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Thread: Bullfighting can be considered a martial art right?

  1. #31
    Quote Originally Posted by SoCo KungFu View Post
    We just happen to follow a gov pattern of which finds roots established in the time of those civilizations (and our artwork pertaining to that government reflects this). And for the record, in a lot of ways, so do you. As does a large part of Europe...
    thats kind of my point. i see alot of similarities in that world and our world. same stuff happening over and over. i wish i would see more rather than hear more.

    as far as american bashing, i have more criticisms of canada but theres only a few canadians here... im asking questions, and not being satisfied with the answers i probe on... you dont have to get offended because i disagree with you... if i wasnt open to what you have to say i wouldnt give you the time... but i dont hate any country... i dont love any country either... i try not to let those lines dictate my thinking... but the reality is that those lines do exist and its totally worth examining and vetting in every way shape and form... nothing is above criticism, nothing...

    and for the record, i dont really identify muyself as canadian... you cant put a whole nation behind one persons opinion... you can criticise any institution you feel needs to be criticised, but you cant lump a whole nation into one mould...
    Last edited by Syn7; 01-03-2011 at 10:09 AM.

  2. #32
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    I didn't know this was still a thing...

    ...in China no less. Really?


    China’s kung fu bullfighters dismiss cruelty claims as ancient martial art booms

    Despite concerns from animal rights activists, practitioners of the centuries-old form of animal wrestling are keen to showcase their skills

    PUBLISHED : Sunday, 02 September, 2018, 9:01pm
    UPDATED : Monday, 03 September, 2018, 9:35am
    Laurie Chen
    https://twitter.com/lauriechenwords
    laurie.chen@scmp.com



    The first time Li Bo stood eye to eye in the ring with a 450kg (990lb) bull, he was afraid. He understood well that with its massive power and sharp horns, the bull could gore or kill him in moments.

    But as the kung fu practitioner’s training in ancient Chinese bullfighting continued in Jiaxing, in the eastern province of Zhejiang, he learned to use his martial arts experience to turn his adversary’s strength against it.

    And one day the breakthrough came.

    “I figured out techniques to use the force of my strength to make it fall to the ground, to put it in a headlock,” Li, 22, said. “And [I] felt like I was accomplishing something really meaningful.”

    Li is one reason that Chinese bull-wrestling – a discipline dating back centuries to the era of the Hui Muslims – is becoming increasingly prominent in China.

    As practised in Jiaxing, the cradle of the pastime, it differs from better-known Spanish bullfighting in one major respect: the bull is not killed at the end.

    For this reason, its practitioners claim the Chinese version is more humane.

    The spectacle is boosting the economies of rural villages in the area, drawing tourists and prizes with ever-greater purses.

    Watching a video of Li in the ring is to see a display of self-discipline and martial arts intelligence pitched against a finely tuned force of nature.

    Li’s heavy grunts rise about the cheers of the crowd as he goes up against the massive animal, with its muscular neck and large, bony head.

    Then a sweat-soaked Li grabs the bull by its lethal horns. Calling on all his training and experience, the fighter engages the massive beast in a struggle. After long moments of grappling, Li topples the overwhelmed creature to the ground, triumphant.

    For Li, devoting himself to bull-wrestling three years ago was “the natural conclusion” of his kung fu training.

    But his parents dismissed his bullfighting ambitions as madness.

    “When I first started bullfighting, my parents didn’t understand why,” Li said. “They thought it was a very dangerous sport and were worried that I would be gored, crushed or thrown to the ground by the bull.”

    But their opinion slowly changed after Li sent them videos of himself in the ring, he said.


    Chinese bull-wrestling dates back centuries. Photo: Handout

    Li follows in the steps of kung fu master Han Haihua. In 2008, Han was the first to formalise the sport by setting up the Haihua Kung Fu Club, China’s only martial arts association dedicated to training the next generation of professional bull wrestlers.

