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Thread: Chinese Military Kung Fu

  1. #106
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    Slightly OT...

    It's BBotswana Defense Force training in Chinese Kung Fu.

    Kung-Fu replaces guns at BDF
    Monkagedi Gaotlhobogwe
    Staff writer

    The Botswana Defense Force(BDF) seems to have learnt a bitter lesson during the brutal shooting of John Kalafatis in 2009.



    That blunder may never happen again when the BDF finds themselves having to use guns. They have turned to the Chinese army to teach them marshal arts tricks so that when duty calls they would rather over power their victims with Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan and Drunken Master tricks than face the fury of the public for using guns on unarmed civilians.

    So instead of multiple bullets that shocked the nation during the Kalafatis scandal, in the near future victims of the Police and BDF operations may be nursing blue eyes, broken arms, or bleeding noses and broken teeth, all thanks to the agility of the nunchakus, kicks and punches from our kunfu masters at the army.If the pictures from the BDF are anything to go by, even without guns, the BDF men could just be as effective. In one of their pictures taken at a training session and used in the army magazine, national karate champion Ofentse Bakwadi, now a captain in the army, is shown teaching tricks that include leaving the victim sprawled on the ground and helpless. The BDF is now busy establishing a new unit for instances such as these when they will have to face a situation similar to the John kalafatis one. The Monitor can reveal that through the BDF's Directorate of Sports Administration, the army is busy establishing an unarmed combat training team made up of martial arts instructors. The instructors were sent to training in China to impart their knowledge to other members of the BDF.

    The aim is to train all soldiers, including recruit privates and officer cadets during their basic military training
    Since President Ian Khama took over one of his initiatives has been to cause the army and the Police to collaborate in crime fighting missions, such as patrols, resulting in regular joint operations by the two institutions.

    The Director of Sports Administration at the BDF major Montwedi simon is quoted in the army newsletter, In & Around, saying BDF officers and men may find themselves in situations where the use of weapons would amount to excessive force hence the need to use unarmed combat.

    He said that is usually possible during Joint law Enforcement operations with other national security organs such as the Police. Major Simon says the use of guns could be perceived as excessive when victims are unarmed.
    Gene Ching
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  2. #107
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    cut out with cut backs

    They probably just realized that it doesn't work in the cage.
    Military brigade cuts down on kung fu
    Global Times | 2014-2-24 22:58:01
    By Fang Yang

    A military brigade in Beijing has scaled back traditional "kung fu" training methods, which have been criticized as being of little practical value, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Daily reported on Monday.

    The special warfare brigade in Beijing cancelled over 10 classic training courses which include physical activities such as breaking bricks with heads, splitting sticks with people's backs and pushing vehicles with steel bars pressed against one's throat. The training methods are similar to the popular shows by Shaolin Temple monks that are often seen on their international tours.

    Those subjects involve traditional Chinese qigong practices and are among the regular training methods for reconnaissance troops in China and often serve as a selling point at evaluation "performances" of special troops, according to military insiders.

    In recent years, the Beijing brigade has won high praise for its spectacular skills in these training courses, the PLA Daily reported.

    "But real combat is not a performance, and the training subjects must be designed based on the demands in a real fight," Zhang Aijun, the brigade commander told the PLA Daily.

    The brigade has suspended organized training session for these subjects, but allows soldiers to practice them as a hobby, according to the PLA Daily.

    "These practices that involve qigong movements can enhance fitness and health, and can enhance one's ability to handle impacts," Liang Jianfeng, the headmaster of a Beijing-based martial arts school, told the Global Times.

    However, it will take a lot of time and energy to practice these skills, which can be risky at times, Liang said, adding that it requires constant exercises to maintain the ability.

    "In actual combat, those skills are not really practical," Liang added.

    Zhao Yongheng, a soldier from the brigade who used to be skilled in those exercises, told the PLA Daily that he felt relieved to be able to put more effort into other training subjects that are more helpful in combat.

    "It has been a long tradition for scouts to take these special training projects," a soldier based in Daqing, Heilongjiang Province, told the Global Times.

