The Kung-Fu Rope Dart is the softest weapon in its curriculum. But don’t mistake softness for weakness! It is very, very powerful. At Austin Kung-Fu Academy, we use practice Rope Darts, that have tennis balls at the end. All students learn to use this because it teaches very important lessons: -Controlling yourself will help you to guide it. -You learn to let it do its motion on its own, with your guidance. -You develop a high level of awareness of energy. Many conventional martial arts weapons, such as bo staffs, swords, and spears are tools where you impose your strength and will, to generat ..read more

One of the methods students develop the concept of soft strength at Austin Kung-Fu Academy is through the practice of “Blending Energy”. The idea of Blending Energy is to go with the flow of an energy that is coming your way. It could be a person’s attack, it could be some object coming towards you, or it could be someone just talking to you! This concept involves going with the initial direction of the momentum that it was coming towards you. From there, you can change the direction by simply moving in a different direction than it was going. But you don’t want to go against the direction it ..read more

One of our main styles of Kung-Fu we teach is called Choy Lay Fut. It is a hybrid of Northern and Southern Chinese Kung-Fu. We generate power by keeping our upper body loose and relaxed, and our stances rooted, yet mobile. The techniques are executed in a whipping-like motion. It is very powerful, but it is a relaxed power. This is really beneficial for children and adults, as it teaches the value of be loose, while maintaining structural integrity. This is the balance many of us are searching for - how to be powerful, but how to maintain agility to be able to adapt easily to changing circums ..read more

Perseverance is a huge character trait. Sometimes, things will not go your way, all the time. It’s important to be able to absorb that energy and learn the lessons that it provides. It can be a painful part of growth, particularly if you get too used to not knowing how to deal with it. Emotions happen. Emotions are okay to have. Emotions are also fleeting. The emotions will pass, and the lesson will reveal itself. You will not always get it right. That’s okay. Keep working at it. Keep trying. PERSEVERE. You come out better for it. Here are three sentences: ”Well, it didn’t go the way I wanted ..read more

This is a common technique in Rope Dart. I teach things like this in a very safe manner, with a soft dog toy at the end of the rope, first! Eventually, after lots and lots and lots of practice and evaluation, I will allow students to practice on targets. You can see the Rope Dart being used in the movie, “Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” by the sister! The Rope Dart is a beautiful weapon in Kung-Fu, as it represents the softness, agility, fluidity, and grace, while being an incredibly POWERFUL force for self-defense. It doesn’t look very intimidating when it’s not in motion, but then ..read more

This is a common sequence from Yang Family Tai Chi - Lifting Hands, Shoulder Press, White Crane Spreads Wings, into Brushing the Knee. And of course, at that moment, I throw the chopsticks ..read more

This is a common technique in Rope Dart. I teach things like this in a very safe manner, with a soft dog toy at the end of the rope, first! Eventually, after lots and lots and lots of practice and evaluation, I will allow students to practice on targets. You can see the Rope Dart being used in the movie, “Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” by the sister! The Rope Dart is a beautiful weapon in Kung-Fu, as it represents the softness, agility, fluidity, and grace, while being an incredibly POWERFUL force for self-defense. It doesn’t look very intimidating when it’s not in motion, but then ..read more

This is a common technique in Rope Dart. I teach things like this in a very safe manner, with a soft dog toy at the end of the rope, first! Eventually, after lots and lots and lots of practice and evaluation, I will allow students to practice on targets. You can see the Rope Dart being used in the movie, “Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” by the sister! The Rope Dart is a beautiful weapon in Kung-Fu, as it represents the softness, agility, fluidity, and grace, while being an incredibly POWERFUL force for self-defense. It doesn’t look very intimidating when it’s not in motion, but then ..read more

This is a common technique in Rope Dart. I teach things like this in a very safe manner, with a soft dog toy at the end of the rope, first! Eventually, after lots and lots and lots of practice and evaluation, I will allow students to practice on targets. You can see the Rope Dart being used in the movie, “Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” by the sister! The Rope Dart is a beautiful weapon in Kung-Fu, as it represents the softness, agility, fluidity, and grace, while being an incredibly POWERFUL force for self-defense. It doesn’t look very intimidating when it’s not in motion, but then ..read more

This is a common technique in Rope Dart. I teach things like this in a very safe manner, with a soft dog toy at the end of the rope, first! Eventually, after lots and lots and lots of practice and evaluation, I will allow students to practice on targets. You can see the Rope Dart being used in the movie, “Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” by the sister! The Rope Dart is a beautiful weapon in Kung-Fu, as it represents the softness, agility, fluidity, and grace, while being an incredibly POWERFUL force for self-defense. It doesn’t look very intimidating when it’s not in motion, but then ..read more