The history of Xingyi podcast

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Re: The history of Xingyi podcast

Postby greytowhite on Sun Mar 31, 2019 4:48 pm

Thanks, I'm definitely listening.
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Re: The history of Xingyi podcast

Postby GrahamB on Mon Apr 01, 2019 12:34 pm

Thanks!

I think we'll be on episode 20 by the time we finish, and a lot wiser ;D
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Re: The history of Xingyi podcast

Postby GrahamB on Tue Apr 09, 2019 4:02 pm

Latest episode. It carries on historically from where Xingyi episode 6 left off but there's no Xingyi in it, so we gave it a different name:

#22 The Origins of the Mongols

The Mongols, builders of the largest empire the world has ever seen, came from relatively obscure origins. In this episode we delve into what we know about the people of Genghis Khan prior to his rise to power and world domination.

https://www.spreaker.com/user/9404101/2 ... odu5YSqqxw

In related news:

I got together with Damon at the weekend where he asked me to introduce BJJ ground work concepts to his semi-underground group called FoxFist (Friends Of Xcross training). Here we have a very experienced group of traditional martial artists: Baji, Aikido, Karate, Xingyi, Kempo, Choy Lee Fut, Tai Chi (various styles) and Bak Mei. A different person teaches their art to the room each time. Quite daunting to say the least! We did about 4 hours of training. Seemed to go ok and nobody died, including me :) Good times. Open minds, no egos and martial artists all working together.

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Re: The history of Xingyi podcast

Postby GrahamB on Sat Jun 08, 2019 3:31 pm

#29 Xing Yi (part 7)
As a background to our upcoming discussion of late Song Dynasty armour and weapons, in this episode we give a brief overview of a few animal strategies applied on the battlefield at strategic and tactical levels, as well as in individual combat.


This one starts off by directly addressing the criticism - 'you're up to part 6 and you haven't talked about xingyi yet!'

It's also a good one for talking about practical martial strategy, so people who want that and less history should be appeased...... if only slightly ;)

https://www.spreaker.com/user/9404101/29-xing-yi-part-7
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Re: The history of Xingyi podcast

Postby chenyaolong on Sun Jun 16, 2019 1:29 am

Hi Graham

I'm definitely going to give this a listen over the next few days. Hopefully will get some good background for my upcoming Xingyi series.
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Re: The history of Xingyi podcast

Postby GrahamB on Sun Jun 16, 2019 3:42 am

Hi Will,

I like to think we (well, Damon really) are slowly (very slowly) producing the definitive history of Xingyi. Starting in the Song Dynasty and moving forward without gaps. It's very history heavy, but I've learned lots especially things like the Li movement, and its influence on military tactics in the Song army, and its influence on society. These are really where the ideas contained in Xingyi were born.

Parts 7 and 8 talk a lot more about actual military tactics (which we know today as Xingyi animals), weapons and armour and I found them a bit easier going. We haven't got to the modern Xingyi families, goushu and modern-day Xingyi yet - we're still a way off, but we'll get there in the end.

Part 8 is due out soon...

Cheers,
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Re: The history of Xingyi podcast

Postby GrahamB on Fri Jun 21, 2019 2:07 am

Here's part 8 of the series, which looks at armour in the Song Dynasty, but also talks about XingYi fighting tactics in relation to armour and how the armour influences the way the art works - stepping, continuous movement, minimal movement, twisting the fist in Tzuann, etc...

There are two versions of part 8, the first is for public consumption, available here:

https://www.spreaker.com/user/9404101/3 ... rt-version

and we got into some controversial topics at the end of the episode, so the full version is reserved for our Heretics/Woven Energy Patreons:

https://www.patreon.com/wovenenergy/posts


Here's some nice Song Dynasty-style armour a google search turned up Image

From
http://dragonsarmory.blogspot.com/2017/ ... armor.html

Like Damon says, you could show that to a 'normal' person and tell them it's Samurai armour and they would probably believe you :)

Example of Mountain Pattern armour:

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Re: The history of Xingyi podcast

Postby everything on Fri Jun 21, 2019 7:55 am

had no idea the armor looked like that.

sounding really interesting so far about spear being 99% win (vs. sword etc), better reach, faster. bendy spears for pj guys

haven't gotten to drilling fist
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Re: The history of Xingyi podcast

Postby GrahamB on Fri Jun 21, 2019 9:06 am

Those Song Dynasty generals and officers looked amazingly cool :)

That was kind of the high point for Chinese armour and military technology - the Yuan Dynasty kind of combined it with Mongol tech, but after that it was all down hill.

