If a martial artist invents a new technique, can his "home" sect claim it as theirs?

[Ken Cheng]

Oftentimes in wuxia, a fighter will begin his or her career in wulin with a particular sect, but eventually develop martial arts independently of that sect. For example, Chow Bak Tung created the Left/Right Hand Technique and Vacant Fist independently of the Cheun Jen Sect, and Yeung Gor created the Sad Palms independently of the Ancient Tomb Sect. In such cases, can their home sects claim those martial arts as part of their canon? Could the Cheun Jen Sect legitimately claim the Left/Right Hand Technique and Vacant Fist to be theirs because Chow Bak Tung invented it? Could the Ancient Tomb Sect claim the Sad Palms to be theirs because Yeung Gor invented it?

[The Khan]

I don't see why not. The Shaolin 72 arts were all created by different shaolin monks over time.

[Unruly]

It may depend on how 'independently' that art was created; for example the Shaolin 72 arts were probably created by active monks, possibly living in monasteries, and were honed/theorized in contact with other sect members.

Comparatively, were ZCS to have created a new martial art on the island, which was not predicated on his existing Wu Dang arts, I'd think that that martial art would be 'his'. As soon as he introduces it to his fellows and possibly refines it with Z3F, then we're looking at it becoming a Wu Dang art in circulation.

I'd think that an art that isn't passed on or shared with sect members doesn't really become a part of that sect, however. And if a MA is a complete 'new idea', not predicated on any of the sect's teachings, maybe it won't be considered an extension of that group unless the maker deliberately integrates the new teachings into the group.

That doesn't stop the group from bragging about their 'genius disciple' who created the arts, however; even if they're not founded on the teachings of the sect, it suggests that members of that sect have great martial insight.

[kyss of the sword]

whether a skill belongs to a sect depends on whether it is thaught in that school. if a disicple of that school creates the skill then the skill belongs to that school. if the disiple decides to set up his own school, then it belongs to his own school, but said to have relations to the previous school. wudang skills came from ZSF but also said to be originated/relations from shaolin. most skills are related or have a common beginning. it's the various sects that differentciate it.

[Candide]

ZBT's Vacant Fists were based on a Taoist principle that WCY taught him and had roots in other Quanzhen techniques.

[KJ]

If the martial arts were taught to other disciples in the school and passed from generation to generation, then sure. But if only person knows it, then it would just be the martial arts of that person. What would be the point of telling people that a martial art was founded by your school when nobody (except for the creator) knows it.

[Guo Xiang]

I think, only if the creator permits his school to, and if his newly-created skill have roots in the school's original skills.

[TommyH]

I don't think so. Only if it had something to do with the sect. Like if the martial art is extracted from some Shaolin Buddhist book then it could probably be considered a Shaolin martial arts. Yeung Gor's Sad Palms was considered his and not his home sect's.

[PJ]

I wonder if in "reality", did the sects require their students to sign an agreement to surrender any invention to the sect. Nowadays most companies take ownership of their employees' inventions by the words of the agreement (provided the invention used the company's facilities).

[IcyFox]

A similar situation:

If he invents a new technique, can HE claim it to be a skill of his "home" sect?