The history and traditions of Chinese internal martial and healing arts are rife with half-truths, personal agendas outright falsehoods and as a result, are fraught with controversy. We will do our best to explain the most relevant and factual knowledge available in this section of IAM.
The Wuguan Gongzhou
“To forget ones ancestors is to be a brook without a source or a tree without roots!” – Ancient Chinese Proverb In Chinese culture, showing respect to ones ancestors is a major part in family life. This can also be …
Origins of Chinese Traditional Martial Arts Clothing
“For the apparel oft proclaims the man.” -William Shakespeare Hamlet Act 1 Scene 3 Do you know where the uniforms often seen in Chinese training halls (Gong Fu Wuguan功夫 武館) and on the tournament floor originated? It all started in …
Drinking Bitter Tea
Within the Chinese martial arts, there is a saying that to develop gong 功 (skill) one must put in time夫 (fu) and learn the meaning of Ruku 茹苦 (eating bitter). The term Ruku is often translated as suffering. In other …