From the first sabres of the Shāng 商 dynasty, to the most recent of the twentieth century, the sabre (dāo 刀) is a weapon that has continued to evolve throughout the history of China, and has been used by regular armies as well as by all kinds of militias, bandits and martial artists.
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The rattan shield (téng pái 藤牌) was used in China since the time of the Míng 明 dynasty, especially in the south of the country. It was commonly used in conjunction with a short single-edged sabre (dāo 刀) by both vanguard military units, civilian militias and martial artists.
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We expose some of the reasons why we believe it is beneficial to learn Kung Fu and, also, some others that we do not consider valid.
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In the second half of the twentieth century, the so-called modern wǔ shù was officially established. Characterized by flashy and difficult-to-execute acrobatic movements, but devoid of any martial use, this new wǔ shù led to an era in which exhibition martial arts of would gain ground to the traditional ones. However, these exhibition arts had been present in China for several hundred years.
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When Chan Heung 陳享 founded the Choy Li Fut 蔡李佛 system, he also established ten rules of conduct to guide all practitioners of the style. These rules constitute the code of conduct (武德, wǔ dé/mou dak) of Choy Li Fut. The ten rules are the following.
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A gōng’àn 公案 (“public case”; better known by its Japanese name, kōan) is a phrase, dialogue, or short story used in Chán 禪Buddhism to arouse doubts in the practitioner and test his understanding. In China, a Chán system of meditation was developed that based obtaining spiritual enlightenment on concentration on these phrases.
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According to the theory of Tài Jí Quán 太極拳, this martial arts system uses eight types of energy or strength (jìn 勁). This word refers to an energy cultivated by the practitioner in a specialized manner, that is, it is the result of a prolonged training, as well as the combination between physical energy, 力 lì, and internal energy, 氣 qì.
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The Sup Bot Law Hon Yik Gun Kuen 十八羅漢易筋 拳 is a form of Qi Gong 氣功 belonging to the Luohan system of Choy Li Fut. It is believed that the exercises contained in this form were taught by Bodhidharma to the monks of Shaolin temple to counteract the numbness of the body caused by long hours sitting in meditation.
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At the end of the decade of 1920, Choy Li Fut 蔡李佛 arrived at the American continent by the hand of Master Lau Bun 劉彬, who opened the first school in San Francisco.
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Dit Da Jow 跌打 酒 (Mandarin Diē Dǎ Jiǔ) is the Cantonese name for a type of liniment commonly used in Chinese Martial Arts to treat bruises and sore muscles. Dit Da Jow could be translated as “fall and hit wine”, since the traditional one is prepared with rice wine.
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