Martial History Colorization
From time to time I will take old Martial Arts related photos and images and colorize them in Photoshop (without AI).
I often take artistic liberties in picking the colors, so keep in mind they are not perfect recreations.
However, I always enjoy seeing the transformations from black and white to color and I hope you do too.
Feel free to share!
I often take artistic liberties in picking the colors, so keep in mind they are not perfect recreations.
However, I always enjoy seeing the transformations from black and white to color and I hope you do too.
Feel free to share!
Colorization Timelapse of a young Doc-Fai Wong performing a Choy Li Fut sword form in San Francisco's Chinatown.
Li Jinglin 李景林 the "Sword Saint" in Beiyang Military Uniform
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Li Jinglin 李景林 was a profound martial artist, a General, and a warlord, and was so skilled with the sword he was widely known as the Sword Saint, the Sword Immortal, and other nicknames. Here is an excellent biography of Li Jinglin by Chinese Martial Studies if you want to know more. As you can see, the original picture had a lot of pixelation, which required cutting out layers, and noise reduction. The color of the uniform is based on some references I was able to find online, so I am more confident in the accuracy, however there is a chance that the collar may be a different color depending on his rank at the time.
Li Jinglin 李景林 with Wudang Jian
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Here we have another Li Jinglin 李景林 photo that has a lot of pixelation, and there's a cut and paste square at the bottom. Unfortunately I have no idea what is behind him in the background. It appears to be a large stone wall, and some kind of roof to the right, but what is on the left is anyone's guess. This is not my most accurate colorization, and there are some hard edges, but after noise reduction and detail work, this is where it allows more to be seen in the photo, in particular, the sword. This sword was designed specifically by Li Jinglin for the art of Wudang sword. LK Chen actually makes this sword based on Li Jinglin's design and description, and measurements from an existing antique.
Iron Ox with Hudiedao in San Francisco's Chinatown (1900)
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This photo from 1900 was taken in San Francisco's Chinatown of a man named Iron Ox. He is holding hudiedao or kung fu butterfly knives, and there are two sticks and a cloth behind him. Perhaps the cloth and sticks are used to construct a banner for his particular school or association, or the sticks could be staffs and the cloth for wrapping up and transporting his equipment. Unlike other pictures from the turn of the century with men holding weaponry, Iron Ox actually looks like he knows how to use them and has been well-trained in martial arts.
Chinese Soldier with Dadao and Rifle
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Original photo from Harrison Forman Collection - China and stored digitally at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
An iconic image of a brave Chinese soldier with Dadao and Rifle in hand, bare chested, proud and confident, as if taunting the enemy to attack. There is actually another angle of the exact same image by the same photographer, so most likely it was staged for dramatic effect. However, the Dadao and heroic pose of this soldier represent the sentiment that China was trying to portray at the time to boost national pride. Not only was the country battling against Japanese invasions and the Western armies as WW2 made it's way east, but decades of civil war, corruption, and ever-changing politics severely hindered China's ability to raise a proper army. There are a handful of fascinating articles about the Dadao over on the Chinese Martial Studies website.
An iconic image of a brave Chinese soldier with Dadao and Rifle in hand, bare chested, proud and confident, as if taunting the enemy to attack. There is actually another angle of the exact same image by the same photographer, so most likely it was staged for dramatic effect. However, the Dadao and heroic pose of this soldier represent the sentiment that China was trying to portray at the time to boost national pride. Not only was the country battling against Japanese invasions and the Western armies as WW2 made it's way east, but decades of civil war, corruption, and ever-changing politics severely hindered China's ability to raise a proper army. There are a handful of fascinating articles about the Dadao over on the Chinese Martial Studies website.
Woman with Republican Era Jian
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Unfortunately I have no information about this photo. However, the sword is in the design typical to Republican era jian, with a long handle, ace of spade shaped guard, and no fancy engravings or decorations on the fittings. This looks very similar to the LK Chen Snow Peak Jian although the style of guard and pommel was very common at that time.
Young Doc-Fai Wong performing Choy Li Fut in San Francisco's Chinatown (1969)
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This picture took some time to colorize and over 700 layers in photoshop. There are many faces in the crowd and each tells a story, like the children in their Lion Dance uniforms, sitting and drinking pepsi and 7up. One has his shoes off, so they had probably just performed and now he has the chance to cool his feet down. There is a man with a camera in his hands, but he is in deep conversation with another, both looming over a kneeling child with hands in his lap, who is either resting, or in trouble? A young girl clings to a parking restrictions sign, which has the same design still in 2025! You can actually see this location at 57 Waverly Place with a Google Map street view, the building may have a different coat of paint, but the structure is the same after all these years (check out the balconies). Judging by the ribbons, it was a special event and not just a weekend performance, and since many are wearing jackets, it was most likely in Spring or Autumn which leads me to believe it was either in celebration of CNY or 10/10, and I'm leaning towards 10/10 since there aren't that many dressed up in traditional New Years clothing.
In Choy Li Fut history, 1969 would mean that Doc-Fai Wong had already been teaching independently for a year after the death of his teacher, Lau Bun. This could've been while he was teaching out of a garage on Jackson street still in Chinatown, or after he moved and taught in the Sunset District. Either way, he was still teaching Hung Sing Choy Li Fut from Futsan at that time and his school was called Shau Hung Sing meaning Little Hung Sing to show respect to his teacher Lau Bun and the main school, run by Sifu Jew Leong in Chinatown just at the corner of Porstmouth square.
In Choy Li Fut history, 1969 would mean that Doc-Fai Wong had already been teaching independently for a year after the death of his teacher, Lau Bun. This could've been while he was teaching out of a garage on Jackson street still in Chinatown, or after he moved and taught in the Sunset District. Either way, he was still teaching Hung Sing Choy Li Fut from Futsan at that time and his school was called Shau Hung Sing meaning Little Hung Sing to show respect to his teacher Lau Bun and the main school, run by Sifu Jew Leong in Chinatown just at the corner of Porstmouth square.