The mind is like a fertile garden in which anything that is planted, flowers or weeds, will grow. Use only that which works, and take it from any place you can find it. The more relaxed the muscles are, the more energy can flow through the body. Using muscular tensions to try to "do" the punch, or attempting to use brute force to knock someone over, will only work to opposite effect.

Gung fu, the centre of the Oriental arts of self-defence, is a philosophical art that serves to promote health, to cultivate the mind, and to provide a most efficient means of self-protection. Its philosophy is based on the integral parts of the philosophies of Taoism and Ch'an (Zen) - the ideal of being harmonious with and not against the force of the opponent. Just as a butcher preserves his knife by cutting along the bones, a gung fu man preserves himself by complementing the movements of the opponent.
The word gung fu means "discipline" and training toward the ultimate reality of the object - be it health promotion, mind cultivation or self-protection.
In actual application, gung fu is based on simplicity; it is a natural result of four thousand years of exhaustive experimentation and is of highly sophisticated complexity. All techniques are stripped down to their essential purpose without wastage or ornamentation, and everything becomes the straightest, most logical simplicity of common sense. The utmost is expressed and performed in the minimum of movements and energy.