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title: What is Kung Fu? (功夫 / 中國武術)
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**Kung fu** (功夫, *gōngfu*; also spelled *gong fu* or *kungfu*) is the everyday English name for **Chinese martial arts** — the vast family of fighting, health, and self-cultivation systems developed across China over many centuries. In China the arts are more often called **wushu** (武術, "martial arts"), **guoshu** (國術, "national art"), or simply **quan** (拳, "boxing / fist").

Strictly, *gongfu* means **skill achieved through sustained effort and time** — it can describe a master calligrapher or cook as readily as a boxer. The martial meaning is the one that traveled the world through twentieth-century cinema.

## Internal (內家) and external (外家)

A traditional — if blurry — split:

- **Internal arts (內家)** lead with **intention (意), breath, sinking, and whole-body connection**; power is issued from a relaxed, integrated body. The classic three are **Taiji 太極**, **Bagua 八卦掌**, and **Xingyi 形意拳**.
- **External arts (外家)** lead with **conditioned structure, speed, and percussive power**, trained from the frame outward. Most Shaolin-derived and regional folk styles sit here.

The line is porous: Baji and Pigua are "hard" yet deeply mechanical, and Praying Mantis has soft, internal branches.

## Northern (北) and Southern (南)

A second axis, roughly north vs south of the Yangtze:

- **Northern (北派)** — longer stances, expansive footwork, kicks, leaps, long-range entries. *Mantis, Bagua, Xingyi, Baji, Cha, Tongbei, Northern Shaolin.*
- **Southern (南派)** — rooted stances, compact powerful hands, bridge-arm work. *Hung Ga, Wing Chun, Choy Li Fut, Southern White Crane.*

<PageRef space="notes" slug="northern-styles" text="Northern Kung Fu Styles — our first field guide" />

## The major families

Chinese martial arts number in the hundreds of named systems. A few you'll meet often: **Shaolin 少林**, **Taiji 太極**, **Bagua 八卦掌**, **Xingyi 形意**, **Baji 八極**, **Praying Mantis 螳螂**, **Wing Chun 詠春**, **Hung Ga 洪拳**, and **Tan Tui 彈腿** — the foundational kicking drill-set behind many northern schools.

## Legend versus history

Many styles carry romantic origin myths — a wandering Daoist, an animal observed in a courtyard, a secret temple manual. These are part of the culture and worth knowing, but **we treat them as legend, not documented history**, and say so on each page.

<Callout type="info">
  Looking for the internal art of Taiji specifically? See the sister wiki, [taiji.openmindspace.org](https://taiji.openmindspace.org).
</Callout>