
Explore the Long Fist kung fu style and its thousand-year history from China. Practice safely and strengthen body and mind with space, permission, rest, and water.
Lead kids through a dynamic stretch and warm-up, loosening limbs, rotating joints, breathing deeply, and gradually moving into toe touches and light squats to prep for exercise.
Join a kid-friendly run and jump workout with jogging, high knees, jumps, bridges, horse stance punching, balance on one foot, and monkey jumps to boost endurance.
Build a strong kung fu foundation by practicing basic stances—mobu, bull mountain, and golden rooster on one leg—with bent knees, toes forward, feet flat, and hands chambered at the waist.
Learn to throw straight, hook, uppercut, palm strike, and half punches in the air from a ready position, to build strength and coordination in a safe home kung fu practice.
practice blocking techniques from kung fu for kids workouts, including covering block, inside block, outside block, downward inside block, low outward block, and the double tiger block with tiger claws.
Practice basic kicks with one leg back, hands up, and switch feet as you perform five reps of kicks including heel and internal and external kicks, while staying safe.
Relax after exercise with guided breathing and belly focus. Take five deep breaths with eyes closed to calm your mind and body, then sit cross-legged to reinforce kung fu fundamentals.
Learn the kung fu code by practicing humility, respect, virtue, trust, loyalty, will, endurance, perseverance, patience, and courage to train mind and body in daily life.
This lecture guides kids through detailed kung fu stances, blocks, punches, and kicks, with practical drills like mountain climbing, unicorn, and false starts to build balance and control.
Master punching form by curling fingers knuckle by knuckle with the thumb outside, then chamber the fist and execute straight, upward, and hook punches using full-body rotation.
Learn kung fu blocking drills for kids, including inside block (covering return), outward block (rappel), low and high blocks, and the double tiger block with tiger claws.
Practice a back-stepping kick sequence with ready hands, learning toxic, hillswick, ramble kicks, and external and internal crescent kicks, with slow and fast reps.
Demonstrates basic kung fu kicks using a kicking pad, including up-kicks, forward kicks, Rambo kick, external and internal crescent kicks, with emphasis on form, height, foot placement, and safety.
Practice the sun moon greeting to develop tempo, shouting, and the bright symbolism of sun and moon while learning to protect yourself and avoid trouble.
Explore how kung fu for kids cultivates whole-body fitness, focus, and self-discipline through traditional Chinese training that centers energy and time, promotes non-violence, and builds confidence and character.
Experience workout 1 outtakes and a slideshow from kung fu for kids: fun and easy home exercise.
Preview workout 2 teaches traditional long force kung fu bodyweight exercises for full-body strength, blocking, striking, and kicking, with warmups, stretching, ethics, and practical training strategies.
Build strength, endurance, and mental focus with a stretch and warm up that loosens joints, circles hips, knees, and ankles, and jogs to raise heart rate for kung fu training.
Develop basic stances and technique through horse stance drills, circle blocks, downward blocks, punches, palm strikes, uppercuts, and sidekick in combinations.
Lead a full-body kung fu strength routine for kids, starting with horse stance and moving through push-ups, squats, one-legged squats, slides, leg holds, and plank variations.
Master speed training through high-intensity drills that develop hip, stomach, and lower back power with fast punches, rapid kicks, and jumping and lunges.
power training teaches power starts in the foot; generation from the feet through linear, spiraling, and twisting patterns, with punches, blocks, and takedowns from a horse stance.
stretch after training to relax tired muscles by targeting the hamstrings and front thigh with a flat back, deep breathing, and split variations.
Explore basic stances including horse stance, mountain climbing stance, tiger stance, golden rooster, false stance, cross leg stance, unicorn stance, and praying mantis hands; learn alignment, weight distribution, and turning.
Learn forearm blocking across the body with hip rotation, and practice circle block, cover block, downward block, upward block, parrying, and ceiling blocks to defend and seal punches.
Explore punching techniques in a horse stance, turning the hips and waist to power straight and hook punches, palm strikes, and uppercuts with controlled breathing.
Block punch combinations teach fluid techniques with blocks, punches, grabs, and hooks, using horse stance to train the upper body and forearm control for precise punches.
Learn kicking techniques from a mountain climbing stance, including knee-up kicks, toe-forward contact on the shoelaces, hip twists, and waist-powered, fast up-and-down kicks for kids.
Explore how kung fu training embodies the martial moralities, applying humility, respect, righteousness, trust, loyalty, and inner virtues like will, perseverance, patience, and courage to protect and improve the self.
Kung fu means energy and time, and training involves focused effort repeated over time. Regular practice builds physical strength, health, and the ability to tackle challenges with determined focus.
