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I feel this submit is probably somewhat half fashioned, however I wish to get on to writing up my final lesson with Bear, so I’m going to place it out as is. Let the items fall the place they could…
An fascinating new video has been launched by Will (a latest visitor on my Tai Chi Pocket book podcast) about his latest go to to Taiwan the place he acquired to speak to varied Taiwanese martial arts masters. It’s the beginning of a sequence and it seems prefer it’s going to be nice – Will will get to stroll down the smokey again alleys of Taiwan to search out the martial artists and martial arts colleges in Taiwan you want you possibly can. What’s to not like? Watch it right here:
The blurb reads: “Within the first episode, I meet up with my buddy John Eusebio @longfistmantis to go to the bookstore of Liu Kang Yi. Mr Liu’s bookstore, Wuxue Shuguan has an enormous assortment of martial arts books, in each Chinese language and English, and he has additionally spent many years amassing outdated and uncommon manuscripts. On this video he shares his insights on the event of martial arts from a navy fight artwork, to an built-in system of each fight and well being follow, as we see it in the present day. He additionally reveals us a replica of the Bubishi, the foundational guide of Okinawan Karate.”
Mr Liu talks about inside coaching, and the way it pertains to strengthening the tendons and fascia of the physique, in order that it will possibly toughen and that may result in extra energy “qi” within the physique. This all appears pretty correct to me. (There’s dialogue available about whether or not these strategies had been all the time part of Chinese language marital arts, or added in later from a special custom, however that’s by the by). Then he talks concerning the 3 phases of growth of Chinese language martial arts, which is the half I wished to select up on.
To paraphrase, he says, the primary is simply martial coaching and never cultivating: it’s pure fight. No give attention to well being. That is the navy interval. The second is as soon as it entered the civilian inhabitants. They practice each fight and domesticate well being, however individually, growing issues like Yijinjing and Baduanjing) The third evolution was to mix fight and well being, to deliver each features collectively. Taijiquan is an effective instance of this.
Now, this isn’t a foul manner of trying on the evolution of Chinese language martial arts, however I feel it’s a bit reductive, and crucially, it misses out a whole lot of different influences.
It’s a view that isn’t dissimilar to Peter Lorge’s within the e-book Chinese language Martial Arts: From Antiquity to the Twenty-First Century which is that marital arts had been all initially navy arts and over time had been merely dispersed from the military into civilian life.
Lorge’s place is laid out clearly within the introduction to his e-book begins with this:

I really actually loved Peter’s lecture concerning the historical past of Chinese language martial arts on the Martial Arts Research convention 2017, however evidently each Mr Lorge and Mr Liu each view Chinese language martial arts as a form of offshoot of navy coaching, and noting extra, And in each circumstances the topic doesn’t even appear to be up for debate, it’s simply introduced as self apparent. The parallel between each of them is that they’re relying solely on written sources as their analysis into the matter. Whereas, a whole lot of the cultural traditions of ‘widespread people’ weren’t recorded since writing belonged to the higher courses.
Now, I’ll admit, there might be little question that the intermingling of civilian and navy life, notably when the Ming Dynasty military was disbanded and returned to civilian life after defeat by the invading Manchu’s from the North who seized management of Beijing in 1644. Xing Yi specifically is among the martial arts that traces its origins to that occasion, to navy strategies stored alive by ex troopers who had been now civilians who had had their weapons taken away. A assessment of Xing Yi’s current strategies and strategies in the present day reveals a transparent bias in direction of strategies that work with a spear, which might have been the dominant weapon within the navy for troopers, and likewise a priority for going through an attacker who’s in entrance of you, to not the facet, which is one other military-focussed concern. Nonetheless, most different Chinese language marital arts are extra biased in direction of barehand actions than weapons, accommodates generally elaborate sequences that might seem like extra at residence on a stage than in a avenue battle, or contain making particular hand gestures or actions that trace at a ritual high quality, that it’s clear, to me no less than, that one thing extra is occurring right here, quite than simply navy strategies being translated into self safety strategies.
