The world of martial arts is shrouded in centuries of myth and mystery. But are the moves and impossible physical feats that are the hallmark of cult martial arts movies merely the stuff of urban legend?Chris Crudelli is a unique figure on the UK martial arts scene, who trained in the Far East with a number of real-life masters. An expert in a range of disciplines, including Tai Chi, Kung Fu and Chi Gong, he is the perfect guide to the world of martial arts for the initiated and the uninitiated alike.>

Chris travels to far-flung corners of China, Japan, the Philippines and Taiwan to meet the ultimate martial arts masters. Meetings with the masters often took place in the most extraordinary circumstances and Chris sparred with them, learnt new techniques and got a real insight into some of their most secret ways of self defence. He witnesses skills which range from the obscure to the bizarre.

From the secret fight clubs in Taiwan, to the Special Action Force in the Philippines, who volunteered 90 of their best fighters to show off their weapon techniques, Chris gains access to this notoriously secretive world. Along the way, he meets Dr Hatsumi - one of the last living Ninjas, Hong Kong movie star Sammo Hung, and 80-year-old masters more agile and sprightly than many people a quarter of their age.

BEIJING

Zhou Minde - Yang Style Tai Qi (Chi)
Master Zhou Minde is over 60 years old and says that he is the 5th Generation Master of ‘Real Tai Qi’. His ‘real tai qi’ is Yang Style Tai Qi, an amalgamation of styles including Shaolin boxing, Xinyi Liuhe Boxing, Shuai Jiao and Tai Qi that Master Zhou has developed since he first started training at the age of eight. He has developed a reputation for saying “I will only retire when someone beats me”.

Duan Bao Hua - Liang Yi Dian Xue Gong Fu (Dim Mak)
Duan Bao Hua is the Master and Inheritor of Liang Yi Dian Xue Gong Fu (Liang Yi Pressure Point Kung Fu), a rare internal martial art that has been passed down within the Duan family for generations. Also known as Dim Mak or the Death Touch, the art, based on the theory of Yin and Yang or the Liang Yi (Twin Poles), combines soft and slow practice methods similar to Tai Qi Quan with the fast and sudden release of power similar to Xing Yi Quan.

Striking the pressure points can cause different results; some might lose their power of speech, others might be paralysed temporarily. The opponent can only be restored to ‘normal’ by striking alternative pressure points.

Zhang Shengli - Wushu
Master Zhang started studying wushu aged seven at the Shaolin Wushu School in Henan Province and has been teaching it since 1994. He has taught San Da, Tae Kwan Do, Competition Tai Qi, Baguazhang and Xingyiquan at Beijing’s Capital Sports Institute. Master Zhang has also taught martial arts for self-defence/attack at the China Public Security University, Beijing No 3 Policeman School and Beijing Anbo Special Policeman School. Most recently Master Zhang has been teaching classes at his own school, the Beijing Milun School of Traditional Kung Fu.

Wu Yue
Wu Yue is a martial artist, choreographer and film and television actor. Having studied various styles and forms of Chinese martial arts since childhood, Wu has made his name in Chinese film and television circles as a top stunt man, choreographer and actor.

HONG KONG

Sifu Cho - Shen Gong
Sifu Cho is a Taoist (pronounced Dowist) priest and the head of a group that invoke spirits. Their particular method for ghost possession originated in Southern China and is now carried out by a select few. They believe that the spirits protect them from harm; once the group has been possessed they have the ‘power’ to carry out otherwise potentially harmful ‘stunts’. These stunts include eating glass, cutting themselves with knives, lying on broken glass and having a concrete block smashed on their chest with a sledgehammer.

Ip Shui & Ip Chee Keung - Chow Gar (Southern) Praying Mantis
Ip Chee Keung was appointed as Grand Master of the Chow Gar Praying Mantis Kung Fu system in 2002, taking on the mantle previously worn by his father, Ip Shui. This system of Kung Fu started around 250 years ago and originated from the Shaolin monastery in Henan Province, China. It is considered a more secretive and difficult style to learn than its northern counterpart. The style is not tied to one type of technique, the stances are low and more firmly set to the ground, high kicks are not used. Practitioners are skilled in death/destruction techniques (Dim-Mak) as well as arts of healing.

