National boxing competitions In order to screen the best practitioners for teaching positions at the newly founded
Central Guoshu Institute, and in the provincial schools, Generals Zhang Zhi Jiang (张之江) (1882–1966),
Li Liejun (1882–1946) and
Li Jinglin (1885–1931) held the first modern full contact, national competition in October 1928. Many traditional masters did not compete because they believed their skills could only be proven in serious duels and not "sporting" contests. However, the event attracted hundreds of the best Chinese martial artists who participated in boxing,
weapons and
wrestling in a lei tai ring format. But after the first several days, the fighting competitions had to be halted because two masters were killed and many more seriously injured. The final 12 contestants were not permitted to continue for fear of killing off some of the greatest masters of the time. The overall winner was voted on by a jury of his peers. Many of the "Top 15" finishers (some being
Xingyi boxers) went on to teach at the institute. In 1929, the governor of
Guangdong Province invited some of the institute's masters (including some of those that had competed in the 1928 lei tai) to come south to establish a "Southern Kuoshu Institute". General Li Jinglin chose five masters to represent northern China. These men were known as the
Wu hu xia jiangnan (五虎下江南 – "
Five tigers heading south of
Jiangnan"): •
Gu Ruzhang (1893–1952) of
Northern Shaolin style. He was famously known as "
Iron Palm Gu Ruzhang". He placed in the "Top 15" of the 1928 lei tai; •
Wan Laisheng (1903–1995) of
Northern Shaolin and
Internal styles (including
Natural Boxing); •
Fu Zhensong (1881–1953) of
Baguazhang style; • Wang Shaozhou (王绍周) of
Northern Shaolin and
Cha styles and • Li Xianwu of
Northern Shaolin and
Internal styles. In 1933, the institute again hosted the national competition. The rules said, "...if death occurs as a result of boxing injuries and fights, the coffin with a body of the deceased will be sent home." Winners of this contest include: •
Chang Dongsheng (1908–1986) of
Shuai Jiao style. He won the heavy weight division and earned the martial nickname "Flying Butterfly"; •
Wang Yushan (王玉山) (1892–1976) of
Taichi Praying Mantis style and •
Li Kunshan (1894–1976) of
Plum Blossom Praying Mantis style. In 1975, Taiwan sponsored the first
World Kuoshu Championship Tournament, and started to have weight class division. The second tournament also took place in Taiwan and was won by Peter Ralston, the first non-Asian to do so. The current president of the United States Kuo Shou Federation Huang Chien-Liang brought six of his students as a team to the 3rd World Kuoshu Championship tournament in Hawaii in 1980. This world tournament, sponsored and organized by an international Kuoshu federation in Taiwan, featured top Chinese stylists from around the world. Although they were nervous about the competition, Huang's students performed surprisingly well. They captured top placing in several divisions, including forms and full contact fighting. In total, they took home six trophies. In 1986, Huang assembled another team to participate in the 5th World Kuoshu Championship. Huang served as Head Coach of the U.S. team. So by 1992, Taiwan had already sponsored seven Kuoshu lei tai fighting events. Meanwhile, in China, "Kuoshu had been oppressed during the
Cultural Revolution," notes president Huang, "and martial arts was then allowed only for performance until 1979, when wushu was allowed to include self-defense, so practitioners began writing the rules for the Sanshou Wushu tournaments, and the Communist government held a tournament called Sanshou." Confirming the common direction of Kuoshu and Sanshou toward safety, however, president Huang approves of the rules changes in full-contact kung fu. "In 1986, at the fifth world tournament in Taiwan, they had a separate weight class, but still no protection. So many people suffered a broken nose and other injuries." As a result, the
International Kuoshu Federation decided to change the rules. "So since 1988, the new rules apply." According to Shuai Jiao Grandmaster Liang Shou Yu, "In the past, San Shou competition was held on the Lei Tai, a 24 x platform high. Victory was decided when an opponent was thrown off the Lei Tai or knocked to the floor. Therefore, Shuai Jiao is an important part of San Shou fighting. A martial artist without any Shuai Jiao skills would not easily survive a San Shou match."
Strategy Kung Fu Magazine states the lei tai's railless architecture does not allow a fighter to trap an opponent in the
turnbuckle, so the fighting strategy shifts away from power boxing to more evasive "circling" maneuvers. Nor can a fighter just rush their adversary. A quick redirection will send a charging opponent off the stage. And falling off can hurt, so fighters must deal with an added psychological factor when they approach the edge. Like Japanese
sumo, a fighter must stand their ground. Falling out-of-bounds constitutes a loss.
Sparring benefits According to the Swiss Open Kusohu Tournament, lei tai permits the kung fu student to show their understanding of the techniques, moves, rooting, breathing and control of character (i.e. anger). Kung fu together with lei tai trains the
instincts and timing. It cultivates concentration and relaxation at the same time. It teaches practical combat applications of the disconnected moves learned from sets or
taolu ("Forms"). With lei tai a student receives personal feedback on their strengths and weaknesses. ==See also==