kung fu
Enable an AI agent to recognise a kung fu practice, assess its demonstrated capabilities and training conditions, and decide which learning, practice or application steps are appropriate.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
Researched by: Codex + Grok
Purpose and description
Enable an AI agent to recognise a kung fu practice, assess its demonstrated capabilities and training conditions, and decide which learning, practice or application steps are appropriate.
Kung fu is a Western umbrella name for Chinese martial arts (wushu/gongfu): embodied fighting and cultivation systems that train striking, grappling, weapons, and related internal practices under lineage, regional, and institutional styles.
It can be Identify a kung fu practice and flag unresolved style, terminology or transmission claims.; Map named forms and techniques to their stated principles, applications and learning prerequisites.; Compare demonstrated competence with the practice's own assessment criteria.; Select a next drill or assessment within recorded readiness, contact and supervision limits.; Detect when claims about application exceed the resistance or conditions under which they were demonstrated.; Pause or redirect a proposed exercise when its partner, weapon, space or conditioning requirements are unmet..
Distinguishing features
The practice identifies itself as kung fu or a named Chinese martial tradition; visual resemblance alone does not establish that identity.
Its movements have stated martial purposes or belong to a declared martial repertoire; costume, music and acrobatics alone are insufficient.
The record distinguishes demonstrating a form from applying its movements with a partner, so performance quality is not treated as proof of fighting competence.
The practice's relationship to labels such as wushu, taolu, sanda, qigong or tai chi is recorded explicitly rather than assuming that those labels are mutually exclusive or interchangeable.
Chinese martial identity is distinguished from generic striking, grappling or fitness training through the practice's declared repertoire, methods and transmission claims.
Scope
+ Identification of the practice, including its named style, school and claimed transmission
+ Movement principles, techniques, forms and their stated martial purposes
+ Training progression, correction methods and evidence of competence
+ Partner interaction, resistance and the limits of demonstrated application
+ Practice-specific contact, conditioning, weapon and supervision constraints
- The practitioner's general identity, medical history and overall fitness
- The school's business operations, staffing and membership administration
- Chinese cultural history, philosophy and religion beyond their explicit role in the practice
- Weapon manufacture, ownership and legal classification
- Competition administration, event logistics and complete rulesets
- Actual violent incidents and legal judgments about self-defence
Characteristics
- Practice designation
- Self-designated name, original-language name where available, aliases and unresolved terminology Prevents an agent from identifying kung fu solely through appearance or an imprecise translated label.
- Transmission claim
- Practice linked to named teachers, schools or traditions, with supporting evidence and claim status Separates a declared affiliation from corroborated transmission without making lineage a substitute for competence.
- Training emphasis
- Forms, partner application, sparring, weapons, conditioning, performance, competition or another stated emphasis; multiple allowed Makes the purpose of training explicit and limits inappropriate comparisons between different practices.
- Repertoire coverage
- For each named component: not introduced, introduced, rehearsed, demonstrated or assessed under specified conditions Shows what has actually been learned without assuming that a rank represents every capability.
- Partner resistance
- Solo, cooperative, constrained resistance or open resistance, with task rules recorded Distinguishes choreography and compliant practice from evidence under opposition.
- Contact conditions
- No contact, controlled contact or another explicitly defined contact level, including permitted targets and stopping rules Determines which partner activities fit the stated training agreement.
- Practice exposure
- Hours by training method over a stated period Helps interpret learning opportunities while keeping time spent distinct from competence.
- Application evidence
- Capability claim linked to observations, assessors, dates, partners, constraints and counterexamples Lets an agent judge how far a demonstrated result supports a broader claim.
- Weapon practice configuration
- No weapon or named implement, training substitute, physical condition and solo or partner use Changes the space, handling and supervision needed for the activity.
- Progression readiness
- Not assessed, prerequisites unmet, ready within stated limits or paused pending review Supports a bounded next training step rather than unrestricted permission based on experience or rank.
Also called
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 6 bundles · 11 layers · 11 findings · 22 questions.
Martial identity and transmission Records what kung fu means for this practice and how its identity and teaching relationships are supported.
An agent must distinguish a declared martial tradition from a marketing label, visual imitation or unverified historical claim.
Practice designation
Establishes the practice's names and its relationship to overlapping martial and movement categories.
Declared kung fu boundary
Record the meaning assigned to kung fu here, including whether the subject is a style, a school's curriculum or a particular training activity.
- What named practice does kung fu designate in this record, and who uses that designation? definition
- How does this practice distinguish or connect itself with wushu, taolu, sanda, qigong and tai chi? boundary
Teaching transmission
Separates evidence of instruction and affiliation from claims about historical continuity.
Supported transmission claims
Record claimed teacher and school relationships, their evidence and any disagreements without using lineage alone to certify practical ability.
- Which teachers or schools transmitted the recorded curriculum, and what evidence supports those relationships? provenance
- Which origin or continuity claims remain disputed, undocumented or dependent on a single account? provenance
Movement and martial repertoire Describes the technical content through which this practice expresses its martial purposes.
A style name does not tell an agent which movements, principles or applications a practitioner is expected to learn.
Body method and techniques
Connects the practice's movement vocabulary to observable execution criteria.
