Ignorance, Legend and Taijiquan By

As one who has floated on the periphery of the martial arts community since I studied Yang-style Taijiquan in Taiwan back in 1970, I relish this opportunity to come forward and "toss some bricks to entice some jade, " and I am particularly pleased that my "reappearance " can at last take place on the pages of a serious journal dedicated to high standards in Chinese martial arts research. This could not have happened even in the most recent past, and it is still an exception to the norm as we approach the 21st century! It was precisely because of the appalling state of ignorance I observed surrounding the history of Chinese martial arts that I first published an article titled, "The Chinese Martial Arts in Historical Perspective, " in the December 1981 issue of Military Affairs (now Journal of Military History). I selected a scholarly journal to".... hopefully extract them [the Chinese martial arts] from the realm of myth and pave the way for placing them in the realm of reputable historical research."[1] I selected a journal on military history to emphasize the fact (not opinion) that the origins of the Chinese martial arts, including boxing, are rooted in military (not religious) practice