Abstract

This paper examines the combative benefits of lion dance training in the curriculum of a traditional Chinese martial arts school. It is one result of an ongoing ethnographic study at a Chinese-Canadian kung fu club that is investigating the importance and uses of music in the martial arts. A brief description of the blurred genre combining two dancers in a stylized lion costume and an accompanying percussion ensemble is provided, before proceeding to a discussion of transferable skills development. The approach is ethnomusicological, therefore the focus is on rhythm, tempo, and entrainment in lion dancing and homologous principles in martial arts. The value of this study is to be found in making explicit the implicit ties between musical proficiencies and combat sport effectiveness, in order to enhance the efficiency of rhythm skills acquisition and application for kung fu practitioners.