In China, there’s a lengthy historical past of martial arts being utilized in spiritual ritual, competition tradition, spirit possession, avenue leisure, Xiqu (Chinese language theatre) and Wuxia (which accurately means “martial heroes”, a style of Chinese language fiction in regards to the adventures of martial artists in historic China). I feel these traditions have as a lot affect on the martial arts handed all the way down to us because the navy does, and in a whole lot of circumstances, extra. However, when you point out this to proponents of the “pure pugilism” model of martial artist they often attempt to clarify to you that every one this stuff got here out of marital arts. i.e. martial arts got here first, and the dance/efficiency/theatre/ritual, and many others got here second. In actual fact, Lorge argues precisely this at 43.00 in his lecture (which I nonetheless loved!), regardless of cataloging wrestling going again centuries as pure leisure for the Royal Courtroom. It jogs my memory of when folks current funky martial purposes to type actions that clearly don’t appear to be marital motion. There are some frankly ridiculous martial utility on the market from properly know academics who, quite than simply admitting that there’s no actual martial utility of this transfer that makes martial sense, provide you with one thing that appears foolish.
I’ve talked to a whole lot of martial artists on my podcast (20 episodes thus far!) and I very often broach this topic to see what sort of response I get, and I’ve discovered that the martial artists who stay in Asia, or have lived their for a while, are likely to haven’t any downside with the concept Chinese language martial arts is a broad church or strategies derived from varied traditions. It tends to be the folks exterior of that tradition who’ve an issue with what they’re studying not being an excellent lethal killing artwork created for one objective solely – to be the most effective fighter! I suppose it’s as a result of so many of those cultural traditions are alive and properly in Asia in the present day that it’s laborious to disclaim their existence. Simply go searching you. Martial arts coaching halls are likely to have shrines in them the place incense is burned as a part of a spiritual ritual. Or the martial arts college participates in native spiritual festivals by enacting Lion and Dragon Dance routines, or giving an illustration for martial arts. Or there’s a semi-religious ceremony concerned in turning into an indoor disciple, and many others.
I feel two issues are happening right here. First there’s a response in opposition to the trendy Chinese language pattern of turning marital arts right into a gymnastic demonstrations as a substitute of preventing arts, and secondly there’s a response in opposition to the trendy pattern for making Chinese language martial arts seem as religious and mystical in the identical manner Yoga is.
As Charles Holcomb wrote in 1990 , “In every single place in China the martial arts both current themselves within the guise of straightforward workout routines or are shrouded in arcane spiritual mysteries. Western fanatics typically really feel impelled to strip away these spiritual trappings and assemble a model of the martial arts that’s neither easy gymnastics nor faith, however emphasizes true hand-to-hand fight abilities. The query stays, is that this an genuine understanding of the martial arts?” [1]
I feel that technique of making an attempt to current the martial arts as true hand-to-hand fight abilities may be very a lot alive and properly in the present day, I imply, its in all probability what most individuals are on the lookout for once they begin Kung Fu. However I feel it’s additionally one thing of a response to the introduction of Chinese language martial arts to the West, which got here off the again of the Kung Fu TV sequence (which introduced martial arts as mystical from Shaolin monks) and adopted off the again of mystics like Alan Watts who introduced a really counter tradition kind of tackle Japanese faith.
Whereas there’s nothing fallacious with that, my feeling is that it misses out on the broader historic context and the humanities we follow in the present day. They’re a wealthy mix of varied traditions, and we must always deal with them as such.
[1] Theater of fight: A important have a look at the Chinese language martial arts by Charles Holcombe, Historian. Vol. 52 No. 3 Could.1990. Pp. 411-431 Copyright by Michigan State College Press
[2] Picture by Kevin Jackson on Unsplash
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