Hi to you all!
Thank you for your support, friendship and kindness.
As regards meditation in the martial arts - I suspect that one or two of you might know about the Muslim martial arts of north China? Cha Chuan is one such style - the 'Cha' originating from the Persian 'Shah' of course. Many Arab Muslims stayed in China from about a thousand years ago. It is believed that many northern Chinese families with the name 'Ma', are descendents of these people, the word 'Ma' evolving from 'Mohammed' (peace be upon him).
Tan Tui - or 'Spring Leg' might be another. This style specialises in fast, accurate high, middle and low kicking, including 'jumping' kicks, hence the name. And of course, there are two groups of Muslims in China, the Hui and the Uighar. One is of Turkic origin (Uighar), the other of Arabic origin (Hui). Needless to say, they have their cultural differences with one another, and with the Chinese government. Most Uighars live in Xinjiang, northwest Chian, whilst the Hui have a autonomous zone in Ningxia:
Hui
http://berzinarchives.com/islam/history_hui_muslims_china.html
Uighar
http://www.uyghurcongress.org/En/ne...&rcid=803688565&pcid=1110134820&cid=803688565
And whilst researching this information, I came across another, tiny ethnic Muslim group, living in Hainan (an island situated to the south of China):
Utsuls
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utsuls
My particular background is Hakka - 'Guest people', or so called by the southern Chinese - but the Chinese government do not acknowledge Hakka as an ethnic group, even though they have a distinct culture and language. But such is life. Incidently, my Y chromosome DNA report came this week, and my haplotype is E3B - originating in the Middle East, before spreading East and West. Many people with this haplotype live in Africa today, but also Iran, Iraq, Itlay and Greece, although in small numbers.
Thank you.