(Repost) There are no martial arts masters among the common people

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Although, looking at the history of confrontations between Chinese kung fu and Muay Thai, traditional Chinese martial arts have not achieved as good results as Sanda, most Chinese people still believe that the true essence of combat skills in Chinese martial arts can be found among the folk traditions and traditional boxing styles. Although there is no concrete evidence to prove this, people are more inclined to believe that in those remote and isolated places, there exist divine-like martial arts masters. “Although there is the claim of skilled fighters among the common people, the level of those amateur boxers is not high. Compared to sanda, it has almost no combativeness. ”Mei Huizhi said that he had met many skilled practitioners from the folk, “Many of them couldn’t hold on for ten or eight seconds.” ” In 1980 and 1981, Beijing carried out pilot programs for these martial arts; at that time, there were hundreds of fighters from the civilian community participating, representing styles such as Baguazhang, Tai Chi, and Dacheng. “But just a couple of days into the competition, it became clear that all the participants who made it to the semifinals were those who practiced *sandbag fighting. ”Mei Huizhi said. Most folk martial arts do not involve combat training; as soon as one steps into the ring, \"no matter what style of boxing is practiced, it ends up being just useless boxing.\" There’s no reaction at all when fighting; after taking a couple of hits, it stops fighting. “There was someone who practiced Baguazhang; when the competition started, he kept spinning around, and our team member caught up to him, kicked him a couple of times, and then he stopped fighting. ”Mei Huizhi said. That time, the final championship was won by members of the sports school. In 1987, Mei Huizhi led a team to participate in the Wudang Mountain National Martial Arts Competition. The atmosphere there was even more lively than that of the free-style martial arts trials in Beijing; there were people dressed up as Wu Song, as well as monks and Taoists ? The pre-match performance had a pretty intimidating vibe. Someone punched out the nail in the wooden board with a single blow, but once he stepped onto the fighting platform, he was kicked and immediately jumped off it. There was also a mysterious figure who climbed onto the fighting platform and asked to compete. The local organizers asked him to register first, but he refused, saying he wasn’t willing to leave his name behind and would decide after the fight; he claimed to have no desires any more and to not eat meat or fish. Seeing this situation, Mei Huizhi specifically instructed his teammates not to deliver a second kick, as the first kick would knock the opponent to the ground, and a second kick would inevitably hit the head, which could cause these opponents who had no training in combat to go into shock. As for whether there are masters among the common people, the renowned martial artist Zhao Daoxin pointed out a common sense back in the 1980s: \"In those isolated and barren areas, where information is scarce, communication is difficult, and resources are limited, how can hermits develop their wisdom, broaden their horizons, and avoid creating something futile?\" And how can one exchange techniques and assess oneself through a large number of ‘practical attempts’? Otherwise, how else can we know that they are more skilled and have mastered the essence? How are daily life problems solved, where does the nutrition come from, and who will provide the funds and equipment? If one has to rely on their own efforts and spend a lot of energy taking care of food, clothing, shelter, and transportation, how can training performance improve? ” In Mei Huizhi’s view, traditional martial arts are primarily characterized by outdated training methods and mindsets; they rely on oral instruction and demonstration, with little to no practical combat training. “To give a very simple example, if someone kicks you with their side leg, a skilled fighter will use one hand to block and the other to counterattack. Traditional martial arts are not like that; one has to first perform a cloud hand move, which looks impressive, but by then the opponent has already kicked you. When we interact with them, determining a winner or loser happens just in one encounter, and all that’s used is a simple counterattack. ” The lack of sparring training in traditional martial arts has led to many tragedies. In 1987, during a training session for police officers from two provinces, a police officer from one province who practiced traditional martial arts fought against an officer from the other province who practiced sanda. Since the former had no experience in