I Tried Acrobatic Kung Fu

I Tried Wushu Kung Fu, the acrobatic, high flying competition based Martial Arts Style!
Big thanks to Imari Colon from East Cloud Kung Fu for the help!
eastcloudkungf...
If you like my stuff, check out more at senseiseth.com

[@RealRanton]

LET'S GOOOOO 😂

[@me0101001000]

Good to see you here, Ranton! I'd love to see/hear a discussion between you two!

[@self8ting]

I was expecting you in the video XD

[@jaketrovillion6159]

Lol invite Sensei Seth to learn some Shaolin forms. Would make for some killer content.

[@MatthewSedgley]

Colab right now you cock saka

[@lilin9147]

Ranton really said first.

[@RamseyDewey]

I had a very similar experience years ago when a former student of mine who has a Master degree in Wushu invited me to train wushu and gymnastics at the Shanghai University of Sport. I do not have a video of the training... fortunately! I looked ridiculous. You did great for one day of training Seth!

[@Parker8752]

I get the impression that the point of many of the more advanced forms is less about practising the kinds of techniques you'd use in a real fight, and far more about conditioning the body for flexibility, accuracy, explosive movement, and cardio - effectively being used as a long set of plyometric exercises.

[@camiloiribarren1450]

Seth learned how tough it is to practice Wushu, a display of incredible athleticism. He learned how to so much and did awesome

[@KevinLeeVlog]

This is awesome!!! I did wushu as a kid, it’s definitely not easy!

[@samk8470]

Dude, are there any martial arts you haven't done?? (love your videos btw)

[@gw1357]

Wu Shu is great for young smaller guys with a high strength to weight ratio. Its also a great baseline for aspiring movie stuntmen. Ray Park (Darth Maul in Star Wars, Toad in X-Men, Snakeyes in GI Joe, etc.) was a Wu Shu champion.

[@Ox9707]

It's like watching the first Kung Fu Panda. Seth is getting put to work out there. 😂 Good show sir

[@lahcenlhaj2130]

😂😂

[@justakathings]

😂😂

[@andret3739]

In my late teens/ early 20s I started boxing, after that i got into muay thai, then bjj and mma but my first martial art was wushu, I practiced that from when I was 10 or 11 until I was 19. This brought back so many memories, quite the nostalgia trip. Great job Seth

[@thepants1450]

Have you ever tried any of the wushu kicks in live sparring or combat? If so what was the effect like?

[@andret3739]

@@thepants1450 not in combat but in sparring, they're not the most efficient kicks but you can catch people off guard with them and when they do land it can hit pretty hard

[@znail4675]

I could see this being a good complement to doing regular martial arts. Body conditioning is important and this looks to take it to a new level.

[@hanu9830]

its cool to see a balanced perspective on taolu emerging. no it doesnt make you combat ready, you cant learn to swim without water. but it develops agility endurance and coordination to a high level, and can be a great foundation for combat sports. guys like xie wei and kevin holland are proving this point in MMA

[@Kwert]

I think a lot of people have it in their head that for a martial art to be worthwhile it HAS to teach you how to fight, which I just don’t think is true. There is a lot to be gained on a personal and cultural level from something like this, but it’s crucial that the practitioner is clear on their own reasoning for wanting to study a martial art/multiple martial arts.

[@hanu9830]

@@Kwert definitely. and self defense doesn't necessarily mean combat. many people get injured falling down stairs or something...an art like taolu that maxes out your agility and coordination could save your life without you even knowing it

[@andrewzach1921]

I noticed the instructor said some people really dig in the forms and find the reason for them and the defence and attacks in them and maybe go onto the combat side. I was told that one of the senior members of my old karate club did nothing but concentrate on kata heading into a large tournament. He did nothing but kata for three months but dug into it to figure out the reasons. Then he won the tournament. Now he had fought before this tournament and was very good but it goes to show there is a lot hidden in katas and forms. You just have to look for it. This was a fun video Sensai, I would like to see you return and try again some day.

