Preamble

In 1987 we founded the Jin Si Sum 戦士心 (Warrior Heart) institute in Hong Kong. Since then, the team has been conducting, historical, archeological, and sociological research, into the murky world of Chinese martial arts and the associated culture. It appears we may have inadvertently pioneered modern, multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural research, of the Chinese warrior arts and their relevant offshoots. Everyday, we work with the ancient Chinese classics, forgotten manuscripts, archeological finds, and anything else that may offer us insight. At the core of our endeavor is the research and practice of Yin Fa 隱法, the Chinese art of stealth and the origin of the Japanese Ninja 忍者. On the subject of Yin Fa 隱法, we are the only researchers and practitioners left in the world today.

Coincidentally, we both started training in 1972 – on opposite sides of the globe. When we met in 1987, we both agreed that real Chinese martial arts, originally arts of war, were in steep decline and chaos. From that moment we set about researching and preserving whatever we could. The following is the premise on which we have worked.

Research Premise

The Warrior Art

Unless we practice traditional Chinese martial arts in the manner they were originally intended, with the tools and weapons of the time, they cannot work or be effective when called upon. They will remain a pastime or a simple form of exercise only. We must return to the original concept and environment from which these amazing arts were created in order to understand and feel what the masters of old meant for us. Only then, can we find the true way – the original way – of our warrior arts. This can only be achieved through specialised research of the historical record, combined with the correct knowledge of a living tradition!

Historical Research Method

We take any available information, folklore, or legend, that originate from a credible, living, verbal tradition of martial arts. Then we begin our historical and archeological research with the assumption that it is true, or at least, based on truth. It has been our experience to discover the cultural information we start with is most often quite accurate, and in some cases, accurate beyond belief.

We constantly remind ourselves to be mindful of preconceived ideas and biases – because all too often – the historical reality is just as spectacular as the legend.