#73 The Azure Dragon and Shuai Jiao
Shuai Jiao is a popular modern Chinese martial art, but is it related to other arts and if so, which ones? In this episode we also look at the Chinese cosmological concept of Qinglong, or the Azure Dragon.

Shuai Jiao is a popular modern Chinese martial art, but is it related to other arts and if so, which ones? In this episode we also look at the Chinese cosmological concept of Qinglong, or the Azure Dragon.
This episode explores the connection between the martial arts of the great Song generals’ tradition and Chinese theatre, which was emerged during the height of the Yuan Dynasty.
We pick up our series on Xing Yi with a new dynasty, the Yuan, examining the social changes that Mongol rule brought to China and their implications for the martial arts through the lens of the artwork of the period.
https://www.spreaker.com/user/9404101/70-xing-yi-part-12-rocks-and-bamboo
How does Shamanism descend into belief-based religion over time? Why are many people uncomfortable drawing a link between Shamanism with the martial arts? Who was Mircea Eliade? These and many other questions are explored in our latest episode.
What does Shamanism have to do with the martial arts? What does Shamanism have to do with business? How is the Miasma involved? All this and more in our latest episode.
https://www.spreaker.com/user/9404101/68-shamanism-martial-arts-and-the-miasma
What are the internal martial arts? Does the term “Internal Martial Arts” have any legitimacy? What is a “fake” martial art? All this and more is explored in our new episode.
This time we look at Yiquan, a derivative of Xing Yi, putting it in the context of the Miasma of the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth centuries. Podcast link:
https://www.spreaker.com/user/9404101/66-yiquan
Here’s a link to an interview in which he criticises other arts, like Xing Yi: https://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/essence-boxing-science-interview-mr-wang-xiang-zhai-part-1/
Moving on to the subject of Karate this episode, we review the TV series Cobra Kai (2018-2020) and compare it to the original classic Karate Kid movie.
https://www.spreaker.com/user/9404101/57-movie-heretics-cobra-kai
In this episode we look at the events surrounding Yang Luchan’s expulsion from the imperial service in 1861 in the context of the rise to power of Empress Dowager Cixi. We also examine how the involvement of the western powers in Chinese affairs directly led to the Self Strenghtening Movement and the establishment of the first public martial arts schools in North China.
https://www.spreaker.com/user/9404101/54-the-tai-chi-myth-part-4-the-fall-and-
In this episode we look at how the effects of the Taiping Northern Expedition and the Nian Rebellion of the mid-Nineteenth Century drew the Confucian Wu brothers and the fighters of Chen Village towards each other for the first time.