Kung Fu, Wing Chun and other Chinese Martial arts
The Chinese martial arts are widely believed to have traveled with the first Buddist monks who arrived from India. The monks practiced these arts to protect themselevs and their monastries from bandits. From China these arts then travelled through to Japan, where they were further modified. Chinese arts like Wing Chun tend to emphasise the line of attack and the centre line of the body which is also common in most martial arts. Folk lore tells us that different regions developed differnet styles to suit the terrain, e.g. hilly regions tended not to use kicking techniques. Also monks developed arts based on animals that they saw giving rise to names such as praying mantis, white crane and monkey style, there is even a drunken man style. Bruce lee, a famous student of Yip man who studied Wing Chun went on to develop his own style called Jeet Kune Do (his books feature some aikido techniques in them as well)
Many of the movements in Aikido show remarkable similarity to many of the chinese arts, modifications though seem to be brought about as the roots of aikido are a combat art where armour was worn by opponents and razor sharp swords were used, thus many blocking techniques employed in other arts aren't used in aikido. The founder of Aikido is understood to has travelled China extensively perhaps adding to the similarities.
Aikido
A modern martial art developed from the traditional Samurai class of martial arts in Japan. Aikido has no blocks or punches but instead redirects the attackers energy to throw or immobilise them. Suitable for men, women and children. With a good mix of aerobic and weight bearing training its a good way to maintain inner and outer health and pick up some handy skills as well.
Griffith Aikido
A dynamic martial arts club that has been operating on Brisbanes Southside for over 25yrs offers regular beginners courses for newcomers, classes for kids and advanced training for the old hands. Men and women of all ages enjoy training in a co-operative atmosphere under the guidance of Japan recognised instructors and benefit from regular visits by senior instructors from Japan. Start Today
