What is the most prolific Martial Arts union in Wuxia?

[i_fotted]

What do you think is the most prolific Martial Arts Union in the Wuxia universe as far as history, achievements, recognition, talents produced, martial arts produced, etc...?

[Allen D]

shaolin or wudang imo

[Ken Cheng]

shaolin or wudang imo

For all its grand reputation, Shaolin's monks seem to get beaten up frequently in Jin Yong stories. They have the invincible Janitor Monk living in their temple in DGSD, but we're not even sure that he was using Shaolin martial arts.

[i_fotted]

shaolin or wudang imo

But Wudang was orginated from Shaolin....

[xuelian]

But Wudang was orginated from Shaolin....

Uhh, so? All martial arts originated from Shaolin, anyway. At the end of XAJH, both Wudang and Shaolin seemed pretty much on equal standing.

[Ken Cheng]

But Wudang was orginated from Shaolin....

Yes and no. Young Cheung Gwun Bo (Cheung 3 Fung) never learned any Shaolin martial arts per se, and the later development of his martial arts and personal philosophy was so radically different from Shaolin's (Shaolin was Buddhist and Mo Dong was Taoist) that we can't really say that Mo Dong originated from Shaolin (unless you take the broad view that ALL Chinese martial arts originated from Shaolin).

[wkeej]

xiaoyao. that no info after xu zhu.

[xuelian]

xiaoyao. that no info after xu zhu.

Xiao Yao was an exclusive and highly secretive Sect. They might have produced exceptional talent, but as far as profile goes (the name of the Sect), they were not exactly well-known.

[bloodstar]

How about the Beggar Clan? It was mammoth in size and several of it's clan leaders were famed for both martial arts and nobility in characters, e.g. XF, H7G, HR.

[xuelian]

How about the Beggar Clan? It was mammoth in size and several of it's clan leaders were famed for both martial arts and nobility in characters, e.g. XF, H7G, HR.

It depends on whether the Beggars' Union can be considered a "Martial Arts Union". Myself, I don't think so -- its focus was to uphold the beggars' way of life, and not really to excel in/teach martial arts. It relied very much on their Leader's individual prowess to gain status in wulin. But I do admit the Beggars' Union was very prolific.

Wudang has been mentioned, but not Quan Zhen.. how would these two compare in terms of profile? Both their founders (Wang Chong Yang, Zhang 3Feng) were highly revered throughout wulin, for WCY this reverence continued long after his death. Both schools also produced 7 well-known disciples. Though out of these 14 disciples, I think Qiu Chu Ji drew most attention to himself ;p Even though Quan Zhen was already on the wane in ROCH, and practically unheard of in HSDS, it was still a formidable name in its era.

[miette]

It depends on whether the Beggars' Union can be considered a "Martial Arts Union". Myself, I don't think so -- its focus was to uphold the beggars' way of life, and not really to excel in/teach martial arts.

What about Shaolin? Can it also be considered as a "non-martial-arts union" since its primary aim is buddhism? I'm guessing religion is its focus according to the words of Sweeper Monk.

[wkeej]

instead of union, will using the word "sect" be better?

[Suet Seung]

What happened to Quan Zhen anyway (in the novel)? They didn't seem to play a very big role in ROCH as I recall. The remaining disciples that did not die in LOCH were always busy doing something else that made them unavailable for action or the Big Gathering of Heroes.

[xuelian]

What about Shaolin? Can it also be considered as a "non-martial-arts union" since its primary aim is buddhism? I'm guessing religion is its focus according to the words of Sweeper Monk.

Hmm, quite true if you look at it that way. Perhaps instead of looking at a Sect's primary focus to determine if it's a "martial arts union", we should look at other yardsticks -- what do you suggest?

[Ken Cheng]

What happened to Quan Zhen anyway (in the novel)? They didn't seem to play a very big role in ROCH as I recall. The remaining disciples that did not die in LOCH were always busy doing something else that made them unavailable for action or the Big Gathering of Heroes.

Cheun Jen Sect didn't have a big role in ROCH? I'd argue that they had a bigger role in ROCH than they did in LOCH.

Lee Tze Seung took over as the sixth Cheun Jen Sect leader and led the retreat from Mt. Chung Nam to the southern regions. As of the end of ROCH, they'd been reduced to a minor sect in wulin. They would continue as a Taoist school, but their subsequent influence on wulin was nil. Their day as a wulin power had come and gone.

In the Gu Long universe, the Cheun Jen Sect showed up in LUK SIU FUNG. The White Cloud Monastery (which is real) in Beijing was Cheun Jen Sect, and they even used the Big Dipper Formation unsuccessfully on Luk Siu Fung.

[shen long]

Cheun Jen Sect didn't have a big role in ROCH? I'd argue that they had a bigger role in ROCH than they did in LOCH.

Lee Tze Seung took over as the sixth Cheun Jen Sect leader and led the retreat from Mt. Chung Nam to the southern regions. As of the end of ROCH, they'd been reduced to a minor sect in wulin. They would continue as a Taoist school, but their subsequent influence on wulin was nil. Their day as a wulin power had come and gone.

In the Gu Long universe, the Cheun Jen Sect showed up in LUK SIU FUNG. The White Cloud Monastery (which is real) in Beijing was Cheun Jen Sect, and they even used the Big Dipper Formation unsuccessfully on Luk Siu Fung.

does the Cheun Jen Sect in real life practice any martial arts?

[miette]

Hmm, quite true if you look at it that way. Perhaps instead of looking at a Sect's primary focus to determine if it's a "martial arts union", we should look at other yardsticks -- what do you suggest?

Esteem, perhaps? And quality/strength of martial arts, integrity and prestige of associated people/members, and maybe achieivements too?

[TheRealMan]

Xiao Yao hands down. Overall they had the craziest most prolific forms of martial arts. When you can just transfer energy like they did, techinically the next generations if they kept on passing like 1000's of years worth of energy