Chinese nuns once used to it to battle bandits, but has dog kung fu had its day?

It might sound like the title of DreamWorks’ latest animated film franchise, but the ancient martial art of dog kung fu is a long way from being a blockbuster, according to one of China’s last masters of the fighting style.

Li Weijun, who is the president of three martial art schools in Foshan, southern China’s Guangdong province, said that over the years he had taught various styles of martial arts to more than 3,000 students, Guangzhou Daily reported on Sunday.

But these days, almost no one wanted to learn dog kung fu, he said.

Despite its unusual name, legend has it that the fighting style was developed by Buddhist nuns from southeast China’s Fujian province as a form of protection against the bandits and wild animals they met on their travels.

To most martial students, “the moves are not pleasing to the eyes”, but the technique was “extremely useful” in real combat situations, Li said.