The Grand Valley State University Kung Fu Club is under the training of Golden Mountain Kung Fu Academy. Golden Mountain Kung Fu Academy teaches traditional Northern Shaolin Chang Ch'uan (Long Fist) Kung Fu.
Kung Fu is a very general term for the greater than 300 styles of Chinese Martial Arts. A group of these arts are known as Shaolin Styles, as a result of their development at the shaolin temples from approximately 550 AD to the present. Of these, there are 5 major schools of Northern Shaolin. The Grand Valley Kung Fu Club practices the northern style known as Long Fist.
Long Fist is a kicking art (70% leg, 30% hands), but also includes a good balance of in-fighting as well as trapping and throwing techniques. The art (like most martial arts) is taught from the ground up. Initially, the student learns stances as well as basic kicking and punching techniques. These techniques will slowly be connected into an increasingly complex series of forms (pre-arranged sequences of movements) to teach the fighting elements of the style. The student will also receive the fundamental theories of the style so that the forms are not just meaningless movements. After some proficiency has been demonstrated, the student will begin to practice two-man forms and begin to spar. Sparring will not begin in the first semester or two of training. Training will include empty hand techniques as well as the fundamentals of the four basic Shaolin weapons (staff, broadsword, spear, straight sword).
There is an instructional fee of $40.00 for each semester. All students will be required to sign a liability waiver prior to training with the club.