[@nightshade7240]

People misunderstand the purpose of forms. They don't see it for what it is. Those of us who have trained and learned weapon forms understand the truth. That forms build muscle memory and repetition and the more repetition the safer you will be when using your weapons. Forms are designed to make weapons an extension of yourself. Empty handed forms are about discipline that translates to weapon forms.

[@agent_m8869]

@@nightshade7240 100% Totally agree with both of you, because forms don't just build muscle memory it also traing your heart and lungs to its max also forms are more easy for SiFu to pass on the Skills and Different Moves.

[@dukeofprunes3354]

I like how you have given every martial art you've tried a fair shake. And generally focus on the positives, it's very refreshing.

[@perrenchan6600]

HELL YEAH! This was great. I hope you get to do more chinese style martial arts like Sanda or drunken boxing

[@coolworms7297]

Jesse did some drunken boxing too i think, i'd like to see seth do it too

[@colincolin5696]

For a big dude you’re actually really flexible and agile.

[@MatthewSedgley]

He do be like Daniel Cormier

[@hajime-zg8mq]

That's the chubby surprise!

[@non9886]

no he is not. he is out of shape, no flexibility, no coordination and nothing. he looks like untrained guy which goes to gym once a week. he should really change his approach and way of training, this is a shame...

[@JulioLeonFandinho]

@@non9886 who are you?

[@Xavier-uo6gb]

@@non9886 🤡🤡🤡🤡

[@arunkhanna2496]

Sensei Seth deserves so much respect for these videos. Always finding the positive, teaching us masses the core tenets of art we may never practice, and just spreading the joys of martial arts in general. This is so great, and offers a wonderful alternative to the “Who’s art kicks which art’s ass harder” convo.

[@JonahThePigeon]

So many online MMA enthusiasts will look at stunningly beautiful and shockingly athletic feats of martial artistry and judge them entirely by how efficiently they could kill a man. I don't think it matters one but how devastating it would be to get hit with a Wushu kick, it's gorgeous to watch. It's great to see a video highlighting the grace and athleticism of non-combat martial arts!.

[@lionsden4563]

We don't judge them because they do not hide behind 'too deadly for da streetz' like Aikido or Tai Chi clowns. These Wushu practitioners are legit as an athelete and a performer.

[@JonahThePigeon]

@@lionsden4563 I'm glad you don't but I've seen people in the comments on a very impressive acrobatic board breaking demonstration genuinely criticizing it for not being the most optimally combat effective thing possible

[@basteagui]

lol the teacher is not impressed. i love it

[@yumenozen]

Some things you think would be easier, aren't. I've been doing ballet for about the last four years and my body hurts worse than twenty five years of martials arts did.

[@joostfloot5279]

That: "It's pissing me off" really came from the heart lol.

[@leronharrison1110]

As a wushu guy with a similar build as you, I appreciate you taking the time to learn some wushu. Guys like us usually learn nanquan, Southern Style; changquan (long fist) is the style you were learning. But you, just like me, do have hops for a big guy. Southern kung fu, as Jesse Encamp shows in his China video series, has influenced karate and so nanquan would've been a bit more familiar to you and the sit stance and drop stance don't appear too much in those forms. I would've liked to see them take you over the elements of the forms and then add moves on once you got them, but that's how I teach students to do forms (and it's more old-school wushu teaching style). But good job on making it through your first wushu class and thank you for showing wushu some love.

[@Dsy4iana]

Easily became one of my favorite martial artist youtubers real quick 😭

[@masterho8349]

I am very impressed with your ability to do Wushu you did very well for the first time. Jayou !

[@scopedin671]

thank you so much. as a wushu athlete i think this video was great at representing the sport

[@JaybayJay]

It's very hard for us big guys to do this stuff but the rewards are totally worth it.. way to go seth. No criticism here..

[@JaybayJay]

Except for how fast an ad showed up...

[@JaybayJay]

Inflexible means rigid, unwilling to bend.

[@chazzitz-wh4ly]

Okay, now enter a wu shu tournament. It’s only logical conclusion.

