Nothing more than a dance

"Now foreigners say with the touch of irony that the Chinese martial arts are nothing more than a dance with energetic movements. Our ancestors knew how to drill in twos, one against another, and alone. They were able to apply the techniques one after another in self-defence so the assailant had no opportunity to continue his attack.” – Liu Jin Shang 1935 (police academy of Zhejiang province).

I thought this was an interesting quote as we can see the parallels with Japanese / Okinawan kata also being viewed as being “nothing more than a dance with energetic movements” and the lost ability of practitioners to be able to “drill in twos, one against another” (bunkai / kata based kumite) and alone (kata).

All the best,

Iain