Li Zhendong

The third generation Master Li Zhendong (李振东 1881 – 1977) learned Baiyuan Tongbeiquan with Zhang Wencheng at the age of six and won a high reputation as a teenager. Li was famous for his speed and excellent skills and won the nickname “Kuishou Hei Li (快手黑李)” – “Quick Hand Black Li.”  He was also known for his skills in Shuaijiao (摔跤) – Chinese Wrestling. In the 1920s, he created the “Zhendong Martial Arts Association'' in the southern part of Beijing City.

In 1927, under the invitation of the famous General Feng Yuxiang (冯玉祥), Li became a martial arts instructor in the Army Officer Academy. Later, Li taught martial arts in the twenty-ninth army for many years. Besides empty-hand fighting skills, Li Zhendong selected a few simple but extremely useful sword skills and taught them to the soldiers of the famous Big Chopping-Sword Brigade (大刀队). Targeting the characteristics of bayonet fighting of the Japanese soldiers, he used four Tongbei sword techniques (chopping, bursting, cutting, and wiping) as core concepts to create close-quarters fighting skills and training methods. This brigade earned renown in the War of Resistance against the Japanese Invasion from 1931 to 1945.  In the war, this Brigade was feared by the enemy for their sword skills. Although he was a trainer in the army, Li Zhendong did not teach many civilians until he was older.