combat training and lacked the necessary skills and awareness to protect himself when thrown, his head hit the ground directly, resulting in his death. Chinese martial arts lack combat effectiveness to a great extent. “But traditional martial arts were not like this; a long, long time ago, traditional martial arts also involved punches and kicks.” ”said Liu Pulei, deputy director of the social group at the Chinese Wushu Academy. Martial arts as a combat technique are meant to be fought out, not talked about. Apart from in films and TV shows, we rarely see Chinese martial arts in confrontation with other forms of combat art; so just how combat-effective is Chinese martial arts? Folk martial artist Zhao Daoxin believes that the biggest deception of Chinese martial arts is its so-called \"combativeness.\" Although some techniques in traditional martial arts still possess a high degree of combativeness and potential for combat use, Zhao Daoxin is convinced that Chinese martial arts as a whole lack combativeness to a great extent. From a strategic perspective in the global martial arts world, it can be said that it has lost its competitive edge in combat skills. In Zhao Daoxin’s view, today’s traditional martial arts, just like institutional martial arts, are based on forms, with new forms that pretend to be ancient martial arts techniques mixed in as well. Techniques, like basketball, swimming, and mountain climbing, are merely ways of improving athletic skills; they are not designed to meet the needs of combat. Skills and techniques specifically developed for fighting are not, in essence, considered true martial arts training. In terms of fighting style, traditional martial arts incorporate a large number of symbolic movements and faction-specific ritual movements into their offensive and defensive techniques. These movements have nothing to do with martial arts. In terms of techniques, traditional martial arts still employ very primitive and inefficient exercises; rather than enhancing combat capabilities, they serve more as a form of prayer, asceticism, and patience training. In fact, since the Republic of China era, people have been making idealistic attempts regarding the sequences and techniques of traditional martial arts. “I personally participated in such an attempt in 2003 as well. ”Liu Pulei said. At that time, the program \"Sanda King\" was very popular on Hunan TV, and several martial arts enthusiasts from Sichuan approached Liu Pulei, hoping to record some programs featuring sparring matches. “In their imagination, it’s still that scenario where you use the move \"White Crane Spreading Its Wings\", and I use the move \"Black Tiger Poking Out Its Heart\". ”Liu Pulei said that even before he started practicing Sanda in the late 1970s and early 1980s, he had participated in such experiments, but had never succeeded. “Think about it: just like treating an illness, it’s not possible to simply write up a prescription and wait for the patient. ” But those martial arts enthusiasts in Sichuan were very persistent; they found an entrepreneur who was interested in martial arts to provide sponsorship, and they also got the help of Sichuan’s competitive martial arts team. They fought using those established fighting styles, and the outcome was predictable. “Can’t show it off! ”The entrepreneur sponsoring the project told Liu Pulei. On the contrary, since those children who practice *formulas have not received combat training, they are prone to getting injured. “Especially parts like the small joints; they get injured quite easily. ”Liu Pulei said. And compared to modern martial arts, this undoubtedly lacks any combat effectiveness. Mr. Mei Huizhi practiced Bagua and Xingyi since childhood; later, he learned boxing. In his youth, he studied Chinese wrestling and became a key member of the Beijing Wrestling Team. After retiring, he stayed at the Shichahai Sports School as a wrestling coach, and in the 1970s became one of the first judo coaches in China. Since the Sports Commission began promoting sanda, he formed the city’s first semi-professional sanda fighting team, effectively combining techniques from martial arts, fighting, and wrestling, and continuously refining a combat format that merges traditional martial arts with modern sanda through ongoing exploration. Regarding the current Sanda King competitions, Mr. Mei Huizhi had many thoughts to share; upon hearing that amateur fighters would be participating in these competitions, he expressed his opinions. Yi: Has Mr. Mei watched the Sanda King competitions? Mei: I’ve watched them. The competitions these days are really exciting; they’re even more interesting without protective gear. Also, the performers on the field do a great job, with everyone having a nickname. In fact, protective gear could have been dispensed with a long