Chinese Martial Arts -called wushu or Kung Fu -is a complex set of cultural knowledge passed down through history. But as with all knowledge, it changes, it adapts, it evolves. Like the meeting of many brush strokes creating a new pattern that is at once unique, and yet also expresses the movements that came before. Using Sifu Luo Minghan as a starting point, I have traced the histories and martial arts styles of his teachers, and their teachers, and
their
teachers, back to martial ancestors who have since passed into myth and legend. By understanding what each master learned, how and where they were taught, and who they taught in turn, we can see how certain styles were created, influence, and developed over time. This gives us a better understanding of the knowledge that present students and teachers will influence and pass on to future generations.