Observable body method
Record the practice's stated requirements for stance, stepping, balance, coordination and force production, together with the techniques that use them.
- Which stance, stepping and coordination principles does this practice teach, and how are they recognised in movement? definition
- What observable criteria distinguish acceptable execution from errors in the techniques being assessed? measurement
Forms and application links
Relates rehearsed sequences to their teaching purposes and proposed partner applications.
Form-to-application account
Record forms where present, the principles they rehearse and the status of interpretations offered for individual movements.
- Which forms or sequences are taught, if any, and what is each intended to develop? definition
- Which proposed applications are attributed to a teacher or source, and which are later interpretations? provenance
- What partner exercise could examine a proposed application without treating the solo sequence as proof? action
Learning and correction Records how the repertoire is acquired, corrected and assessed for progression.
An agent needs practice-specific prerequisites and feedback to choose a useful next step rather than relying on elapsed time or rank.
Training progression
Links foundational exercises to later forms, partner tasks and weapon work.
Curriculum prerequisites
Record the dependencies the school or instructor specifies between exercises and the evidence required to advance.
- Which foundational movements or control skills are prerequisites for the next form, partner drill or weapon exercise? definition
- What demonstration would justify progression, and who is qualified within this practice to assess it? action
Feedback and retention
Tracks whether corrections persist and transfer beyond a familiar rehearsal.
Correction follow-through
Record a specific execution problem, the teaching cue used and subsequent observations under relevant variations.
- Which error was identified in a stance, transition, strike, defence or other taught movement, and what correction was prescribed? provenance
- Does the correction persist after a delay or a change of direction, tempo or partner task? measurement
Partner application and evidence Records what a practitioner can demonstrate with another person and the conditions limiting that evidence.
Kung fu performance, cooperative application and resistant interaction provide different evidence and must not be collapsed into one competence judgment.
Interaction conditions
Makes the partner's task, permitted responses and contact agreement explicit.
Partner task definition
Record whether actions are predetermined, which choices each partner has and how success or stopping is determined.
- Is the exercise a fixed exchange, a constrained application task or sparring, and what may each partner do? definition
- What resistance, permitted targets, contact limits and stopping conditions governed the observed attempt? measurement
Capability claim limits
Connects claimed martial capabilities to observations and identifies unsupported extrapolations.
Bounded application evidence
Record successful and unsuccessful attempts, partner variation and the conditions under which the claimed capability has not been examined.
- Across which partners and attempts did the application succeed or fail under the recorded task conditions? measurement
- Which claims about fighting or self-defence go beyond what these observations establish? boundary
Practice constraints and readiness Records the controls needed for the particular contact, conditioning and weapon activities being proposed.
The next suitable kung fu activity depends on its physical demands and equipment, as well as the learner's technical progress.
Contact and conditioning
Captures readiness and stopping rules for the specific exercise, including impact or sustained-position work where present.
Exercise demand and stop rules
Record the intended demand, agreed limits, supervision and reported conditions that require modification or cessation.
- What duration, repetitions, impact or contact does this exercise require, and how are its limits established? measurement
- Which observed loss of control or reported symptoms require stopping, modifying the drill or seeking an appropriate assessment? action
Weapon and space controls
Specifies handling readiness and environmental requirements when the curriculum includes weapons.
Weapon practice readiness
Record the implement or substitute, its condition, the movement envelope and the controls required for solo or partner use.
- Which implement is used, and what condition, clearance and separation requirements apply to this particular exercise? measurement
- What handling demonstration and supervision are required before the practitioner begins or progresses this weapon exercise? action
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
A model that cannot be lined up against existing standards, identifiers and practice cannot be adopted by anyone who already uses them.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Kinds and varieties
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Shaolin / external (waijia) temple and folk striking systems
- Internal (neijia) arts such as taijiquan, xingyiquan, and baguazhang
- Southern (nanquan) family styles such as Hung Gar, Wing Chun, Choy Li Fut, and White Crane
- Northern long-fist and animal-named styles (changquan, Tanglangquan, Bajiquan)
- Traditional lineage / folk (minjian) kung fu versus sport wushu (taolu and sanda)
- Weapons curricula (jian, dao, gun, qiang, and dual/flexible arms)
- Diaspora and hybrid systems (Hong Kong cinema lineages, Southeast Asian, Western school curricula)
- Related but distinct Chinese combat sports (shuai jiao, sanshou/sanda)
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of kung fu this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Sources
- kung fu - Specialist definition: kung fu as a popular name for Chinese martial arts, with Shaolin association, hard/soft and internal/external distinctions, and the 20th-century Western popularization of the term.
What the second pass must settle
- Does the registry intend kung fu exclusively as Chinese martial practice, or must this entry also accommodate its broader meaning of cultivated skill?
- How does the registry organise related entries such as wushu, tai chi, qigong and sanda, and which model should own overlapping practice descriptions?
- Which practitioner and documentary sources should establish terminology and curriculum examples without presenting one school's conventions as universal?
- What assessment criteria can support comparisons across kung fu practices while preserving differences in purpose, repertoire and teaching method?
- Which exercise-specific contact, conditioning and weapon constraints can be supported by suitable evidence, and which must remain subject to qualified local assessment?