    The soldier, surnamed Wang, was a military school student majoring in reconnaissance. He said he believes that while those practices help improve one's physical strength, they also help with military morale.

    The show of soldiers accomplishing those incredible feats gives an impression of strong force, and that's what sets them apart from others, Wang said.

    "Those performances sometimes are used as an internal and external morale campaign of our military force," Wang said, adding that some troops have put many resources into training since they require professional guidance and experience to avoid injuries.

    The emphasis on practical combat training began after President Xi Jinping called for all military training to focus on raising real combat capability during an inspection tour of the Beijing Military Region in July 2013.
    Gene Ching
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  3. #108
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    More cutbacks

    I'm tempted to poach this for a new thread on Chinese Military Qigong in the Qigong section.
    Kung fu stunts get the chop at PLA Navy unit
    The show seems to be over for displays of martial arts might in China's marine corps
    PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 14 January, 2015, 12:22am
    UPDATED : Wednesday, 14 January, 2015, 12:23am

    Minnie Chan minnie.chan@scmp.com


    Militia practise a motorcycle stunt during training in Taiyuan, Shanxi province. Photo: Reuters

    They were a smashing success but the days of People's Liberation Army soldiers chopping tiles and timber blocks barehanded in stunts put on during leaders' inspections and open days appear to be numbered.

    Training for the shows will no longer count towards some soldiers' performance reviews, according to a mainland report.

    The PLA Daily said yesterday that Communist Party leaders in the navy's marine corps had decided to scrap training in a dozen stunt areas - including various forms of kung fu and team motorcycle riding - replacing them with other activities such as live-fire drills.

    The military mouthpiece said the decision was welcomed by the troops.

    "[I am] finally released," the daily quoted marine Wang Xiaohui as saying.

    Wang was a kung fu exponent before he joined the military, specialising in breaking planks with his head, the paper said.

    But his military training had suffered because he had spent most of his time in the marines training to do stunts for shows.

    The report said marines would now spend more time working on long-range sniper firing, helicopter drills, base jumping, machine-gun training and other high-risk activities.

    It said some of the more dangerous exercises had been cancelled in previous years because of the high number of casualties but those activities had since resumed.

    Professor Arthur Ding Shu-fan, from the Taipei-based Chinese Council of Advanced Policy Studies, said the change would probably be rolled out across all military divisions.

    "The new measures will help turn the PLA into a normal battle force," Ding said.

    "The stunts might look quite cool but they are outdated in terms of today's modern warfare."

    The report comes just days after President Xi Jinping, who is also the chairman of the Central Military Commission, ordered combat officers and those in charge of political training at the grass-roots level to swap posts to improve both fighting capability and political loyalty to the Communist Party.

    This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as Kung fu stunts get the chop atPLA navy unit
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  4. #109
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    I have heard comment on military unarmed combat skill - "it is not martial art, it is method to kill." From the video clip mentioned in the first post of this thread, what is shown in the clip largely supports the comment. The techniques used by the demonstrator are very effective. They aim at the vulnerabilities of the human body, like our elbow joints, waist, throat, etc.

  5. #110
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    Chinese Police/ Military Forms

    I learned the larger part of a police/ military form a couple years back during a 1 day workshop w/ retired coach/ military trainer Master Gu Xin Fa.

    The 1st thing about this form is that you immediately put your hands on guard and assume a sanda/sanshou stance. This is followed by basically different variations of jab/ reverse, hook & uppercut punches, roundhouse and heel kicks, takedowns, intercepts and qin na techniques. Not overly- difficult to learn, more "bare bones" and immediately to the point than most kung fu styles, although alot of the qinna he showed us I already learned in my longfist class- some different variations, though, especially some of the takedowns. IMO it compliments my longfist, tai chi, etc. training well.

    I like what I was taught and alot of times when I train @ home I will run this form drill up and down a few times after stance work and drilling isolated techniques.

  6. #111
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    More cutbacks on hard qigong programs

    NOTE: I wrote an article that was relevant to this thread last year: When Qigong Goes to War JUL+AUG 2014

    PLAN calls off kung fu stunt shows

    (Source: China Military Online) 2015-01-15


    Special operation soldier is climbing the building with bare hands.

