Summary: According to legend one of the most revered styles of martial arts was invented by a Shaolin Nun named Ng Mui. She was one of five survivors of a battle with the Chin Empire who had outlawed the practice of Kung Fu and attacked the Fu Shan Shaolin temple where Ng Mui lived. After her travels through China she ran into a young woman who was being forced into marriage to an officer of the Chin army. She didn't want to marry this tyrant but the officer said if she did not marry him, he would kill her father and wed her anyway. The Shaolin Nun Ng Mui took the girl up to the nearest temple and taught her a totally different type of martial art one that was meant for a young girl her size, a smarter way of fighting with short fast movements using the snake and the crane as inspiration. In 9 months the girl was ready. The Shaolin Nun Ng Mui spoke to the officer and told him that if he beat her in a fight she would marry him. He laughed and of course agreed to the fight. When the fight came, the officer was unquestionably defeated after which he left the area and left the Young Girl named Wing Chun alone. The Young Yim Wing Chun Continued her training and became a legend for her great fighting skills, after many generations within her family, the style of Kung Fu was past on to Chan Wah the money changer and then to Yip Man who in turn passed it on to the rest of the world. Welcome to maLineage.com. The best place on the internet to find information about the lineage of any style of martial arts and learn about your favorite martial arts legends and celebrities. And welcome to the martial arts lineage podcast. This is episode 1. My name is Tim Johnson and I'll be hosting interviews with martial arts masters and instructors from across the country and around the globe. Martial arts has been a huge part of my life for almost 20 years now; I've studied and taught several styles of karate, kung fu, and capoeira and I've found something in each style to relate to so many other aspects of life. In an effort to broaden my knowledge of martial arts history, I've developed this site, maLineage.com, dedicated to capturing and preserving the history of all styles of martial arts. You can follow the lineage tree of any martial artist in the database and read stories, legends, timelines and quotes from every person in the database. That means that eventually, every martial artist in the world could have their own page that outlines their complete lineage and their impact on the world of martial arts. And if you study martial arts, that includes you. You can sign up with a free account now to create a page of your own and incorporate yourself into the massive lineage tree. And furthermore, you can go to other people's pages and share experiences you've had, stories, quotes and other information about your martial arts colleagues. I've been working to build an accurate historical lineage tree of all styles of martial arts as far back in history as possible. I've got a long ways to go, which is why I need your help, but so far I've added hundreds of people like Ueshiba, Miyamoto Musashi, Ip Man, etc. etc. including the founders of as many styles as I've been able to find. I believe that modern martial artists, especially us here in the western world, can learn a lot from the philosophies and ideals of the ancient masters who originally developed martial arts. To look into the minds of the creators, to read stories of the development and influences of these arts, and to draw parallels between ancient martial philosophies of all types and your own life is truly revealing of the meaning of martial arts. I'm so excited about this podcast and I have a lot of interviews lined up with martial arts masters and instructors from all around world that any martial arts enthusiast will definitely enjoy. So join me as I speak candidly with martial arts masters of many different styles about the history and development of the arts and how the art continues to develop today. you can look forward to interviews with Shihan Dana Abbott, Japanese sword master, Antonio Graceffo, living in Southeast Asia as a martial arts anthropologist, Master Spencer Gee, a weapons master from New York, and many more. All of these people have dedicated their lives to martial arts and are constantly striving to spread their beliefs throughout the world to create what I believed to be a better human race. Martial arts as a whole as well as any physical activity is healthy both physically and mentally which is why I won't be focusing on one particular style of martial arts. I think if you ask any accomplished martial artist they will tell you that no one style is better than any other style; they're all for your own personal benefit. I've already recorded a handful of interviews now and it's been a blast talking to all these different people. They've been so willing to share their insight and experiences and I can't wait to share them with all of you. Like I said, my motivation for creating this podcast is to learn as much as I can about martial arts and of course share that information with you, but I'd also love to get feedback from anyone out there listening who might have questions they want me to ask or people you want me to interview. I'd love to hear what you like or don't like about the show so please, if you have any suggestions, go to maLineage.com and click on "Contact" at the bottom of the page where you can send a message to me directly and tell me anything you want about the podcast or the website. I want this to be something everyone can enjoy. I won't take up any more of your time, I just wanted to use episode 1 to say hello and introduce myself. Check out the next episode for an interview with Guro/Grandmaster Peter Freedman, who's trained air marshalls, special forces and hundreds of troubled youths in the city of Boston, which earned him a Lifetime Achievement award in 1989 from the Mayor of Boston. It's a great interview and I hope any martial artist will really get a lot out of all these interviews. So enjoy the shows, go check out the brand new website maLineage.com which was just launched on April 20 of 2011, make sure to leave some feedback, and sign up for a free account to become a part of martial arts history. My Podcast Alley feed! {pca-413b987487475eb423be6710615e9d62}
