Traditionally, the outlines of a kung fu system were first memorized and followed before people attempted to understand them, because repeated practical experience is required to develop the virtuosity necessary for true comprehension.
It would be a mistake to treat a kung fu system as a system of philosophical theory that aims to obtain descriptive truths about reality or to justify universal moral principles.
While a theory typically begins by establishing premises and, through reasoning, gradually arrives at conclusions, a kung fu system begins from the practitioner's existing condition and, through guidance and step-by-step practice, gradually reaches higher levels of artistic excellence.
The different constituents within a theoretical discourse, linked together through their logical connections, generate an order that tends to lead to a linear perspective. But the different components of a kung fu system are linked together through their practical implications, which is much more dynamic. They are not formed in the brain and manifested in words, but rather formed by a person's bodily mechanisms and physical capabilities and manifested in real life.
The kung fu system must be evaluated differently from theoretical discourse.
The convincing power of its approach ultimately lies not in the logical proof of conclusions, but in the effective results they generate. Consequently, contradictory statements within a kung fu system can be valid within their respective domains (see the example of Patriarch Ip Man, who gave different, often opposing, answers to the same question posed by different disciples).
While effective teaching may appear to be a universal rule, it can still be subject to individual discernment. Because this "effectiveness" is open to alternative visions of excellence, kung fu systems are inclusive.
Unlike claims about truth, they do not have to assert themselves as the only correct form of art. This is different from having no right or wrong or good or bad; however, it is, like any art form, subject to the judgment of people's cultivated experiences.
A kung fu system does not aim to establish rules to restrict people, but rather to provide guidelines so that people can live artistic lives. They are like protocols, allowing for flexibility.
Rules are recognized by the brain as principles, but kung fu skills must be embodied as characteristics or habits of a person. While the former is taught using abstract concepts, the latter must commit to the embodied imitation of masters or examples (hence the relevance of Kung Fu Life stories from masters past and present).