Abstract - A sociological view over the present scenery of Kung Fu in the occident: a comprehensive panorama over the Chinese martial arts in Brazil
The origin of the Chinese Kung Fu recaptures the origins of its own civilization. The relationship among this specific form of combat, the local religious beliefs and the Chinese traditional medicine created unique fighting concepts. The first Chinese immigrants arrived in Brazil in 1812, but only during the 1960s this martial art was recognized in the country as a valuable art to be practiced. Hence, understanding the way the West has brought and disseminated this practice with distinctive characteristics to the Eastern society is the main point of this paper. Its focus is to analyze this process and its consequences to Kung Fu in Brazil. So, considering the process of globalization and westernization, we present some answers that help to understand this current scenario in Brazil.