Fēi Zhuǎ 飛爪 – Flying Claw

The midnight thief 夜半偷 of the Warrior Heart tradition always carried a claw under the night clothing 夜行衣 jacket. Those of other traditions often carried the claw too.....

Clothing and Equipment of the Midnight Thief

A silk garb of black or grey, with knee-length trousers measuring one foot and two inches (Chinese measurement) wide at the bottom of each leg....

‘Inside the household’ – by Bai Yansheng 白燕生

Probing: To familiarize oneself with the layout of the house and to avoid bumping into furniture, the tip of the sword is used to tap the floor, to make sure that every step is on solid...

‘Flying eaves running walls’ – recorded by Bai Yansheng 白燕生

Feiyanzoubi 飛簷走壁 or 'flying eaves running walls' is a classic skill set of the stealth operative. They were recorded by Bai Yansheng 白燕生 in his book Authentic Techniques of Weightless Leaps on Roofs, Walls, and Water...

Dié 諜 – ‘spy/reconnaissance scout’

An important Chinese character related to the ancient Chinese arts of stealth is dié 諜 – “spy/reconnaissance scout”...

Start with big picture facts!

Throughout the period of our research, we have been surprised by how many Chinese concepts/facts have been incorrectly presented to the Western world. Translations have been incorrectly done, Western religious concepts have been imposed, and personal...

Dart Launcher – Huo Nu Liu Xing Jian 火弩流星箭

Huo Nu Liu Xing Jian 火弩流星箭,lit. 'Fire crossbow shooting star arrow', is a disposable dart-launching handgonne made of bamboo....

Method and Sources

In 1987 we founded the ‘Warrior Heart’ 戦士心 martial arts and historical research institute in Hong Kong. Since then, the team has been conducting, historical, archeological, and sociological research, into the murky world of Chinese martial...

Japanese swords used in China?

Little seems to be known about Japanese swords imported to China during the Ming dynasty. The trade was actually far more active than our common perception shows us. These prized weapons were given to specialist units...

Shuhe 裋褐 – Chinese clothing across millennia

The Shùhè 裋褐 is the traditional Han Chinese working class clothing of the Northern region of China. It is pronounced Shùhè in Mandarin Dialect and Su Hot in the Cantonese dialect.....

The Penetrators 通士

The stealth operatives behind the mask of mystery....

What is a ‘style’ of Chinese martial arts?

What is a 'style' in Chinese martial arts? Liu pai in Mandarin or lau pai 流派 in Cantonese, is a 'style' or lit. 'stream/tributary'. The term describes differing streams, or schools of thought. A martial art style...

What is Kung Fu?

The term kung fu 功夫 was made popular through early Chinese martial arts movies that were produced in the Cantonese dialect. The romanisation of kung fu is of the old English transliteration used in the Hong...

Elements of Yin Fa 隱法

This article explains all the different elements that make up Yin Fa 隱法 as a whole....

What is the Chinese Art of Stealth?

The Chinese art of stealth, or Yin Fa 隱法, is an ancient art of war – and way of life – that was built upon the principles of penetrating buildings and fortifications using physical skills of...

A brief history of stealth in China.

The Chinese art of stealth initially evolved from thieves located in and around the Yellow River basin area of ancient China. Stealth was the preferred method of operation as any use of force attracted a much...

Les Conn Interview – Drunken Boxing Podcast

This is a podcast interview where Les Conn discusses his martial journey...

Intro to Master Kwan Yuen Cheong 關潤昌

Back in 1987, we were also searching for a master who knew the old ways of Chinese martial arts – and of course – the Chinese art of stealth......

The Beginning of a Journey

Meeting Otake Risuke on our search for the Ninja. This is the beginning of our research journey that continues to this day....