A good many people who contact us already train something else - they run, go to the gym, climb. The question is always the same: does this clash? The answer is mostly no, but with differences worth knowing in advance.
Running
The easiest combination. Running builds cardiovascular endurance; Kung Fu builds what running does not: hip mobility, strength at end range, and lateral movement. Runners often have strong but stiff legs; low stances reveal that quickly, and also fix it.
One caution: avoid putting a long run and a class on the same day if you have the choice. The shins and the Achilles tendon complain first.
The gym
They complement each other well, though more in one direction than the other. Strength from the gym helps in Kung Fu, whereas lifting alone does not produce the flexibility we build here. Quite the opposite: someone who has trained only with heavy weights through a short range will spend their first months surprised by how much range they have lost.
Practically: a heavy leg day before class is not the best idea, but otherwise the combination works well and many people keep it for years.
Climbing
The most interesting combination. Climbers have an excellent sense of their body, a strong grip and good awareness of their centre of gravity - all of which serve them well in forms. The difficulty lies elsewhere: climbing heavily loads the fingers, elbows and shoulders, and Kung Fu loads them again, if differently.
If you climb seriously, we suggest treating training here as a supplement for the legs and the breath rather than extra upper-body work. Tell your teacher you climb - the load in some exercises will be adjusted.
Cycling
The combination where Kung Fu does the most good. Cyclists spend a lot of time in a closed posture, with shortened hip flexors and rounded shoulders. Training that takes the body in the opposite direction is close to therapeutic for them.
Yoga
We have compared with yoga in a separate post, so briefly here: there is no conflict, and rather more overlap than people expect - particularly in the breath work. Anyone doing both usually notices quickly that each lends the other something.
The question is not whether two sports conflict. It is whether your week has room for both - and whether you are still rested after them.
How to plan the week
Our classes run twice a week for ninety minutes, which leaves plenty of room. Three practical rules:
- Leave a day between two demanding sessions.
- When tired, choose the training you have done longest - the body keeps the regular thing, not the intense one.
- When pain appears in a joint rather than a muscle, reduce the volume of everything, not just one sport.
When the combination does not work
When it adds up to five or six demanding sessions a week in someone who also works eight hours and sleeps badly. What gives way then is not the Kung Fu or the running but the recovery - and sooner or later that shows up as an injury. If you are in that position, the honest solution is to drop something rather than grit your teeth.
