Best products from r/kungfu

We found 26 comments on r/kungfu discussing the most recommended products. We ran sentiment analysis on each of these comments to determine how redditors feel about different products. We found 65 products and ranked them based on the amount of positive reactions they received. Here are the top 20.

Top comments mentioning products on r/kungfu:

u/Thomassacre · 5 pointsr/kungfu

Yes, it is 100% necessary and will improve most aspects of your fighting ability. conditioning properly has no drawbacks aside from pain and time. start and progress SLOW and STEADY to avoid later issues with arthritis in the hands. Aside from the martial aspects training the body will make sure you have good bone density in old age and less likely to succumb to frailty.




My current regimen is morning and night before bed because i find it easy to incorporate without chewing into my time.



Start with an Iron Palm Bag (canvas material filled with mung bean). not expensive to buy or easy to make.



Buy a wooden rolling pin (like for pie) and use it on your shins and forearm bridge. Roll up and down bone areas with a level just at "uncomfortable" but not "painful" as you get stronger you will find one day you are applying much more pressure than you used to. Also can be used on soft tissues like muscles and tendons as one might use a "foam roller" for myofacial release and just well cause it feels damn good after a hard training session haha.



you can also use soft medicine balls or a mung bean bag to strike your ribs and abdominal area (once again in a progressive regular daily manor) to make you much more resistant to body blows.



forearm striking drills with fellow students should also be regular curriculum and its fun because it really brings out the evidence on who (and who has not ;D ) been training.



I have had no issues with "rough skin" or anything my friends that are carpenters have much "rougher" and less strong hands, and i do finger tip conditioning also with jagged water softening salt soooo... lol Most people have no idea how tough I am and it's really fun to sometimes demonstrate (pick on) with much larger body builders who only work physique haha.



also you will NEED a dit da jow. i personally have had good luck with this brand http://www.amazon.com/Five-Photo-Brand-Antiseptic-Solstice/dp/B001U5JOB0



I typically buy from my local "asian mart" but where ever you can find best price is fine.



when it comes down to it you are training a martial art system. If you dont want to condition, well, plenty of people don't; however those guys are usually the first to get their asses handed to them by a first year BJJ student in a fight. A gun carried for self defense isn't of much use if you only have rubber bullets to shoot. You WILL want ALL major points of contact on your body for your style either for attacking or defending to be conditioned at minimum.



if you have any more questions feel free to ask I'm glad someone is interested in actually doing things correctly.

u/Cassial · 1 pointr/kungfu

Congrats on starting your new journey! Just wanted to add a few things I noticed;

> The right way to deal with post-workout aches. Do I stretch out, take a hot bath, relax?

Ultimately, listen to your body here. This applies as well to your next question about independent training, and yes, you do need to train independently as time goes on if you truly want to master your art. Truly though, with the conditioning, you will work your way up to it. Your body is bitching right now, but stick with it a few more months and you'll be amazed how much more you can do once you're conditioned to it.

> -Other things to do? Like books, movies, resources to be looking up to further my understanding of my style.

I would suggest Iron Palm practice. My first question for you as for "why" though - are you learning this art with self-defense in mind? I'm going to assume the answer is yes, only to expand on this, and a good Iron Palm practice serves to condition the hands for the event that you need to defend yourself.

Find an Iron Palm video you like and show it to your Sifu, along with the Jow you're using - I recommend these bags and jow (using them myself:

bags; https://www.amazon.com/Tiger-Claw-Iron-Training-Bags/dp/B000MI5Y88/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1466000507&sr=8-1&keywords=iron+tao+training+bags

jow; https://www.amazon.com/Battle-Balm-Strength-Sciatica-Arthritis/dp/B00GXPXVAW/ref=pd_sim_sbs_121_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=51JqQa-W3LL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=N1NRD26A8DBD12ZFRFBH

The long and short of a good Iron Palm practice; it takes about 10-15 minutes a day, but your hands will become immensely tough and resilient to pain and damage. If your Sifu hasn't told you and your classmates yet, in a real fight, even if you land a great face strike, you're very likely to break your own hands/fingers...our hands are naturally very delicate. Iron Palm practice ensures that you deliver more powerful hand strikes, but it also PROTECTS YOU.

Best of luck and enjoy the ride!

u/MentemMeumAmisi · 3 pointsr/kungfu

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Great_Classical_Novels

These are great reads, particularly Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the Water Margin. There is a modern martial arts film called Chi Bi, or Red Cliff that you might have heard about that is based on RotTK. That book is about 2,000 pages long, but there is an abridged 500 page one that is pretty good. One of the characters in that book, Zhuge Liang, also known as Konming, is one of the best military strategists who has ever lived. He wrote a commentary based on the book The Art of War, which a lot of martial artists read.

You should definitely check out The Art of War by Sun Tzu and
Mastering the Art of War by Zhuge Liang http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Art-Shambhala-Dragon-Editions/dp/0877735131

Another good book is 100 Unorthodox strategies http://www.amazon.com/One-Hundred-Unorthodox-Strategies-Tactics/dp/0813328616/

It contains many stories about famous battles in ancient China and how various warlords tricked or outmaneuvered others in battle in very creative ways.