time ago. Back when the Beijing team competed against Thailand in a kickboxing match, no protective gear was used at all. The effect is also very good. Yi: Right now, Sanda King is inviting top amateurs to participate in competitions. Do you think such contests will be very exciting? Mei: I don’t think so; it might get ugly if they start fighting. Yi: Why? Isn’t it said that the true masters are among the common people? Mei: There is such a claim, but based on past experience, the skill level of amateur boxers is quite average. In 1980 and 1981, Beijing carried out pilot programs for sanda. At that time, hundreds of people participated in these competitions, practicing styles such as Baguazhang, Xinyi Quan, Tai Chi, Dacheng Quan, and Tongbei Quan. Just a few days after the competitions started, it became clear that those who made it to the semifinals were all those who practiced sanda. There are many moves in folk martial arts, but many of them have not been practiced in actual combat, so practitioners are at a loss once they step onto the fighting arena. There’s no reaction at all when fighting; after taking a couple of hits, it stops fighting. The match was very dull. There’s one who is quite good at practicing Tongban; they can fight against those with the same skills, but there’s still a difference in level. In the end, the champions were all members of sports schools. Easy: Do the free combat rules restrict the performance of folk martial arts? Mei: Many practitioners of folk martial arts were unwilling to comply, saying they didn’t want to wear gloves. Later, Li Baoru, a wrestling coach from the municipal sports agency who was familiar with them, arranged for them to have sparring sessions without gloves against the young athletes from our sports school. Before the matches, we gave our young athletes strict instructions: no heavy punches, and no throwing moves aimed at hitting the head. As a result, one or two of the folk martial artists ended up with large bruises on their heads, and it became impossible to continue the matches. Amateur competitors can’t afford to lose; if they can’t win, they find various excuses. There were a lot of them competing in the first couple of years, but later on no one showed up anymore. I know I can’t fight either. Yi: Are there any other experts outside of Beijing? Mei: It’s the same; our team members participated in the Henan Shaolin Cup in 1985 and 1986, as well as the Wudang Mountain Tournament in 1987. The scene was really lively back then; there were those dressed up to look like Wu Song, as well as monks, Taoists, people holding prayer beads, and those wearing long robes. During the pre-match show, the act was quite intimidating; someone managed to knock out the nails in the wooden board with a single punch. But once he stepped onto the ring for the match, as the referee shouted ‘Ready—go’, he got kicked and immediately jumped off the ring. In the first two days, there are a lot of amateurs, and after a couple of days only professional athletes remain. Yi: You have also practiced Bagua; what do you think are the shortcomings of traditional martial arts? Mei: Primarily, it’s due to outdated training methods and lack of awareness. Traditional martial arts rely on oral instruction and mental transmission; most of the techniques taught involve how an opponent attacks and how you defend against them. In practice, the level of actual combat training is very low. To give a very simple example, if someone kicks you with their side leg, a skilled fighter will use one hand to block and the other to counterattack. Traditional martial arts are not like this; one first performs a cloud hand move, which looks good, but by then the opponent has already kicked you. Furthermore, some martial arts emphasize concepts such as spiral force and triangular force, with each offering dozens of applications; it is claimed that these forces can be used to spin an opponent and throw them away, but in reality this is completely impossible. When we communicate with them, it’s determined right from the first encounter who will win or lose; all that’s used is a simple counterattack – nothing mysterious about it. Yi: Aren’t there also martial arts like Iron Sand Palm practiced among the common people? Mei: Those things are not very useful in reality; any strong man, after a week of training, can perform such acts. Furthermore, in combat, people are constantly in motion, so it’s not possible to strike them as forcefully as if hitting a sandbag. Ordinary people have very hard fists, and a hit to the head can be unbearable. So, hard skills aren’t as mysterious as some people say. During the conversation, Mr. Mei Huizhi talked about many schools of traditional martial arts as well as certain martial artists. Out of respect for everyone, I did not mention their names