      HONG KONG, January 15 (ChinaMil) -- "Break bricks with a bare hand", "Break a wood rod with body"... these are all the cool stunts of soldiers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), according to the report by the Hong Kong's South China Morning Post on January 14, 2015. However, their appearance on the open days of the military barracks and during the inspections of the leaders can be numbered now.

      It is reported that such performance subjects will no longer be included in the appraisal on soldiers.

      The PLA Daily reported that the Party committee of a marine brigade of the PLA Navy has decided to exclude a dozen of such subjects which are pleasant to the eyes but of no use from the training program, including various kung fu stunts and group motorcycle stunts, and replace them with daily training subjects such as live-ammunition shooting subject.

      The decision is welcomed by the officers and men.

      "I am finally liberated now," the report quoted Wang Xiaohui, member of the Marine Corps of the PLA Navy. Wang practised hard Qigong before joining the military, and showed his stunt "Break a wood board with head" many times after joining the military.

      However, he was not performing well enough in some military training subjects, because he spent most of the training time on practising his stunts.

      Now the brigade will spend more time on long-distance sniping, helicopter training, low-altitude bailout, machine gun shooting and other high-risk training subjects. Some subjects that were once removed from the training ground due to safety accidents have also returned to the training ground.

      Ding Shufan, director of the Research Center of International Relations of Taiwan's National Chengchi University (NCCU), said this change will probably be promoted to all the troops of the PLA. "The new measure will help the PLA develop into a standard combat force. The kung fu stunts may look cool, but they are already outdated in modern wars today."

      Chinese President Xi Jinping urged the military to arrange the job rotation of military and political principal officers at grassroots units just a few days ago in order to enhance the Chinese military's combat capability and its political loyalty to the Communist Party of China.
    I'm not sure this image falls under Kung Fu stunts. Wall-climbing seems like a practical military skill to me.
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  7. #112
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    A rehash

    This would be more convincing if the lead shot wasn't TKD.

    But still, the vid is amusing.



    FEATURE
    China's army is giving up kung fu
    FROM Matthew Gault
    (China Photos/Getty Images)
    March 25, 2015

    Militaries around the world love hamming it up. The United States has military marching bands. Russia's Red Army Choir delights the Internet. And China's People's Liberation Army performs elaborate martial arts stunts.

    It's certainly dramatic. The soldiers break boards with their heads and fists, throw needles through glass and even smash bricks onto their heads. But Beijing is gradually bringing the kung fu displays to an end.

    Chinese military media outlet PLA Daily reported on Jan. 15 that one naval marine brigade will no longer focus on martial arts. The announcement is part of a broader trend in the PLA to modernize and cut back on ridiculous showboating.

    The Chinese military has long given kung fu demonstrations. When a foreign dignitary visits, or a party official comes to inspect the troops, soldiers perform feats of martial prowess worthy of any low-budget '80s action movie.

    In addition to breaking boards and smashing bricks, the demonstrations include no-joke motorcycle stunts, which involve changing the tire of a side-car while speeding down a track at 70 miles per hour.

    It's all very impressive, but totally impractical for an actual shooting war. Which is why a political committee for the marine brigade decided earlier this month to no longer require soldiers take part in such events.



    "I am finally liberated now," marine Wang Xiaohui told the PLA Daily. According to the report, Wang was a martial artist before he joined the military.

    He spent a lot of his time in the marines showing off his ability to break a board with his head. He spent so much time working on stunts that he didn't learn other basic military duties.

    Now the marine and his fellow troops will have more time to focus on less theatrical but far more practical exercises. What are they? Long-range sniping, live-fire training, and low-altitude parachuting.

    The PLA Daily is a mouthpiece for the Chinese military, so it's hard to suss out fact from fiction. But if true, the report points to a broader trend in the PLA to scale back on entertainment in favor of more realistic, modern tactics.


    (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

    A special operations brigade toned down its martial arts demonstrations in 2014. "Going to war isn't a performance," brigade commander Zang Aijun said.