[@CaptainGrackle]

I switched from Northern Shaolin to Sanda kickboxing at age 22 because I felt I was "too old" for all the flips and kicks in the forms

[@Satsujinki1973]

The into gave me conniptions. Wu Shu means war art, any martial art from China is a form of Wu Shu. Kung Fu just means hard work.

[@jinxhead4182]

Love that Seth is exposing himself to so many different ideas and styles and having mad respect for everything he tries. Loving it.

[@lale5767]

That talk at the beginning was the most chill laid back but intenese "suck it up" speech I ever heard. Hehehe she seems badass. Reminds me of a certain Judoka/mma champion's mother.

[@EganCraft]

Performance Wushu is one of the most advanced technical sports in the world because the judges are incredibly strict and its in a similar lane to gymnastics in terms of physical exertion

[@josefcura2320]

Bro! I did a small amount of wushu waaaaay back in the day and seeing you do all that brough back some memories. I am really impressed with the way you were able to pick up some of the forms in such a short amount of time. Great job!

[@shadowfighter6445]

You did better than I would have done if I was in the same kung fu studio 😄. Overall this was fun to watch ☺️.

[@NexusJunisBlue]

Thank you for featuring Wushu and for being open-minded! 🙂

[@StodOneR]

"I'm not stiff ... But being next to these kids ...." I cant

[@mattspendlove4609]

I actually didn't think the advance form wasn't that bad good job dude

[@stevenrice7297]

Great job Sensei Seth. Your willingness to try everything out and give it a fair crack is actually very inspiring. And always with good humour too. Thanks man 🙏

[@leoismaking]

Gotta admit, this might not be a combat-centered martial art, but if any of those kids decided to play keep-away there's probably no way I'd catch 'em. Sometimes, superior athleticism IS the combat technique.

[@lale5767]

you're right, not much striking or clinch can do at that point

[@cj.blackedits3289]

cool to see a popular martial art youtuber talking about modern wushu in a non-condescending manor, appreciate it 😅👍🏼

[@GLASSGHOSTHUNTERS]

I give Seth a TON of credit for even attempting this! When my students complain about a form being over 30 moves long, I always refer them to Chinese forms. My older brother is a Hung Gar Kung Fu instructor, and his forms are looooong! This was a great watch! Thank you Seth for always being family friendly too!

[@noir4356]

This is a really good video. And I'm happy you gave it a try. People may rant and joke about the "nonsense"-Wushu... but just try those forms. At least once ;) And yes, the warmup is the hardest. I've been there myself. I feel you. And you did well :) Btw, you actually can apply most of these moves in combat, but it's important to separate the hits from the form. I'd really like to see some MMA-people to try Wushu out, I'm very sure it will have benefits in the octagon as well.

[@ArkansasWushu]

This was a great video. There are similarities between martial arts and dance so that may be a good video idea in the future as well. For example, ballet was based on Spanish fencing. You should check out the compulsory Wushu forms for competition, those are forms that are basically required knowledge to compete, and they are amazing to watch.

[@alexanderren1097]

Seth’s next video will be learning ballet dancing and it’ll probably be even MORE painful!

[@akirakon9380]

As a wushu practitioner, this makes me so happy

[@cheesburgr]

I was ready to roll my eyes, but 34 seconds in, I'm happy to hear someone being genuine :)

[@BlackNo1918]

The courage and willingness to embarrass yourself for even attempting these forms... Well done Sensei Seth. I would've bailed out immediately

[@emptyemptiness8372]

Starting wushu as a huge grown ass western man was always gonna be a struggle, doesn't matter how much karate you trained. It would be like Kimbo Slice going to a ballet class.

[@thapsm4575]

Sensei Seth made my dad with this. It's rare you see many MMA fighters who even attempt to appreciate the diversity of Kung Fu - A Wushu /.Kung Fu student

[@BetoBarbaro]

Congratulations!!! I'm a wushu practitioner, Taiji Quan forms, and I know how the guys from de external forms are tough. 👏👏👏👏👏

[@tytech1340]

You should to a callout challenge to some of the other KZbin guys you collaborate with . I think that would make an Epic series to watch !

