The World of Kung-Fu 1.2: Battleground USA

In the US, there are thirteen major factions, four good, four evil, and five caught in the middle.

The Good Guys

Shaolin: The righteous monks, fighting for truth, compassion, and the Buddhist way. Shaolin’s allies include Kempo, Pak Hok, and Praying Mantis.

Wing Chun: The idealistic revolutionaries, uniting the factions to save the world. Wing Chun’s allies include Hung Gar, Kajukenbo, Kuntao, and Jeet Kune Do.

Wudang:: The mystical Daoist alchemists, masters of Kung Fu and magic. Wudang’s allies include Hsing I Chuan, Pa Kua Chuan, and Tai Chi Chuan.

Vigilantes: Ordinary American martial arts heroes, taking back the streets.

The Bad Guys

Five Venoms: The international lords of crime, with their hand in every pocket.

Laughing Devils: The infernal sorcerers, sowing corruption and madness.

Maniac Warrior Empire: The hordes of criminal anarchy, their gangs running rampant in the streets of America.

Wushu: The mysterious totalitarian oppressors, tightening their control over the world.

The Guys in the Middle

Circle of Iron: The loyal brotherhood, keepers of the underground fighting syndicate.

Infinite Fighting Federation: The modern gladiators, heroes to the masses.

Karate: The feuding samurai, a shogunate at war with itself.

Ninja: The mysterious assassins, on a thousand secret missions.

Ronin: The outsiders who walked away, living without rules.

Each of these factions is described in more detail in chapter 3, Characters. The Shaolin, Wing Chun and Wudang factions are collectively known as the Wulin, a term originally referring to the Chinese martial arts. The Wulin have a long history of cooperation, and to a lesser extent, of feuding and rivalry. Though the Wulin originated in China, they are ethnically diverse in the USA, as are all the other major factions. In the US, the Wulin recruit through kwoon teaching the Chinese martial arts. While many of these students are ethnically Chinese, many are not. Even clan-based factions like the Five Venoms and the Ninja recruit talent where they find it, without regard to ethnicity.

For every martial arts style, there is a faction or factions that practitioners are particularly likely to belong to. For instance, a master of Shaolin Kung Fu will almost always owe allegiance to the Shaolin faction. While the style used by a martial artist need not indicate their faction or attitudes, people will make assumptions about what faction a fighter belongs to and what their beliefs and attitudes are based on the style they use. The more unusual the style is, the more that it will be used as a standard to stereotype people by.