There is also a series of comic books translated from the Chinese that deliver certain ancient texts or biographies of ancient China in a great format http://www.amazon.com/Confucius-Speaks-Tsai-Chih-Chung/dp/0385480342

The author is Tsai Chih Chung and he has written over 100 of these books.

The literature of ancient China is useful because it was highly influential on Chinese and indirectly Japanese martial arts. Principles of Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism can be found in martial arts philosophy.

Some books, like the 4 classics I mentioned above, were so widely written that there are huge elements found in every aspect of the modern day. Romance of the Three Kingdoms is sort of how the English view Robbin Hood and King Arthur. It basically defines their culture. The glaring example of how Journey to the West has modern influence is that the popular Japanese Anime Dragon Ball Z is loosely based on a Japanese version of the same story.

Water Margin is notable because certain forms of kung fu described in that book are still practiced today like Poking Foot Kung Fu also known as Water Margin Bandit Style https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gq8GIdVumFo

u/Scoxxicoccus · 1 pointr/kungfu

Although some people have reported gastrointestinal issues, my own transition was a non-event that lasted less than a week. To put it bluntly, I haven't had a "bad" or "difficult" shit since I started on Soylent. I produce a steady "Type 4" on the Bristol Stool Scale with an occaisonal "Type 3" showing up if I forget to hydrate properly. I did fart a bit more at first but that minor symptom has dissipated like a fart in the wind.

For those people with issues, it seems to come down to fiber intake. Soylent generally has "enough" fiber for the general health of the general population - but certain people may need a bit more. Luckily, Soylent 1.5 (the powdered version) is very easy to supplement for reasons of flavor, texture or nutrition. I personally add a variety of supplements for a variety of reasons.

u/slightlyoffki · 3 pointsr/kungfu

As you said, different people consider different nutritional choices to be healthy, and I don't place any particular extra value on Bruce Lee's opinion. His name gets dropped and people think the conversation is over because no one is allowed to question anything he ever said or did, but I take his teachings with a big old grain of salt. Don't get me wrong, he was good, and I appreciate all he did to bring Kung Fu to the mainstream, but he was a very young master, and I think many of his philosophies would have changed significantly had his life not been cut so tragically short. Yes, he was into healthy eating and raw food, but he was also into eliminating forms entirely from his style's curriculum, which is something that does not jive with me even a little.

So anyway, if you're curious about what other people eat, here you go. I am in excellent physical shape in regards to both Kung Fu and my physical health. I don't abide by any particular diet plan, but I try to follow the patterns described in this book. I try to avoid heavily processed food and almost never eat junk food. I never eat fast food and never drink soda (I drink seltzer instead.) I try to eat organic food as often as possible, and, as I feel part of being a martial artist is also being a good citizen, I try to buy locally to support my community, which admittedly can be difficult.

I eat almost the exact same thing every day, at least during the week when I'm working. Breakfast is either cereal or oatmeal, or if I'm feeling really fancy/have the time, eggs or pancakes. I'll have a fruit for a snack later in the morning, usually an apple. For lunch I almost always have a sandwich, which several slices of meat and ton of veggies; lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, avocado. I'll have a veggie for a snack later in the day, usually celery, then right before I leave work I'll have a yogurt. I will only eat dinner if I have time, which is only two or three nights per week. In the interest of money it's usually something simple like pasta, but I will occasionally cook a healthier dinner with meat and vegetables. I also cheat being healthy occasionally and have something naughty like ice cream or peanut butter and Nutella on toast. I exercise every day; I practice Kung Fu 4 days a week and work out at the gym the other 3, and sometimes to help with that I will drink a protein shake (usually Sigma 6) once per day, but that stuff is REALLY expensive, so those benders usually don't last long.

There is some variation, especially on weekends, but for the most part, that's how I roll. I hope you find this helpful.

u/coyoteka · 1 pointr/kungfu

This is really good advice.

I highly recommend this very inexpensive plastic jian, and for a great inexpensive metal practice jian (does have an edge, though), Paul Chen makes nice swords.

u/zovencedo · 4 pointsr/kungfu

i feel dumb at posting this for the thousandth time, but apparently people are too busy to scroll through previous posts.
"Chinese Martial Arts - From antiquity to the twenty-first century", Peter Lorge, Cambridge University Press

Or, click on the following link: https://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Martial-Arts-Antiquity-Twenty-First/dp/0521878810

This is an extremely good starting point. As a general advice, thinking in terms of styles that are currently practiced won't get you very far. But good luck anyway.

u/kwamzilla · 4 pointsr/kungfu

Some books:

u/modernangst · 3 pointsr/kungfu

Jonathan Bluestein put together Research of the Martial Arts a few years ago, which looks pretty interesting:

https://www.amazon.com/Research-Martial-Jonathan-Bluestein-Shifu/dp/1499122519/

u/xinkuzi · 1 pointr/kungfu

One good book that might help give you some perspective:

Chinese Martial Arts Training Manuals: A Historical Survey
by Brian Kennedy


A website with information that is slightly more scholarly than your typical kung fu "history" website:

Taiping Institute of Traditional Chinese Martial Arts

I do a lot of research into various styles and lineages that existed before and up to the time period you're talking about. PM me if you want to chat, and I can possibly lead you to some other good resources.