Both Ip Shui and Ip Chee Keung have the ability to withdraw their testicles within their body (thereby closing his body’s ‘gates’ or vulnerable zones) and thereby withstand full kicks to the groin without flinching. Few masters can perform this without cheating (by keeping the legs close together to take the force of the kick).

Ip Chun - Wing Chun
Master Ip is the eldest son of the late Grandmaster Yip Man who brought Wing Chun to Hong Kong. In 1949 Ip Man was forced to flee to Hong Kong to escape persecution from the Communists. A year later he began teaching Wing Chun and over the next 22 years taught hundreds of students, one of whom was Bruce Lee who he taught for four years. Ip Chun followed his father to Hong Kong and in 1967 began teaching Wing Chun. Yip Man passed away in 1972 but before he died, he made sure the various forms of Wing Chun were recorded on 8mm film in order to preserve the pure Wing Chun system.

Leung Ting - Wing Tsun
Leung Ting is the Permanent President and the only Grandmaster of the International WingTsun Association. Leung Ting was accepted as the “closed door student” of Yip Man, aged 20, although he started studying Wing Chun when he was 13. Leung Ting developed WingTsun Kung Fu based on the Wing Chun techniques he learnt from Yip Man.

Since 1976, Leung Ting has designed and directed over 24 TV Kung Fu series and six movies. He has taught Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan Wing Tsun techniques for them to apply when filming action movies.

William Wan - Fut Gar Kung Fu
William Wan has over 30 years training in traditional Chinese martial arts including lion dancing, traditional Chinese weapons and Qigong. He teaches traditional Choy Lay Fut kung fu (also known as Fut Gar Kune) along with Northern Shaolin kung fu and qigong from Ku Yu Tang.

The basis for the effectiveness of Sifu Wan’s combat techniques originates with the fundamental five animals of Fut Gar kung fu - the snake, the crane, the leopard, the tiger and the monkey. The Fut Gar style is slightly different from other southern kung fu styles in that it combines the techniques and energies of the five separate animals into single techniques. Sifu William is also a Master of Golden Bell Qigong whereby using relaxed energy, Sifu Wan can push a sword or spear against his throat and still hold a conversation. This means that in a combat situation, if an opponent gets through Sifu Wan’s defence, he would be able to absorb the attack and simultaneously execute his own attacking technique.

Zhu Dashi (Chu Hok Ting) - The Living Treasure Of China
Master Zhu was born into a family of Chinese medical doctors. Both his grandfather and father were doctors. His father, Xuan Zho Zhi, travelled all over the country for seven years, visiting famous temples and teachers to learn secret methods and recipes for health and longevity.

Master Zhu has followed in his father’s footsteps. He systematically studied Western and Chinese medical theory since he was in middle school and combines the two medical techniques in his practice to diagnose symptoms. He integrates diet, acupressure, Qigong and herbs in his treatments. Master Zhu has studied, researched and practiced medicine, diet and sports medicine for decades. Overall he has produced more than ninety theses on diet, Qigong, acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine.

JAPAN

Master Ogasawara - Yabusame
Yabusame is the ancient horseback archery skill practised within the precincts of a Shinto shrine. Riders have to shoot three successive targets from a horse in full gallop.

The Ogasawara clan have passed the tradition from father to son for over 800 years. They are descendants of the first founder of Japan’s very first archery school, Henmi Kiyomitsu.

Dr Masaaki Hatsumi - Ninjutsu
Dr Hatsumi started studying martial arts from the age of seven. He learned Judo, Kendo, Karate, Aikido, Okinowan Karate and Jukendo. After taking a break from martial arts to study medicine he became the sole student of Master Toshigatsu Takamatsu, “the last of the true Ninja”. Before his death Master Takamatsu made Dr Hatsumi the sole inheritor of the ‘nine Ninjutsu traditions’.

Dr Hatsumi passes on his training through his Bujinkan Dojo (Divine Warrior Training Hall) which is now a worldwide organisation.

