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Traditional Gong Li Power Training /w Barbells & Large "Guan Yu Dao" (Shuai Jiao)

One evening on a trip to China, I was taken to watch some traditional martial artists practicing something called "Gong Li" power training, strangely in a car showroom parking lot. The main instructor said, originally it was a standard requirement in China, to practice lifting heavy weights well before actually learning basic fighting techniques or forms. This first kind of training involved lifting very heavy old style dumbells and barbells, as well as heavy weapons such as Guan Dos etc. But instead of doing modern style weightlifting as seen in the Olympics today, the weights/ weapons were used in weightlifting forms (or Katas) that involved turning and using more whole body movements. The main instructor's preferred style was Shuai Jiao, aka ancient Chinese Wrestling, but he stressed that "Gong Li" power training like this was a standard requirement, originally for all Wushu, or Chinese martial arts styles. Unsurprisingly he said that as modern sports Wushu has become more dominant, requiring more acrobatic skill, agility and finesse, this kind of training has become increasingly rare. ** Apologies for the bad lighting, the camera struggles to focus at some points ! **