[@charlescollier7217]

We need a WHOLE video of Laoshi Imari looking on at Seth in amusement.She said so little, and yet so much. 😂😂😂

[@109thstar]

Yo, props for showcasing Dmah from martial club!

[@gnos1s171]

Hey I'd recommend making a video on taichi and seeing how you can make it functional in more of a sparring setting like you did with Wing Chun and Aikido from what I know the teacher of sifu Chris, David chin taught it as well and from what I know his Tai Chi was pretty practical and applicable in sparring and fighting

[@basteagui]

hey. i've been looking into all of the tai chi stuff for many years, practiced a ton and even then it is difficult to recognize when something real vs fake is going on. basically tai chi is a form of generating and redirecting power that you can use, but it won't just win any fight. it's like a training part for the sport called "Shuai jiao", which is the real fighting form (it looks exactly like wrestling. it is just wrestling) there's 2 ideas in tai chi, generating power from the smallest frame possible (fa jin) (fire) and being fluid in your response (water). that's about it. the stuff you see that looks supernatural by those people in china even westerners in china is all fake. the best you can do in real tai chi is what happened in "Jan Lucanus vs Nico Alsup". or "tai chi beatdown". more or less simple application of the ideas applied to a wrestling framework (shuai jiao)

[@basteagui]

if you want to apply fa jin to striking then the martial art to go for is bajiquan, tai chi won't help you with that. it will teach you to generate the power/shockwave but to launch and grapple.

[@basteagui]

@@gnos1s171 i know there are tournaments because i mentioned a tournament in my comment. i don't think you read very well before responding, i think you're one of those people. i never said it wasn't legitimate. i said there's a lot of fakery out there. which is true. and i know xing yi very well because it's almost the same as bajiquan. at least from the waist down the power generation and footwork is the same. so basically i said that already too. bajiquan and xing yi obviously come from the same place.

[@gnos1s171]

@@basteagui okay actually that's fair I apologize maybe I was a bit too aggressive with my response but honestly the only point I was trying to make was that I disagreed with you and I simply think you're wrong on this subject, and I do actually agree there is a lot of fakery out there that needs to be exposed and shouldn't be passed off as legitimate but it seems like you were kind of saying that there are only some things in it that are useful and that most of it can really be discarded which I simply don't think is fair I think almost all of it are very legitimate wrestling Concepts and techniques maybe I was a bit too harsh in how I delivered that point and I apologize for that but overall that is my argument

[@johndough8115]

@@basteagui Fajin can be applied in the form of a Push, or more devastating.. to just cause the Internals to Rupture (the OP doesnt move). Tai Chi, is supposed to teach both methods. However, what is commonly Demo'ed, is the Push format... 1) Because its much Safer and 2) Because a spectator cant "SEE" internal power. It has to be FELT, to be fully believed and understood. The fact that you do not know this, shows that you are personally Biased, and Ignorant, at the same time. ALL Chinese arts, come from the same highly developed Technologies... and Fajin expression, is no exception. And for the record... there is little to no reason for me to Launch an OP away from me. I used to Knock out disrespectful fighters, from my mostly extended LEAD guard hand, via a Vertical fist strike to their foreheads. I used less than 6 inches of travel, and released less than 15% of the total power that I was capable of producing... to cause these KO's. This was also with shock-absorbing MMA gloves on, which makes Fajin delivery much more challenging + reduced. At that time, if I was to use my bare fist... and even HALF of my available power... I could have EASILY caused brain damages to an attacker, with a mere 3 inches of runway. And Im pretty certain, that Id need less than 2" of space, at FULL power release to do the same (brain damages, or Ending the OP though severe internal ruptures). The problem with Tai Chi, is that most teachers these days, do not know + teach the true Combat format of it.. AND... in order to develop it to high levels, takes a very long time... because its such a deep and complex art. The entire Body needs to be changed, which is mostly achieved via slow-motion training.. and a lot of people lack the patience for that level of bodily development to occur (1hr minimum forms, every day), on top of all the rest of the work thats needed.

