The Last Masters

Sascha
Author archives

• Wushu out of the Olympics

  

  There may still be hope …

  I wrote about Wushu and the Olympics here before. The consensus then, as it is now, is that the International Wushu Federation has failed to identify itself clearly on the international stage like other sports have. Not only that, but in trying to do so, organized Wushu associations have done a disservice to the art and the practitioners, by diluting and distorting what wushu really is.

  Well, the verdict is in, and wushu was scrubbed from the short list of sports that could be in the Olympics come 2020. Wrestling, squash, and baseball/softball made it past the first round, while wushu, karate, wakeboarding, roller sports, and sports climbing failed to get in.

  I would say that wakeboarding, roller sports and sports climbing are real long shots, but its hard to say with the Olympics. They dropped world famous sports like wrestling and baseball, and took on golf, which appeals to a rather small audience. There are 39 criteria that the Olympics look at in order to evaluate whether or not a sport should be in or out.

  Reading reports about the selection process are instructive. Most refer to Wushu as something akin to gymnastics, with ceremonial sword and staff movements. Many reports also posit that Wushu’s bid suffered from not using the more well-known term “kung fu” …

  When I read things like this, I am just further convinced that the Chinese push to include Wushu is another misguided attempt at soft power without really realizing what sport, Olympics, Wushu, or soft power are really all about.

  June 1, 2013 • Modern Kung Fu • Views: 5181

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• Jiu Jitsu Lineage, Influence and Branding in the Martial Arts

  

  The Father of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Helio Gracie

  Why is the Kimura Armbar called the Kimura armbar?

  Well, back in 1951, Helio Gracie challenged Masahiko Kimura to a duel and lost. The Gracie clan then named the armbar used to defeat Helio after the man who used it. Tracing this bit of trivia back to its roots gives us an interesting look at the development of a martial art – Brazilian Jiu Jitsu – from its origins in feudal Japan to its current incarnation as the “invincible” mixed martial art of the day.

  The end result also demonstrates the power of branding, which, according to Ben Judkins and Paul Bowman, is what most martial arts have been focused on since the late 19th century.

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  May 27, 2013 • Kung Fu History, Modern Kung Fu • Views: 21372

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• Kungfu in the News

  

  This story in the South Morning Post caught my attention recently, “English-language kung fu manual aims to boost global popularity of Hung Kuen” about efforts to finally bring some of the great knowledge of kungfu stuck in the Mainland out to the wider world. An English language manual would be a great start, and Lord knows pretty much every school in China could use one (and a native-speaking editor to handle the job for them).

  I don’t know much about Hung Kuen, Hong Gar, or Hong Quan as it is written in Mainland Pinyin. Hong Gar Kuen is the Cantonese version of what a Mainlander would call 洪家拳 or Hong Family Fist (style). It’s a popular style outside of the US, primarily because of its proximity to Hong Kong and therefore the outside world. Would be interesting to hear anyone’s thoughts on the style itself. Here are some sources I found after a brief search:

  Wikipedia
  National Geographic
  Google Search

  I think English language manuals (or translations by competent writers) is the way to go.

  This little news story interested me as well, “Jet Li Opens T’ai Chi School In China,” about the superstar martial artist’s foray into the expanding “wellness+kungfu” market in China. I think taiji has great potential here in China. The hard styles are naturally lamenting the lack of hard core students, but that has always been the case in times of peace, and I think hard core students were never easy to find.

  But people with back pain, lack of focus, interest in the “spiritual arm” of wushu and a lack of time to truly dedicate to a martial art have never been hard to find. Here in China, people with health issues and a marginal understanding of taiji are all over the place. Jet Li is smart to lend his name to this cause (as well as the One Foundation charity org he founded as well …).

  And the last bit of news relates to women and self-defense in … India …

  Men in India have problems keeping their hands to themselves, and even when their acts are broadcasted around the world, the backward authorities in place tend to have little to say/do against the perps and rapists. So the local Delhi government has enlisted martial arts to help protect the weak against the opportunistic predator: “Girls in 60 govt schools get martial arts training,” already 6,000 have been trained, according to the article.

  I hope one of them does what this guy did in China, and perhaps instead of persecuting the martial artist, the authorities in India can help spread the news that kungfu women are not to be messed with.

  May 24, 2013 • Modern Kung Fu • Views: 4343

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• The Birthplace of Chen Style Taiji Quan

  

  A billboard of Chen Xiao Wang and sons in Chen Jia Gou

  Last month I went to Chen Jia Gou, just outside of Zhengzhou, Henan, to visit the birthplace of Chen Style Taiji Quan. I went with Chen Jia, a young lady who studies under the style’s current, most famous master, Chen Xiao Wang. She also opened her own school in Shanghai.

  Every year in March, Chen Xiao Wang takes time out from his travels around the globe to return home and pay respects to the temple, school, and village where he was born and raised. Students from around the country – and the world – come to Henan during the last week in March to join him, participate in seminars, and train with other taiji enthusiasts.

  My primary interest in traveling out here was to learn more about Chen Jia, more about her master Chen Xiao Wang, and to take a good look at a “birthplace” of a style. I know Chen Jia, and consider her to be a very sincere and talented martial artist, and in conversations we had we often spoken of the level of “realness” in martial arts these days. We talked of the rise of Wushu – the competition style Wushu – and the decline in students of what we both understood to be real kungfu.

  It’s easy to agree on a definition when you agree with the person you speak to. So much can be left unsaid. Hence the trip: I wanted to see what was real in Zhengzhou and what Chen Jia considered to be real kungfu.

  I was, in all, pleasantly surprised.

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  April 18, 2013 • Kung Fu History, Kung Fu People, Kung Fu Places, Modern Kung Fu • Views: 28444

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• MMA and Kungfu

  After the trip to Hohhot, I pitched a story on the rise of MMA and corresponding decline (discussions of decline?) of kungfu to the Economist. They took the pitch and the result is this 400 word blurb on what happened.

  There is really too much to write about this topic, and the story in the Economist, for me, is just a note of what was seen and spoken during that weekend in Inner Mongolia. I personally think that kungfu will inevitably demonstrate its usefulness in the ring, and that will be a big day for kungfu’s revival. Apropos usefulness, many people don’t realize that jiujitsu’s origins are in Mainland China and traditional Chinese martial arts … locks and submissions are a big part of the kungfu arsenal and it would be interesting to trace jiujitsu back and see what remains of the “mother styles” here in China.

  February 8, 2013 • Modern Kung Fu • Views: 6869

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