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The Legacy of Muslim China is the legacy of Muslim Kung Fu.
Muslim Masters have trained continuously and arduously, venturing
the never-ending journey towards physical and spiritual perfection,
poised by serving a lifelong inspiration to their Muslim
communities and the proud nation of China. They have perceptively
disseminated their knowledge of the art, unreadily revealed by the
ancient masters to only a few truly dedicated students who were
allowed a glimpse of a particular technique, after their sincerity
and total devotion for the art was thoroughly tested. The high
caliber of Muslim Kung fu Masters was deemed with an open mind and
excelling to a high degree in both a combative and a philosophical
approach.
A 1400 year chronology of Islam in China is nearly as old as the
following reminder by the Prophet Muhammad: "The strong man is
not the one who throws people in wrestling. The strong man is the
one who has control of himself when he is angry". Such
"hikmah" (wisdom) adhered to by Muslim Masters for
centuries, intertwined with self development and cultivation of
"Chi" (inner energy) utilized to tame the animal within and to help
further their mastery of martial arts.
Muslim Masters have succeeded in harmonizing the internal and
external form of Kung fu, thus successfully remaining akin to their
original faith, applying tremendous "ijtihad" (effort), in
producing ultimately effective and indigenous martial arts of their
own, based on their religious (Islamic) creed, ethical manner, free
from supposition and animosity. Coined under the term
"Jiao-men", meaning sect fighting, ascribed by the
"Hui" spiritual elders as "holy practice", in defense
of their plight and to foster endurance among Muslim youth who were
taught within boundaries of Mosque court yards, it sporadically
sprouted with the "Muslim Fist" style, which later
diligently produced a galaxy of Muslim Kung Fu Masters.
Indigenous Muslim martial arts were often epitomized with
distinctive Islamic (Arabic) names and their technical
effectiveness peaked within Kung Fu circles. Their ubiquitous
presence immediately became transparent throughout China, from
winning many free style fighting competitions to training senior
bodyguards of China's president. Muslim interpretation of Kung Fu
literally ranked amongst China's most predominant styles, marveled
by many for its originality in the art of expressing the human
body, gracefully embraced by Shaolin monks and other schools of
"Quanshu" (i.e. pugilistic art).
The Chinese Muslim legacy experienced spontaneous struggles amidst
economical strife, vested from their Arab and Persian ancestors who
first docked the famous ports of Guangzhou and al-Zaytun
(Quanzhou), from their perilous sea and land journeys, in search of
auspicious trade, which transformed them to Masters of the early
medieval East and West trade. Centuries later Master Cheng Ho, a
well known Muslim figure who traversed far and wide, successfully
combined both his martial arts expertise and commander-in-chief of
the Ming's navy.
The following brief introduction of Chinese Muslim Kung Fu Masters,
denotes a genealogical legacy descending from generation to
generation, transmitting their covert experimental knowledge and
science, spooned from a treasure trove manifested from a
Sino-Islamic heritage and philosophy.
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