Has anyone ever heard of the Nightwalkers?
YeXingXia, (Night, form/walking, Knights), kind of like the Chinese equivalent of a ninja, but good as well as bad.
Far from being just a figment of WuXia literature, many Kung fu styles contain a series of techniques specifically for use at night. The skill of night walking is a famous method in Shaolin and amongst other styles where one walks in super low profile, at high speed and silently.
Even within living memory large parts of China were without electricity. At night in the countryside it gets very very dark. If you were going to get into fight, there is a good chance that it would be at night. Especially home invasions while people are sleeping. So it stands to reason one would need a set of special techniques specific to this purpose, to fight in complete darkness, or vague moonlight.
Many styles do, but they have fallen into disuse now for obvious reasons. Techniques are characterised by large sweeping movements to find the opponent and form a bridge, then attack while maintaining contact. Footwork that strokes the floor and feels its way along, and some tumbling techniques. During the day the spear is the king of weapons, but at night it is of little use. The weapon of choice for a night style is the double sabre. Not used so often during the day, it is the perfect weapon at night since both hands can search for contact.
Night walking styles look very different to the standard ChangQuan strategy, or even to the DuanDa or TieShenKao strategies.
So, does your style have a Night-form fist? (YeXingQuan) Or maybe a night-form sabre (YeXingDao, DanPingDao)? Has this practice survived in any well known lineages?
I know it is of little practical use these days, but I still find it interesting.