Martial Destination: Sanda Training in Guangzhou with Coach Xie Guolin of the Zhongguo Ziyou Boji Xiehui – Chinese Free Fighting Association (中国自由搏击协会)

After spending 2 weeks in Hong Kong training with coach Fu, my family and I took the speed train to Guangzhou. I was very impressed with the comfort of the stations and train running as speeds close to 300 km/h. Last time we travelled to the mainland in 2017 it took us over two hours […]

Martial Destination: Dagestan’s Peaceful Warriors – Part 2 – An Interview with Sabir “Cobra” Bagautdinov

Many people seek martial arts training from the source be China, Japan, Korea or Thailand; there is a draw in many of us to fulfill a long life dream to visit where “all started”. I was no different and did the “China Thing” over a decade ago. However, there are outstanding instructors closer to home […]

The Martial Arts of the People’s Liberation Army

In previous posts we have given a quick introduction to the practice of Chinese martial arts in the military during the republican period and the Sino Japanese War. English literature dealing with martial arts practice in the PLA in recent years is at best scarce. The first articles and books that covered this subject were […]

 Learning How to Fight with Chinese Martial Arts in the Republican Era Part I

Special thanks to Dennis Rovere for his valuable insights and corrections Martial arts in general and Chinese martial arts in particular have been characterized by an aura of mystery on what a devoted practitioner can achieve after mastering a traditional style. Many of these misconceptions stemmed from novels, movies and in a great degree from […]

Japanese Martial Arts in Russia, The creation of Sambo and Sino-Russian Cooperation at Whampoa

Note: Updated on 8/12/2017 When Japan was forced to open its borders to foreigners beginning the Meiji Restoration, it also helped spread Japanese culture overseas in the form of movements like Japonism (from the French Japonisme) or the interest for Japanese objects from around 1872 onwards. This movement influenced European arts and culture, even though […]