[@ssbass7798]

This is one of the best channels on YT. Fun, informative, entertaining and insightful on what the various MAs have to offer. And SS did a great job remembering a lot of these for how difficult and complex they are. The parts that looked great were fun to watch and the parts that were rough were entertaining and reminded me a bit of Will Ferrell's "ribbon dancing" routine in Old School haha. Keep up the awesome work!

[@Diecastclassicist]

Jet Li’s wushu background combined with his more in depth study of martial applications must have made him a really dangerous guy for his size, no wonder he became a man of peace!

[@ianalmeidapinheiro8007]

I am a brazilian watcher and I practice kung fu since I was 6 years old (now I am 19), but it does not have acrobatics haha. It is a style called Choy Lay Fut and I really love it. It has some beautiful forms and still some nice foundations in fight applications.

[@sylaconnocalys8443]

Damn watching this is giving me flashbacks to my childhood when I did this stuff. The warmups are almost exactly the same that I did.

[@razakhan23465]

This video changed my view on Wushu. I didn't understand what the point would be as a martial practice, but thinking of it as an acrobatic practice and seeing that it does require strength at different ranges of motion is impressive.

[@wushuhsu]

Wushu is even more fun when you get to weapons. There are lots of them.

[@Pyotaro]

THANK U DUUUDE I've been searching for a martial arts for me I don't wanna fight at all (most martial arts are for fights) and I wanna do the cool jumps and stuff And showing the amount of "work" and exaustion is needed I feel a little bit more prepared Again, thank u very much I feel like u cleared my mind to choose a pokemon starter

[@johnelliott9823]

Holy plyometrics batman! You need major cardio for that stuff. Looks like good clean fun, a great sport. Wonder what they'd look like with cardio capoeira moves mixed in. Also wonder who makes the forms.

[@CptCh4os]

Mad respect once again! They way you manage these insane things in just a few hours or even minutes of training. Incredible! Also that one kid was absolutley savage :D

[@gmkgoat]

8:22 I've never seen someone less impressed in my life and I've seen the way my mom looks at me.

[@alexanderren1097]

Dude! For your first time that looked really good!

[@genericface]

These videos are always really well done. I'd like to see Seth go through fighting versions of this (the kickboxing) and of Tae Kwon Do (WTF? instead of ITF, I think), and compare them to the sport versions. Especially since there's so much trash talked about these martial arts, because people see the sport versions and think that's all there is to it.

[@Fwibos]

Wushu Kung Fu is the moves you do with a spear or swords, without a spear or swords.

[@zacharyhamley4024]

Now you need to try Sanda/Sanshou since you already did the Wushu part of it

[@vinbin4343]

You should try sanshou sanda it's like a mix of kickboxing or mma with aspects of kungfu incorporated, I think it should get more exposure as a martial art

[@BenGali0]

I'm glad sifu colon said the words "performing arts", mighty impressive nonetheless

[@christophercook4819]

I studied a little wushu under grand master wu bin when I was sixteen and to this day other than the birth of my son it’s the coolest experience I’ve ever had. I did really good with the snake style and nunchuck but where I really excelled was the tai chi long sword

[@r.matthews594]

I love the open mind that you approach these sorts of martial arts. So many are hung up on pure fighting ability, we forget that some people train for the fitness, the challenge of movement, or the joy. There is an insane amount of work here, and it should be respected for the beautiful thing that it is while still tying to very ancient martial arts.

[@TheHungryworm]

Good job man! I remember doing Wushu training weekends at our Kung Fu school and by the end my mind had melted, that was great to watch, so thanks a lot!

[@Machina03exe]

The thumbnail you made for this is very fitting. Great job as always with the performance!

[@Nathan-qq3kv]

You should definitely try to do a Collab with the martial club at some point

[@SenseiSeth]

I’d love to! They’re amazing

[@Benw8888]

Wow you actually did really well! Edit: just got to the part where you said you added a cut

[@Theaddekalk]

STILL IMPRESSIVE WITH THE LAST ADAVANCE DUDE

[@eulalupercal5814]

10:33 that's butterfly kick was one of the hardest in the form of the northern fist some can do it like they are flying.