Master Aoki - Shintaido-ryu
Hiroyuki Aoki took up karate to help him in his acting studies and became a black belt. Instead of becoming head instructor at his teacher’s school he left to form a group of martial arts instructors, musicians, actors and artists. After many years of intense study, a new form of movement was born - Shintaido or “new body way”.

Aoki’s students train under waterfalls to enhance their sixth sense, and use their ‘kiai’ (martial shout) to knock opponents over.

Master Tetsuzan Kuroda - Komagawa kaishin-ryu
Tetsuzan Kuroda is a master of ancient sword skills that have been handed down over generations. His sword strikes are extremely fast and accurate and he is renowned for his trademark “hidden” or “disappearing” movements.

Master Kuroda teaches several traditional Japanese styles including kenjitsu, iaijitsu, and jujitsu at his family’s martial arts school, the Shinbukan Kuroda Dojo.

Kohaku Iwai - Hidden weapons
Kohaku Iwai takes the viewer inside his home where he has countless samurai weapons; the majority of which have never been seen by most martial artists. Knives disguised as tobacco holders, a staff with a hidden chain, and much more are shown and demonstrated on an attacker.

Master Ushiro - Shindo Ryu Karate
Kenji Ushiro competed in many karate tournaments before questioning the competitive nature of karate. He then studied Okinawan Karate under Nikichi Zaha Shihan and is now a master of the Shindo-ryu style. He is an expert in unarmed combat and has the ability to project ‘killer intent’ to attack an opponent.

Master Sasaki - Hida-shiki Kyoken Jutsu
Sasaki is a master of the “kiai” or concentrated shout. He will demonstrate how to stop an attacker dead in his tracks with only a shout!

Fumon and Midori Tanaka - Enshin-ryu
With roots going back to body guards of the Emperor, Enshin Ryu is characterised by defenses against rear attacks and trains extensively in stabbing techniques. Fumon Tanaka is the leading authority on Japan’s traditional martial arts and has published many books on the subject. He is training his daughter Midori to take over his role as teacher.

Master Tanaka is a grandmaster in Kobudo and one of the few living people to practice all the Kobudo styles. This system, from the Okinawa region of Japan, uses a weapon developed from farming tools. Kobudo is also known as Bushido or “the way of the warrior”. These traditional martial arts can be seen as a continuation of Samurai culture.

PHILLIPINES

Grand Tuhon Leo T Gaje Jr - Pekiti Tirsia Kali
The Pekiti-Tirsia system of Kali was formulated by the Tortal family. The family patriarch, Conrado B Tortal, passed this system and its attributes onto his only grandson, the sole heir, and its present guardian, Grand Tuhon Leo Tortal Gaje Jr.

Since 1972, Leo Gaje has been in the USA promoting Pekiti-Tirsia Kali on the east coast and introduced full contact stick fighting across the US. Pekiti-Tirsia Kali places great emphasis on metaphysical training and Leo Gaje believes that if you are not well trained in the metaphysical then you are not fully trained or equipped to fight. He wears an anting anting (amulet) around his neck which he believes protects him from harm.

Rommel Tortal - Manila Pitbulls
Rommel is the nephew of Grand Tuhon Leo Gaje and an instructor of the Manila Pitbulls, a group that trains using the Pekiti-Tirsia Kali system. He is also the edged-impact weapons tactical combat instructor for the Philippine Force Recon Marines.

The Manila Pitbulls train for combat, not for competitions. Their training includes empty hand techniques, hand-to-hand manipulation and ground fighting as well as the use of weapons including long blades, knife fighting, spears and the use of guns. They are trained in tactical strategy and for real combat situations rather than tournaments. The core group of Pitbulls regularly provide combat training for the Marines, the Police Force and the Military.

Grandmaster Ernesto Presas - Modern Arnis / Kombatan
Ernesto Presas is the creator and founder of the Kombatan System. It does not classify itself as sport, rather “an effective three-dimensional street art descended from Arnis - a very unique martial art that originated in the Philippines over 1000 years ago. Kombatan involves combative hands, knife, and sticks. It differs greatly from other martial arts in that it covers all ranges of conflict: weapons, kicking, punching, and grappling.”</