everything wrote:i imagine the claim/idea is in a multiple guards vs. multiple bandits/attackers/whatever scenario, the footwork to try to get to unexpected angles takes place when close by (and with weapons of course), but my question is not really about the 1v1 part; more were they literally running from one bandit to the next, or is everybody fighting close together?
so like this:
A A A
D D D
A D A D
or like this:
A D
-------- A D
---------------------A D
if that ascii art works, in the second scenario, one "A" literally runs to help with the next "D". in the first scenario, there is odd angle footwork all in close quarters ... no need to run.
Bhassler wrote:I very much doubt the bodyguard mythos of kung fu masters fighting off bandits, etc. It just doesn't track with how real criminals operate. The times have changed, but people haven't. As for the bodyguard mythos, fighting is just about the least important skill a good bodyguard has. Much like with caravan guards, the goal is to avoid a fight by superior methodology and planning, not to go all Jackie Chan on some mofo.
origami_itto wrote:Bhassler wrote:I very much doubt the bodyguard mythos of kung fu masters fighting off bandits, etc. It just doesn't track with how real criminals operate. The times have changed, but people haven't. As for the bodyguard mythos, fighting is just about the least important skill a good bodyguard has. Much like with caravan guards, the goal is to avoid a fight by superior methodology and planning, not to go all Jackie Chan on some mofo.
Pirates, highwaymen, modern day hijackers, there are plenty of documented examples from history. I don't see why the Chinese would be any different. Wealth is vulnerable in transit, that's why the Knights Templar invented banking.
Bhassler wrote:origami_itto wrote:Bhassler wrote:I very much doubt the bodyguard mythos of kung fu masters fighting off bandits, etc. It just doesn't track with how real criminals operate. The times have changed, but people haven't. As for the bodyguard mythos, fighting is just about the least important skill a good bodyguard has. Much like with caravan guards, the goal is to avoid a fight by superior methodology and planning, not to go all Jackie Chan on some mofo.
Pirates, highwaymen, modern day hijackers, there are plenty of documented examples from history. I don't see why the Chinese would be any different. Wealth is vulnerable in transit, that's why the Knights Templar invented banking.
It's not a question of whether or not they existed, it's a question of how they operate. There's no profit in fighting. If a caravan looks well protected, wait for the next one. Either you get the drop, and they can't fight back, or you don't start something that will get you hurt or killed. In either case, there's not really much fighting involved.
Bhassler wrote:I very much doubt the bodyguard mythos of kung fu masters fighting off bandits, etc.
It just doesn't track with how real criminals operate.
Bao wrote:Bhassler wrote:I very much doubt the bodyguard mythos of kung fu masters fighting off bandits, etc.
Well, I guess you need to read more history. There is plenty of evidence that IMA ppl worked as body guards and security personnel. Dong Haichuan was a tax collector for many years, and Sun Lutang's bodyguard school is well known and a lot of facts and stories about it is mentioned in many books about Sun Lutang..It just doesn't track with how real criminals operate.
Have no idea what you mean. What has how real criminals operate to do with anything discussed here? Seems OT.
Bhassler wrote:Maybe you should have read the thread before responding, because I already addressed your comments. But just for funsies, I'll do it again.
The point is not that people didn't work as body guards and security, it's that those roles don't mean as much as people like to think in their modern day fantasies.
Because of the great market demand,
high level Xingyi masters were paid like today’s professional athletes.
No surprisingly the ranks of elite Xingyi masters and the art itself grew by leaps and bounds during that time.
In Shanxi the number one location for these banks is Taigu.
There one such wealthy banking family the Chao’s (曹) employed over 500 security guards for his household alone.
The martial instructors working for him included such luminaries as Li Laonong (李老农) and Che Yizhai (车毅斋).
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