[@eugenekillian8807]

Martial arts are such a huge tent. Thanks for doing this. It was wonderful to watch. They’re amazing athletes.

[@Scorpitarios]

1:19 His WTF face was pure gold. 😂

[@ridleyroid9060]

This seems recreationally absolutely amazing. All in one workout!

[@mdhj67]

I've heard of NFL football players doing ballet. The motivation is that it improves their flexibility, balance, focus, and makes them more resistant to certain types of injuries. Looks like Wushu might have similar benefits. Just doing the warm-up might benefit conditioning.

[@yasuh4550]

Damn that last one was impressive!

[@MMAShredded]

love your videos!!!!!

[@SenseiSeth]

Thanks bro!!

[@ttusna]

That looked waay cooler than Cody horsing around!

[@Shindai]

I slammed that like button the second I opened this one, I knew it was guaranteed to be a good time. Like. Not for you, obviously xD You did great, I love how you're so willing to jump into things, and how you always rise to the occasion to a respectful level, even when it's super difficult stuff like this. Osu :)

[@nyclee9133]

These forms are taken from popular northern style kung fu systems mostly shaolin long fist and there taught simplied and with no application if these were taken seriously it would be like traditional kung fu not modern wushu. Where as you can see is just a preformance

[@peterdp4971]

It's like watching the beggining of Kung Fu Panda...sort of 😂. Congrats for getting yourself out of your confort zone, says a lot good about you.

[@danielsantarosa101]

I didn't do Wushu, I did some Eagle Kung Fu style for a year when I was a kid, and I did this first form Seth did. I did not sig up for a Wushu class and am just now finding out I had this Wushu class disguised as Eagle style Kung Fu

[@AyazHamid]

Hey seth! You should try out Sanda some time! I would love to see how your karate skills get transferred there, it's a very fun sport :)

[@mndeg]

seth is elite at learning forms O_O

[@nicolasrongo1952]

Woooow Seth you did great! I understand you!!! I have practiced karate all my life and started wushu 6 months ago and let me tell you everything you showed is real, this art is taught a lot! Greetings from Argentina!

[@dasteufelhund]

Nice work!!! Great work, in fact!

[@TomChenLife]

My Crown Jewels would smack every time.

[@kevinsargent]

That is very impressive for 1 day.

[@mattbeaulne2516]

The full demo was pretty good but that tornado kick at the end was fire! Any kickboxing combo that goes beyond 4-5 strikes I'm lost.

[@bennyaruba3449]

Cool. Besides Tao Lu you got Sanda/Sanshou or sparring and Schuai Chiao or grappling in Wushu or "Kung Fu" aswell. U probably already know. Would also make dope episodes too anyway 🙂👍

[@christophernewton8474]

Seth: I'm not the best at kata Also Seth: let's try acrobatic kata

[@EggShen905]

Yeah, mad respect for the athleticism of Wushu.

[@gw1357]

As a kung fu guy...I think of modern wu shu sort of the way that you think of TKD. Its beautiful and hyper athletic and very impressive in its own context...but, for me, I much prefer watching a traditional form where I can still see the rooting in practicality. Shi Heng Yi (master of the Shaolin Temple in Europe) has a great three video tutorial of that same first form that I highly recommend. It includes the practical applications (what a karate guy would call bunkai) as well.

[@egisshield]

What is that form called, and is it from a particular style?

[@gw1357]

@@egisshield kzbin.info/www/bejne/b3m4kKmQn7Znnas&start=513

[@wenchengxue2164]

Real Kung Fu was designed and used to fight in war. But that purpose vanished over time, so now people over time have made it more flashy. However, there are still some people that train it the right way, for it to be useful in a fight, but those masters are rare.

[@antifa86i35]

so fucking love you ! giving all martials a chance ! that thakes balls !

[@porodici8632]

i love these videos, good work!

[@obiwanquixote8423]

Wushu is in many ways like the Crossfit of TCMA. With all the positives and negatives that implies. The criticism is the forms took what were training exercises and made them the purpose unto themselves but in so doing, made something kind of grimly esoteric into something fun, athletic and approachable.