The coastline of what is now 福建 Hokkien (Fujian Province) had been hardened by centuries of piracy and resisting the Qing conquest, insurgency and ethnic warfare. Along the coastline were the Min, famous for their sailing and business, and the Tanka, indigenous boat people of the coast. In the mountains of the hinterlands were the She tribal folk and the Hakka, once Chinese refugees from further north, known for their thrift, hard work and willingness to fight. The 閩 Min of Hokkien took to the seas for their fortunes. They brought their fighting arts with them to Okinawa, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. The Hakka also took to pioneering in new lands, becoming significant in Malaysia, Borneo and Taiwan. Not only did they use weapons effectively in combined arms formations, they also brought their hand to hand combat methods known as 拳頭 Kuntao. Yet, the effective combat arts of Kuntao remain esoteric to most, a “martial language” unintelligible to many.

現在的福建省的海岸線因幾個世紀的海盜活動、抗清、叛亂和民族戰爭而變得好鬥。沿海地區居住著以航海和經商聞名的閩族，以及沿海原住民船民蜑家人。內陸山區居住著原住民畲族和客家人，他們曾是來自更北邊的中國難民，以勤勞節儉和勇於戰鬥而聞名。閩南人出海尋求財富。他們把自己的武術帶到了沖繩、台灣和東南亞。客家人也積極開拓新的土地，在馬來西亞、婆羅洲和台灣等地成為重要的民族。他們不僅在聯合兵種陣中用武器，還帶來了空手格鬥技術，「拳頭」。然而，「拳頭」的有效戰鬥技巧對大多數人來說仍然很深奧，是一種許多人無法理解的「武術語言」。