The Way of the Warrior

The link between stealthy warriors and the Internet is obvious. Warriors want to stay hidden, and the Internet is the world’s most anonymous locale. Fighters have long used the World Wide Web to track their prey, learn about cool new accessories and watch YouTube videos of their competitors. Now they’re using it to recruit novices.

One mysterious Irish warrior by the name of David Kelly is busy scouring the fringes of Beijing for capable grandmasters who train their apprentices in the ancient arts. So if you’re done daydreaming about martial arts prowess, it’s time to stop giggling at the absurdities on Realultimatepower.net and head to a real warrior’s website: Studymartialarts.org. Here, you’ll find all the info that Kelly has compiled on the city’s best independent masters and grandmasters.

True to the spirit of kung fu’s most epic films, these warriors train novices and professional fighters in the great arts of Wing Chun, qigong and taijiquan, among other styles. Some of Beijing’s grandmasters have even invented their own arts. Unlike the grandmaster in Kill Bill, they display no ridiculously long beards or villainous chuckles. They may, however, perch cross-legged atop fence poles as they watch you practice your forms.

Master Chen Fusheng is currently accepting students to his academy, located two hours outside Beijing. He specializes in bagua, qigong, and Praying Mantis, among other varieties. “His knowledge is vast and it’s real combative and internal stuff. You’ll learn to defend yourself quite quickly,” says Kelly.

Real warriors put down their video game consoles and wake up at 6am to do tai chi. They do hours of conditioning and reflex drills, and spend their mental energy meditating in the gardens or practicing their Chinese in the nearby village. Real warriors don’t read about being a badass; they book a tiny, dusty room in an authentic Chinese village, sequester themselves in their martial arts study, and live, breathe and sleep their art – just like Van Damme in Blood Sport. It’s warriors like these, and like Kelly, who you’ll find late at night punching mung bean-filled burlap sacks at Master Chen’s with an oddly serene smile on their lips.

Find Master Chen and others at www.studymartialarts.org.

Click here to see the April issue of the Beijinger in full.