Little has changed in the last four thousand years or four hundred years. Modern armies are comprised of a combination of specialist soldiers. Infantry units, medics, engineers and transport, intelligence, communications and logistics. Consider also that just as today's Special Forces receive specialized training for advanced combat situations, the warrior of 4,000 years ago may have become familiar with any number of weapons, yet would have specialized and become expert in one particular weapon or class of weapon as determined not just by his preference but as required by his commander. Men picked for specific roles dependent not just on their abilities but their physical attributes. In writing his regulations for combat training military commander Wu Ch'i (circa 400 BC) wrote in part, "The regulations for combat training are that the short men carry lances and halberds, and the tall men bows and crossbows. The strong carry the banners and flags; the valiant the bells and drums; the weak are servants and prepare food. The wise lay plans."

Apart from the obvious technological advances in weaponry and armaments there is little new in the art of war. Strategy as espoused by either Sun Tzu or Wu Ch'i is equally as valid today as it was during the Warring States period. For example, similar strategies apply to modern tank warfare as applied to ancient chariots. Wu Ch'i was asked "Suppose I suddenly encounter the enemy in a flooded marsh. The chariot wheels sink in the muck and the shafts are submerged and water overwhelms both vehicles and horsemen... What then is to be done?" Wu Ch'i advised that "Generally, chariots are not used when the weather is cloudy and damp, but may be sent into action when it is bright and dry." A tank is just a chariot, when all is said and done.

There can be little doubt that Chinese fighting arts reached their highest peak as a necessity in military application. Warfare had certainly reached a high degree of sophistication by the Shang Dynasty (1600-1100 BC) when cavalry, chariots, and all manner of weapons were employed. Bronze artifacts from the same period depict human figures in postures recognizable as movements of Qigong. These historical discoveries indicate a much earlier origin to formalized Chinese martial arts training of close quarter combat, than is generally given.

There are four main divisions within early Chinese martial arts: weapons training and hand to hand (as in striking and kicking) make up the martial aspect of military training; wrestling in civilian matters; while the arts of Health Nourishing as introduced by Damo had no direct military application. Regardless, let us take a look at the formal breakdown of Chinese martial training as presented by Master Lee Ying-Arng.