Follow a structured kung fu training protocol with warm-ups and alternating strength, speed, and power workouts to develop strength, flexibility, coordination, and martial arts skills.
Practice regularly with full concentration to make steady progress in your training, improving your strength, health, and mental focus, and applying your strength and determination to many areas of life.
A fun workout for kids, with training tips for students, parents, and teachers
Start the young martial artist in the family on a good path! Kung Fu for Kids is an instructional program that teaches children the basics of traditional Kung Fu in a fun and exciting way. It starts with a simple, follow-along workout that introduces calisthenics and the basic stances, blocks, punches and kicks of the YMAA kids curriculum. It ends with a short cool-down routine to help children improve their balance, breathing, and mental focus.
This video features Ben Warner, who has been a children's instructor since 2001, and several students of varying levels from the YMAA Boston class. Nicholas Yang, the President of YMAA, makes corrections while students demonstrate.
Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming makes a cameo appearance explaining the meaning of the Shaolin sun-and-moon greeting.
A detail section is also included with more advanced students demonstrating the techniques in greater detail for refined study.
Later sections offer Training Tips for older students, parents, and teachers, including:
Safety precautions to follow when practicing Kung Fu.
Benefits and purpose of Kung Fu training for Kids.
Appropriate time and place to use what has been learned.
Cartoon interludes starring Shing ("star")
Interviews with Teachers and Parents about the benefits of Kung Fu for Kids
Dozens of video lessons / 104 minutes / 1 hour and 44 minutes
The discipline and focus achieved through training Kung Fu extends to many other aspects of everyday activities in life, including academics, sports, music, and literature.
Workout 1 is for Boys & Girls, Ages 5 - 12. Based on the very popular YMAA Children's kung fu program.
Workout 2 is for Boys & Girls, ready to progress beyond Workout 1.
Learn real kung fu and get some great exercise. The Kung Fu Home Workout video will develop your physical conditioning while you learn effective martial arts techniques. This easy to follow program takes the mystery out of martial arts training and offers a clear explanation of the kung fu exercises, based on the popular beginner classes at YMAA Schools around the world.
The comprehensive workout 2 is offered in shorter segments based on Techniques, Strength, Speed, Power, and offers a Post-workout Stretch. Mr. Warner also includes detail sections with instruction of each technique for those interested in more accurate learning, and explanation of essential Kung Fu principles.
Instructor Ben Warner has decades of experience teaching the traditional kung fu techniques and principles offered in this modern, follow-along workout. Beginners or experienced martial artists will find this a challenging workout and the skills learned can apply to any fighting style.
• Kung fu body-weight exercises teach you how to strengthen your whole body with exercises for the arms, legs, torso and core.
• Blocking, striking and kicking techniques are demonstrated alone, and in combination with a partner, to help you build lightning-fast hands and legs.
• Learn how to generate maximum power by incorporating full-body movement in your martial techniques.
• Warm up and post-workout stretching sections will teach you to how keep your body operating at its maximum potential.
• Keep your mind centered by learning "Wu De", the martial code of ethics and morality.
• 15 video lessons / 144 minutes / 1 hour and 44 minutes
Training strategies are explained so you will be able to train efficiently and recover effectively.
Instructor Ben Warner began studying with Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming in 1998 at Yang's Martial Arts Association. In 2001, he became a full time instructor and he has also organized martial arts programs for several schools in the Boston area. In 2002, Ben became a main Sholin Kung Fu instructor for the adults Shaolin program, and head of the sparring program at YMAA Boston in 2007. Ben has assisted in Dr. Yang's Boston and international seminars since 2002. He has taught Shaolin long fist and white crane seminars. He has also assisted with qigong, chin-na, sword, saber, and staff seminars.
Ben has been a featured performer in several YMAA DVDs including Advanced Practical Chin Na, White Crane Kung Fu Basics & Intermediate, Staff Fundamentals, Taiji Ball, and Shaolin Long Fist Kung Fu Intermediate Sequences. He was also featured in the most recent edition of the book "Analysis of Shaolin Chin Na".
In 2005, Ben was certified as an instructor with Pavel Tsatsouline's RKC kettlebell program. Since that time he has worked with several internationally renowned fitness instructors including Pavel Tsatsouline, Steve Cotter, Steve Maxwell and Mandla Nkosi. In 2011 Ben co-founded The Green Dragons, an organization which teaches kung fu, fitness, nutrition and gardening to kids in the Boston area. In 2012, Ben became the owner and operator of YMAA Boston. He now organizes and teaches live and online weekly classes. Mr. Warner lives with his family in Jamaica Plain, MA, USA.