By Ba Wang

During the tragic COVID period that had just recently left the stage of world history, Kung Fu Tai Chi Magazine had officially gone out of print and became digital platform exclusive. I had reached out to the longtime publisher Gene Ching about the current prospects of the magazine. He was rather optimistic, telling me not to worry about it, and instead try writing an article in memory of the longstanding and still active forums.

The KungFuMagazine forums have been around since the early 2000’s, following the rise in popularity of the internet. I was still a child then and only browsed but did not participate. After the dot.com economic crash, there seemed to be increased traffic, but I can’t be too sure due to the memory being so foggy. The same goes for the 2008 time period, which also may have seen a surge in forum traffic.

I now believe that those economic events had a two-fold impact on the American Kung Fu online community: first is the closing or downsizing of many Kung Fu schools, leading to ex-instructors and students without a place to train seeking a place to share their voices. Another is the austerity of living conditions encouraging people to seek deeper meaning in their lives, and Kung Fu has always had an air of spiritual asceticism as a “medieval” minimalist hobby. The internet pop culture at the same time was also becoming increasingly hostile and derivative of Kung Fu in general, the “Bullshido” forums and web culture must have been a huge influence. This may have also contributed to the attraction of web users to KungFuMagazine, seeking a cultural refuge in pursuit of their continuously dying arts.

The KungFuMagazine forums were as unpredictable as the ocean; sometimes wild and chaotic, other times orderly and serene. The forums had a diverse group of characters, from known public figures, famous instructors to nobodies, seasoned practitioners to total newbies, the genuine and the fraudulent, the passionate philosophers and researchers and the cold salesmen. A Chinese idiom to describe the forums would be “fish and dragons mixed together (yú lóng hùn zá 鱼龙混杂"), none was the wiser.

There were other alternative Kung Fu forums during those days, some of which are still surviving, but in my opinion the quality and tone of the discussions compared to those on KungFuMagazine was as night and day. This is due to Gene Ching’s highly tolerant rules of moderation, which I did not truly appreciate until the Facebook days. Gene was wise to see that a robust discussion drove web traffic and refrained from having his personal biases from intruding into forum moderation. In KungFuMagazine forums, you could speak your mind to your heart’s content, question and confront others, while also being required to defend yourself. This led to a lot of styles and famous instructors being put under a critical eye, in which they would never allow in modern times. God-like styles and instructors were deconstructed and made human, and the truly delusional posters provided great entertainment for everyone to poke fun at.

In my memory, the most light-hearted and humorous years of the forums took place around 2003-2008. At that time there were many waves of self-advertisements and self-aggrandizement, from both known public figures and nobodies, speaking of typical god-like martial powers of either themselves or their grandmasters. At first, the forums responded in logical debates and questions, but these type of characters were relentless; when one confrontation ended, another person took their place; or the same person may simply choose to have a case of amnesia and repeat their private dogma. Eventually the forum long-timers began to respond to long-winded egotistical rants with non-sequiturs, such as asking the original posters as per what items of clothing they are wearing and informing them that the responder is on their way in a helicopter right now to their neighborhood. There was also the saying of many naughty words, although rarely correctly spelled to dodge forum auto-censors. The forum traffic was especially high during this time; it seems great fun was had by all.

Although the humorous aspect was highly entertaining, the forums also had another trait that was rarely seen in other similar online venues; that is the sheer volume of Kung Fu technical discussions that went on, the topics of which today would be often treated with secrecy. There were many obscure discussions about the histories and advanced training of various styles, which were shared with a camaraderie never again seen elsewhere. In my opinion, the depth of the discussions was only limited by the combative and sporting experiences of the members; many were too humble to delve more in detail about the advanced topics while UFC was becoming all the rage in public media. In retrospect I wish that many of us could have pushed deeper; there was the beginning hints of high level scholarly discussions with the citing of texts, historical dates, and field interviews; but alas time was not on our side, as the age of Facebook came head-on like a tsunami, and absorbed much of the readership, as was the fate of many other online forums.

The interactions between forum members were not just online; many offline meetings took place as well. I personally had met about four or five forum members, by actively contacting when I happened to be living or travelling in the same city as them. Some interactions were short meetings at a dim sum restaurant, while others became lifelong close contacts, mentors and good friends, but all the meetings have been positive. Other forum members have not yet met in real life, yet maintained close online contact on other platforms, with plans of offline meeting still. It is hoped that the cooperation and camaraderie will continue into the future. With some members, we chatted many hours into the night; while others traded merely a few words that ended up having lifelong impacts.

One of my biggest regrets in the Kung Fu world was that I had missed the meeting Mr. Gene in Denver Colorado by mere minutes. I would like to give Mr. Gene Ching my sincerest gratitude for keeping the forums alive and preserving over 25 years of passionate discussions; with many members aging and some having passed away due to age or other circumstances, it is now a nostalgic glimpse into the past of a once glorious subculture, brimming with life, vitality, and ideals. The forums had deeply influenced my views on martial arts in general and provided countless valuable insight that shaped my path as an amateur Kung Fu hobbyist. The forums had many old-timers that earnestly and kindly passed down wisdom that one may not easily find in a dojo or kwoon, and those generous words had empowered many of us with precious knowledge that never again resurfaced and provided inspirations for many new ideas too. It is our hope that the spirit of the forums will live on, keeping alight a dying flame held dear by many old men whose hearts still beat on with youthful daydreams, yearning for that sweet bygone era. The forums provided much joy, learning, and friendships. Although many cast doubts on the possibility, it is hoped that one day such a community will rise yet again.

AUTHOR

Bawang is a long-time forum goer and part-time instructor who trains and teaches Tai Chi, Shuaijiao and Karate. He can be reached via a shoutout in the KungFuMagazine.com forums.

This article was originally submitted prior to the Grand Crash of KungFuMagazine.com and the forums in early 2025. Now that KungFuMagazine.com and the forums are restored, it seems fitting that this be the first freelance submission that we publish after our return.

COMMENTS

https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/have-the-glory-days-of-martial-arts-forums-passed/44820