Ultimately, the Song dynasty would field some of the heaviest armors in all of Chinese history in its struggles against its fierce barbarian neighbors. Both men and the horses would often be very heavily armored and also decorated with elaborate silk scarves, tassels and fringes. The already- elaborate Souzi 琐子, or known in the western academia as"Mountain scale armor" or "Mountain pattern armor" reached its most sophisticated form in this era, as well as the heavier lamellar armor. Below we will examine the general development of armor in early Song dynasty, then Song era armors in detail.


Byron sent me this video of lamellar armour being tested by having arrows shot at it - this is based on a Tang Dynasty design, so it's not as advanced as the Mountain Plate used in the Song shown above, but still a good test:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JCWqsZoNtA
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Re: The history of Xingyi podcast

Postby GrahamB on Fri Jun 21, 2019 9:11 am

Imagine trying to fight these guys with bendy spears! (Jurchen cavalry)

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Re: The history of Xingyi podcast

Postby everything on Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:21 pm

damn hell no. i'd have to be a farmer, intellectual, merchant, monk, or zombie.

that video is great. i didn't watch all of it but some of it where the arrow isn't doing damage.
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Re: The history of Xingyi podcast

Postby Steve James on Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:50 pm

Ya know, it's argued that horses would never charge spears or pikes. Rather, cavalry --like Alexander's-- would work around the edges and through gaps if they formed. Or, like the Parthians, would ride close firing arrows, then ride away still firing (the "parting shots" as they were later called(.

I haven't listened to the podcast. But, I think the value of the spear was when used in formation, not necessarily in one-to-one duels. The advantage was that one spearman could protect guys to his side. I.e., a guy with a sword comes at A, and has his attention on him, but B, C, or D can reach him just as well. And, this all depends on maintaining cohesion. So, it may come down to numbers and attrition. When there aren't enough to protect each other, the weakest ones may run. That was how most ancient battles were won or lost. Once some spearmen face away from the enemy, the battle's over.

Suntzi wrote that if the numbers were too much in the enemy's favor, it is best to put your troops on killing ground (from which they can't escape). They'll fight much harder then.
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Re: The history of Xingyi podcast

Postby everything on Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:53 pm

How did the Mongolian horse riders with bows/arrows defeat these armored spear users?
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Re: The history of Xingyi podcast

Postby Steve James on Fri Jun 21, 2019 4:11 pm

Mobility. Hit and run. The use of the recurved bow --with greater range. Hey, if you have a spear --for defense-- you still need a shield to defend against arrows and projectiles. :)
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Re: The history of Xingyi podcast

Postby everything on Fri Jun 21, 2019 4:17 pm

Mobility and not being tied to a city seems like the key. This entire article is so fascinating but here are a few excerpts:

Each Mongol soldier typically maintained 3 or 4 horses.[1] Changing horses often allowed them to travel at high speed for days without stopping or wearing out the animals. When one horse tired, the rider would dismount and rotate to another. Though the used mount would still have to travel, it would do so without the weight of the rider. Their ability to live off the land, and in extreme situations off their animals (mare's milk especially), made their armies far less dependent on the traditional logistical apparatus of agrarian armies. In some cases, as during the invasion of Hungary in early 1241, they covered up to 100 miles (160 km) per day, which was unheard of by other armies of the time.


Another way the Mongols used deception and terror was by tying tree branches or leaves behind their horses. They dragged the foliage behind them in a systematic fashion to create dust storms behind hills to appear to the enemy as a much larger attacking army, thereby forcing the enemy to surrender. Because each Mongol soldier had more than one horse, they would let prisoners and civilians ride their horses for a while before the conflict, also to fake numerical superiority.[18]


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_mi ... ganization
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