    Han, a Hui Muslim, made his name as China’s first nationally recognised bullfighter during the 1982 National Ethnic Minority Games, in which he tackled a giant bull to the ground.

    “During the annual festival of Eid, Hui Muslims will normally sacrifice cattle and out of this, people started to wrestle with the bulls,” Han, 65, said. “So bull-fighting developed out of a combination of Hui culture and Chinese martial arts culture.”

    Han agrees that Chinese bullfighting is humane, compared with its famous Spanish counterpart.

    “We make the bulls fall over in a way that doesn’t injure their bodies or cause bloodshed,” Han said, adding that the rules prohibit fighters from shouting at the bulls.

    But bullfighting styles vary within China as well as between nations.

    In the southwestern provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou, for example, two bulls are made to fight each other, instead of humans.

    To be a successful bullfighter, practitioners must have a good grasp of martial arts skills and “hard qigong” – a technique of concentrating one’s entire strength through breath control and body movements, according to Han. Hard qigong is the technique that allows kung fu fighters to smash bricks with their bare hands.

    “A bull’s hide is quite thick and their body is large, so if they push you or gore you, can you stand it?” Han asked. “Of course not. You need to practise hard qigong to develop this kind of wrestling technique.”


    Li Bo in action at a tournament. Photo : Handout

    Although locals defend the sport as part of Jiaxing’s intangible cultural heritage, it has triggered criticism from animal rights advocates.

    Peter Li, a professor at the University of Houston-Downtown and a China policy specialist for Humane Society International, calls bull-wrestling an unacceptable form of entertainment in modern-day China.

    “Culture or tradition is no defence or justification for animal cruelty of all manifestations,” Li said.

    “Bull-wrestling serves to desensitise the audience, particularly young people, to animal cruelty.”

    He added that, despite the trainers’ claims that they treated the bulls well, “the fact that ‘training’ bulls have to wrestle as a daily routine for the entertainment of humans is cruel since the bulls are forced to act unnaturally or against the nature of bulls”.

    As such, the bulls were “denied the ability to display their natural behaviour”, which could cause them physical and psychological damage.

    Moreover, the activity, along with all forms of animal cruelty in the name of culture and tradition, “tarnishes the reputation of Jiaxing, Zhejiang and China” on the international stage, the professor argued.


    Haihua Kung Fu club members practise their skills. Photo: Handout

    Li Bo said he was aware that many people viewed the sport as cruel to animals, but countered that those who did just did not understand it deeply enough.

    “Our bulls are not like normal bulls, they are specially trained fighting bulls,” he said. “It’s like the difference between an ordinary human who’s not very fit, and a trained boxer. Their body strength and fighting capabilities are completely different.”

    Although the bulls may be opponents in the ring, the bullfighters say their relationship with the creatures is much friendlier outside training hours.

    “When we have free time, we groom their fur, bathe them, take them out for grazing and feed them,” Li said. “While other people look after dogs and cats, we see the bulls as our pets – I believe they are even more loyal than dogs.”

    While some bulls are naturally more fiery than others, the club prides itself on not using chemical stimulants on the animals to manipulate their performance, as some Spanish bullfighters have been accused of doing.

    “We grab hold of its horns and slowly let its fierceness develop, and from this we can have a more equal match between human and bull,” he said.


    Li Bo practises with a bull. Photo: Handout

    Han’s Haihua Kung Fu Club is partly government funded. Han said the lack of funding and investment was an impediment to developing the sport and allowing it to attain the same level of international exposure as other martial arts, such as judo, taekwondo and Muay Thai.

    To ease the financial burden of raising and training bulls, the club has held annual bull-fighting tournaments over the past seven years, inviting outsiders to compete before hundreds of spectators.

    Han said he was looking at other ways to earn revenue from the sport and potentially bring it to a larger audience internationally to ensure its survival.

    For Li, however, going up against the bulls continues his devotion to his lifelong love: martial arts.

