Gweilo_Fist
02-01-2013, 11:21 AM
I don’t know if anyone else has ever picked up on this. But I have recently noticed that often times when reading articles about the life of a CMA master, legend, or the origins of a style, whenever they talk about a fight that said master was involved in, it often times claims that they beat up a gang of 30 men. I’m just curious to know why it seems to always be based around the number 30. Is there a cultural meaning in China behind the number 30 or does 30 just sound like a good number to claim after winning a fight?
Here is just a few examples I was able to find in a short period of time. There are others that I have read about, but I need to sift through a lot of magazines and articles to find them.
1.) November 2000 issue of “Kung Fu/Qigong” magazine.
Article “Drunken Kung Fu: Techniques of the 8 Immortals with Phillip Wong” by Calvin Chen.
When referring to the origins of Drunken Boxing, the author writes, “The monks caught him in his intoxicated state and expelled him from the grounds, but not before he beat up over 30 monks in individual duels.”
2.) September/October 2004 issue of “Kung Fu/Tai Chi” magazine.
Article “CLF vs Multiple Attackers” by Eric Robert Olsen.
Referring to a CLF school in Washington ran by Sifu Mak Hin Fai, the author writes, “At once a huge brawl erupted! The thirty intruders jumped Sifu Mak and the older students. This was no traditional match. This was a gang style attack!”
3.) http://kungfu.wikia.com/wiki/Wong_Fei_Hung
The writer of this article states, “Wong Fei Hung also became adept at using weapons such as the wooden long staff and the southern tiger fork. Soon after, stories began circulating about his mastery of these weapons. One story recounts how he defeated a 30-man gang on the docks of Canton using the staff.”
4.) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-wagner-givens/china-land-expropriation_b_2241103.html
A more recent news article, published a few years ago written by John Wagner.
He writes, “Shen Jianzhong, an avid Kung Fu practitioner, had been resisting the expropriation of his Hebei home, holding out for a better deal. So, on October 29, a mob of 30 to 50 thugs, probably hired by a development company, tried to push their way into his house. While intimidation and even violence are a fairly common tactic for dealing with holdouts, the problem was that Shen is an avid Kung Fu practitioners, as is his 18-year-old son. The father-son duo let the thugs have it, "rendering seven of them near unconscious in the hallway ... The rest were scared and stayed outside. Some of them ran away."
Here is just a few examples I was able to find in a short period of time. There are others that I have read about, but I need to sift through a lot of magazines and articles to find them.
1.) November 2000 issue of “Kung Fu/Qigong” magazine.
Article “Drunken Kung Fu: Techniques of the 8 Immortals with Phillip Wong” by Calvin Chen.
When referring to the origins of Drunken Boxing, the author writes, “The monks caught him in his intoxicated state and expelled him from the grounds, but not before he beat up over 30 monks in individual duels.”
2.) September/October 2004 issue of “Kung Fu/Tai Chi” magazine.
Article “CLF vs Multiple Attackers” by Eric Robert Olsen.
Referring to a CLF school in Washington ran by Sifu Mak Hin Fai, the author writes, “At once a huge brawl erupted! The thirty intruders jumped Sifu Mak and the older students. This was no traditional match. This was a gang style attack!”
3.) http://kungfu.wikia.com/wiki/Wong_Fei_Hung
The writer of this article states, “Wong Fei Hung also became adept at using weapons such as the wooden long staff and the southern tiger fork. Soon after, stories began circulating about his mastery of these weapons. One story recounts how he defeated a 30-man gang on the docks of Canton using the staff.”
4.) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-wagner-givens/china-land-expropriation_b_2241103.html
A more recent news article, published a few years ago written by John Wagner.
He writes, “Shen Jianzhong, an avid Kung Fu practitioner, had been resisting the expropriation of his Hebei home, holding out for a better deal. So, on October 29, a mob of 30 to 50 thugs, probably hired by a development company, tried to push their way into his house. While intimidation and even violence are a fairly common tactic for dealing with holdouts, the problem was that Shen is an avid Kung Fu practitioners, as is his 18-year-old son. The father-son duo let the thugs have it, "rendering seven of them near unconscious in the hallway ... The rest were scared and stayed outside. Some of them ran away."