https://chinesemartialstudies.com/2017/ ... tial-arts/
Some great quotes in there:
It may seem paradoxical, but the most important books out there for anyone attempting to understand the Chinese martial arts usually have very little to say about these fighting systems. The martial arts have many functions, and personal or village defense is certainly one of them. But on a more fundamental level these things are a type of social technology that allow individuals or groups to achieve their aims, more broadly defined. We will never understand how this technology functions if we remove it from its (always moving) cultural context and attempt to fix these techniques under ahistorical glass. As my friend’s teacher reminded me, dinner must come before dessert. Context comes before understanding.
Also, check out this picture of "Modern incense societies lower their flags at Miaofeng Shan, 2014. Source: NY Times."
Just as an aside: That seems like a more credible source of the "Needle at Sea Bottom" posture than any martial application I've ever seen...
A still image of the Five Tiger Stick Society performing on Miaofeng Shan. Source: http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/gamble/
Editing highlight clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip85rG7wC-8
Full film (15 minutes):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFtpjR6uYnI