    “Whenever I saw it on TV as a child, I would feel really excited, and this feeling is partly why I started kung fu training,” Li said.

    “I think that, maybe, every man secretly wishes he could become a martial arts hero.”
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  3. #33
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    Guanniu

    There's an embedded link to a 11+ min video. This doesn't seem any more cruel than rodeo. Rodeo actually seems rougher. Of course, animal rights activists have issues with rodeo too, so there is that.

    MARTIAL ARTS
    The art of Chinese kung fu bullfighting
    Tom Wang

    Guanniu, or Chinese bullfighting, is a traditional sport of the Hui ethnic minority, that dates back thousands of years to the Yuan and Song dynasties. During the fight, an athlete aims to wrestle a bull to the ground within three minutes.

    Han Haihua was the first to formalise Chinese bullfighting by bringing kung fu and bullfighting together. In 1982, Han became the first athlete to wrestle down a bull at China’s national games. He impressed the country and became known as China’s first bullfighter. Here are Master Han’s three rules for kung fu bullfighting mastery.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  4. #34
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    Kung Fu Cow

    Ancient martial art of bull wrestling adapting to modern era
    By Zhang Yu Source:Global Times Published: 2018/11/29 19:28:40


    Ren Ruzhi, a professional bull wrestler, fights a bull in Jiaxing, East China's Zhejiang Province. Photo: Yang Hui/GT

    Inside the arena, 23-year-old Ren Ruzhi is wrestling with an opponent five times his weight: a bull. He holds the two horns of the bull tight, musters all his strength and suddenly yells out loud, as he wrestles the bull to the ground.

    Ren is one of China's few kung fu bull wrestlers. He practices the traditional sport at the Haihua Martial Arts Club in Jiaxing, East China's Zhejiang Province.

    Bull wrestling in Jiaxing can be traced to the Song Dynasty (960-1279), when a group of Hui Muslims entered the eastern city. Each year during the Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of the Sacrifice, the Hui people fight bulls before slaughtering them for the festival.

    In 1982, Han Haihua, a professional wrestler and a Jiaxing native of Hui ethnicity, brought this tradition to a broader audience. Han performed bull wrestling in China's Traditional Ethnic Minorities Sports Games that year, which made bull wrestling a recognized sport.

    Over the years, at his martial arts club, Han, 65, has been training bull wrestlers and trying to pass down this tradition.

    But the traditional sport has raised concerns from animal protectionists over concerns of animal cruelty.

    No Cruelty

    Han Haihua denies the allegation. "Unlike Spanish bullfighting, in which the matador plunges his sword into the bull's heart and kills it, Chinese bullfighting does not use a weapon. Neither will the bull be killed after a fight. Each bull can serve three to five years before they retire," Han told the Global Times.

    Ren said, "We regard the bull as our opponent, and before each match, we bow to the bull to show our respect." He adds that human wrestlers risk much more danger than the bulls — including breaking their bones and being stabbed by the bulls' horns.

    Han said wrestling with a bull requires the basics of kung fu, the flexibility of wrestling, and the explosive force of hard qigong. "It's 60 percent strength plus 40 percent skills," said Ren.

    This is why apprentices are required to learn kung fu and qigong for two to three years before they can start learning bullfighting. Apart from kung fu moves, their daily exercises also include pulling vehicles with rope and hands and flipping large tires.

    "In the beginning, we were intimidated by the bull. But as we get familiar with them, we're used to it," Ren said.

    The Haihua Martial Arts club now has around 20 bulls, which are specially selected and trained for the sport.

    Han said when he was young, bulls plowed farmland and were powerful. But as China industrialized farming, bulls were mainly bred and fed for the beef industry, and most bulls no longer have the physical strength and stamina required for bull fighting.

    They search for bulls which grew up in rural mountains, and feed them with natural grass and protein powders. They train the bulls by making them run every day.

    But still, bulls are docile creatures and are not natural fighters. Before each wrestling match, one man needs to chase the bull and make it more energetic.

