ESL. Take a sentence, for instance. There’s a lot going on within it: conjugation, vocabulary, syntax, pronunciation, the list goes on. And learning it all simultaneously can be overwhelming.

Instead, take a note from kung fu and break it down. Isolate the parts, practice them and then bring them back together.

Practice the Basics to Create Physical Reflexes

In martial arts, they practice basic techniques over and over. They do this so that if they have to fight, the martial artist can react without being slowed down by thought. Pro athletes and artists like painters and musicians also tend to use repetition in order to create reflexes.

Basics like shooting a puck, painting a bowl of fruit, or playing a musical scale, are done repeatedly until they happen so naturally that there’s no more thought involved. They have the physical skills necessary to express themselves spontaneously. And so, when the moment comes, they can perform without hesitation.

In English the Goal Is Essentially the Same

There is an often-overlooked physical aspect to learning a language. Anyone who’s practiced a second language has experienced being tongue-tied, stumbling over their words, or finding that no matter how hard they try, they just can’t pronounce some sounds correctly.

This can be because the tongue, as a muscle, has never made certain movements and so it lacks the physical ability to create or link certain sounds smoothly.

By practicing in the ‘kung fu’ way and repeating small, isolated aspects of language, over time you can train your tongue to learn the sounds which are unique to English.

How to Apply This?

The best way to apply these concepts when learning a language is having a teacher who can objectively evaluate you. They can then help you isolate where you need the most work, so that you can focus your efforts and learn much more quickly.

However, if you can’t work with a teacher, the easiest way to begin is to isolate your tenses. One way to do this is by creating cue cards with verbs you would like to learn to conjugate.

Take ten of those and place them in front of you. Choose a tense, such as past simple, and you’re ready to begin.

Flip one card, and as soon as you see the verb, conjugate it into the past (making sure to say it out loud). If you don’t know the answer, move to the next. It’s important to keep rhythm as you do this. Think to yourself, one and flip and answer, and one and flip and answer, and one and flip and answer—until you go through the ten cards.

Clearly, this works best when you have a teacher, a native speaker, or another language learner to help you. But even on your own, it can be beneficial.

Spontaneity is Fluency

The whole point of breaking language down is so that you can put it all together as fluently as possible. You can practice the parts of speech until they’re so natural that you no longer have to think about them. Then when you are in conversation, they are at your disposal and you’re free to express yourself spontaneously.

Kung fu is the science of mastery, and in many ways, its lessons can be adapted to any skill set. A teacher or a guide is always helpful. But when they aren’t available, imagination can go a long way. And remember, it’s the same with English as it is with any other kung fu—consistency is the practice.

Hopefully, you find this alternative perspective and the small ESL practice included above helpful.