Thread: Hudiedao
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Old 11th August 2009, 03:24 PM   #45
KuKulzA28
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It's interesting that Wing Chun aims to have the close-quarters weapons flow seamlessly from empty hand technique... because many Filipino martial arts say that their knife-techniques should flow easily into empty-hand moves... Approaching similar goals from different training standpoints?

But again, to my previous question:
Did the "river-pirates" have formal training in their use?
I've given this some thought so I'll share them... If the 'river-pirates' can be divided up into two types, seasonal and full-time, then it opens up even more possibilities. If they are seasonal like their seaside kin, then it seems likely that when the harvest is done or the great catches of the season complete (migratory fish schools), there is enough down-time for piracy. Well, in that case, it is likely that those villagers had some sort of "village kung fu" for the purpose of defending their lands and boats. That, and the more determined individuals could perhaps train harder in martial arts during the productive season and then "ply their trade" during the piracy-season. Perhaps? The other side of it is a full-time criminal, who, with his band of pirates, hides out along the riverbanks and in small, near impenetrable places and comes out to raid and pillage. So what do pirates do in their down-time? Practice fighting? Go back to their "normal" lives? Become merchants or smugglers (as some 'pirates' were both)? Eat, drink, smoke, and make love with captured or paid women?

If the services of a martial artist were to be at the pirates' disposal, that could point us in a direction. I know in Taiwan, many martial arts teachers had (maybe still have) connections with local gangs. The same could/can be said about Chinatowns in the USA. However I don't know how far back this 'tradition' goes... and also if it was a widespread practice or just an individual choice.

It is known that locals and pirates coexisted in many cases - perhaps pirates from one hometown enjoedd protection there and support, and perhaps they helped "redistribute" (forcefully) the wealth in the region. According to Tonio Andrade's How Taiwan Became Chinese, the village that later became Tainan was originally a small hamlet made up of fishermen and pirates. If you were a pirate who was friendly with a local village, perhaps the shifu-criminal training relationship could then develop? Perhaps in a river-and-sea environment, these pirates were the combination of smuggler, merchant, pirate, and militia for the seaside and riverside villages of Fujian, Guangdong, and Taiwan - and not always seen in a bad way by the locals?

Chances are there were no hard-fast rules, and some were the equivalent of a village raiding party, some the militia, some just seasonal pirates with whom some villages had some friendliness, and some the rulers of the region...

Just some thoughts

Last edited by KuKulzA28; 11th August 2009 at 03:41 PM.
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