    Finding successors

    Over the years, bull wrestling as a culture and sport has gained the approval and support of Jiaxing's local government, which grants Han a total subsidy of over 1 million yuan ($144,090) each year to pass on and promote the tradition. However, finding successors for the dangerous art isn't easy.

    Han said he used to have some Hui apprentices, including his own nephew, but as they entered adulthood and had to make a living, they all left.

    Han had also tried to invite professional wrestlers and kung fu masters from the Shaolin Temple to come to his martial arts club and help pass on this tradition. "However, they frown at the idea of having to wrestle with a bull," Han told the Global Times.

    Han now trains his own apprentices, including Ren. The youngest is only 17 years old. Han pays them 5,000 to 6,000 yuan ($725-$870) seach month.

    Han is optimistic about the future of bull wrestling. He now hosts a national bull wrestling competition each year, inviting martial arts practitioners and wrestlers nationwide, to challenge themselves with bull wrestling. He is also preparing for a dance and martial arts show which features bull wrestling as the main selling point.
    Newspaper headline: Kung fu cow
    This was mentioned in the WEB FU section of our FALL 2019 issue.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  5. #35
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    Now reported by Reuters

    What an odd story to gain international traction...we were on top of this months ago.

    DECEMBER 5, 2018 / 4:40 PM / UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO
    Enter the Bull: Fighters mix kung fu and bullfighting in China
    Xihao Jiang, Martin Quin Pollard
    3 MIN READ

    BEIJING/JIAXING, China (Reuters) - Several times a week, kung fu teacher Ren Ruzhi enters a ring to spar with a bovine opponent around five times his weight and capable of killing him.

    Ren’s mixing of martial arts and bullfighting worries his mother, but the 24-year-old has never been hurt. Besides, he says, grappling with a snorting bull is exciting.

    “It symbolizes the bravery of a man,” Ren told Reuters in Jiaxing in China’s eastern province of Zhejiang.

    Unlike Spain’s more famous sport, the Chinese variant of bullfighting involves no swords or gore but instead fuses the moves of wrestling with the skill and speed of kung fu to bring down beasts weighing up to 400 kg (882 lb).

    “Spanish bullfighting is more like a performance or a show,” said Hua Yang, a 41-year-old enthusiast who watched a bullfight during a visit to Spain.

    “This (the Chinese variety) is truly a contest pitting a human’s strength against a bull. There are a lot of skills involved and it can be dangerous.”

    The physically demanding sport requires fighters to train intensively and they typically have short careers, said Han Haihua, a former pro wrestler who coaches bullfighters at his Haihua Kung fu School in Jiaxing.

    Han calls the bullfighting style he teaches “the explosive power of hard ‘qigong’”, saying it combines the skill and speed of martial arts with traditional wrestling techniques.

    Typically, a fighter approaches the bull head on, grabs its horns and twists, turning its head until the bull topples over.

    “What do I mean by explosive power?” Han asked. “In a flash! Pow! Concentrate all your power on one point. All of a sudden, in a flash, wrestle it to the ground.”

    If the first fighter gets tired, another one can step into the ring, but they have just three minutes in which to wrestle the bull to the ground or lose the bout.

    The bulls, too, are trained before entering the ring, Han said, and learn themselves how to spread their legs or find a corner to brace against being taken down.

    “A bull can also think like a human, they are smart,” Han added.


    Slideshow (15 Images)

    Although he says his bulls get better treatment than the animals involved in the Spanish sport, animal rights activists believe Chinese bullfighting is still painful for the animals and cruel as a form of entertainment.

    “In Chinese bullfighting, we cannot deny the bulls experience pain,” said Layli Li, a spokeswoman for animal welfare group PETA. “As long as it exists, that means there is suffering.”

    Reporting by Jiang Xihao and Martin Pollard; Editing by John Ruwitch and Darren Schuettler
    I only copied 1 of the 15 images. Follow the link if you want to see more.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

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