    The same year, the South China Morning Post reported that the Chinese military was phasing out most of its entertainment soldiers.

    The PLA once maintained 30 troupes of 10,000 entertainers. These soldiers were acrobats, singers, and dancers. The troupes raised morale and spread the message of the PLA.

    But critics saw corruption seeping into the troupes. A politically-connected singer could join the military, perform for a few years, and retire in comfort and safety.

    It's a desirable career, and a potential path to fame. Chinese Pres. Xi Jinping's wife holds the ranks of major general in a military entertainment troupe.

    Too much levity can be a liability. The Chinese military is huge, but also a paper tiger. Beijing has too few allies, too much outdated equipment, and its officer corps has serious problems with graft and alcoholism.

    China has steadily increased defense spending in a bid to modernize its armed forces, but spending alone won't solve its problems. To do that, China has to do something about corruption, and divert resources away from frivolity.

    "The new measure will help the PLA develop into a standard combat force," Ding Shufan, a professor at Taiwan's National Chengchi University, told the PLA Daily. "The kung fu stunts may look cool, but they are already outdated in modern wars today."
    Gene Ching
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  8. #113
    Greetings,

    Basically, the new stance suggests that Shaolin is OUT!!!


    mickey

  9. #114
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    I think it's cute that militaries still do H2H publicity stuff when most soldiers in conflict never see their opponent these days (except on a flir screen or through a sight from 1000m away if they're a sniper.)

    H2H is quite...well, not exactly your primary skills on a battlefield anymore.
    Kung Fu is good for you.

  10. #115
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    Slighty OT



    Beijing's Hour-long Military Parade in a Minute
    from Max Duncan Plus 9 hours ago / via Final Cut Pro Not Yet Rated

    To mark the 70th anniversary of victory over Japan in WWII, China held a massive military parade past Tiananmen Square with 12,000 troops, 500 pieces of military hardware and 200 aircraft. In preparation, authorities kept the air clean by shutting down thousands of factories, taking half the cars off the roads, and removing birds from trees. They even seemingly dispersed clouds. On the day, they shut down the centre of the city, closed the country's largest airport and part of the subway, and told people not to look out of their windows. After all that, the parade itself was over in the flash of an eye, but the goal was to leave a more lasting impression: that the Party is indisputably, and permanently, in charge. For those who would rather the whole thing lasted 60 seconds, here's a little video I produced for the Wall Street Journal
    i like the military balloons
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  11. #116
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    ttt

    Sort of random, but a nice pic.

    Girls do leg workouts during military training break
    By Ruiqi Zhang (People's Daily Online) 15:32, September 21, 2015


    Girls do leg workouts during military training break

    On Sept. 16, a group of girls from the Department of Dance practice basic dancing skills on the playground of Shandong Normal University. College freshmen in China have military training when a semester begins. (iqilu/Zhang Wei)
    Gene Ching
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  12. #117
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    Thought the Chinese Army quit Kung Fu...

    Old habits die hard.

    These Chinese soldiers toughen up by smashing concrete blocks with their heads
    BY ALICIA TAN
    8 hours ago



    No one said being in the army was an easy feat, but this demonstration by a group of soldiers in China certainly brings hardcore to the next level.

    This video circulating on Weibo shows a bunch of young Chinese soldiers breaking concrete blocks and porcelain bowls with their bare hands and heads.

    Some even let their colleagues smash concrete slabs on their chests with sledgehammers.

    We're not sure how these skills will measure up against real guns, but we can't deny that this Shaolin-style Spartan training is impressive.
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  13. #118
    Greetings,

    That was one of the better demos of Iron Body that I have seen. The challenge is whether they can continue to do that when they are 80.


    mickey

  14. #119
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    Quote Originally Posted by mickey View Post
    Greetings,

    That was one of the better demos of Iron Body that I have seen. The challenge is whether they can continue to do that when they are 80.


    mickey
    Doubtful. Even most people who train MA seriously and become good at it, end up quitting by middle age.

  15. #120
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    Thumbs up

    To me, such people mostly end up quitting by the age 70+. I expect myself to continue training till the end.



    Regards,

    KC
    Hong Kong

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