The lei tai is an elevated fighting arena, without railings, where often fatal weapons and bare-knuckle martial arts tournaments were once held.

It is also commonly referred to as a Dǎ lèi tái (Traditional: 打擂臺 Simplified: 打擂台 – "Fight Beat (a drum) Platform").

[8] The character for Dǎ combines the word for "robust or vigorous" (dīng 丁) with the radical for "hand" (shǒu 手).

[10][11] (see Gulou and Zhonglou) Three kingdoms general Zhang Fei used a "drum beating platform" to teach his soldiers troop movements.

[12] It is possible that the lei tai received its name from this type of platform, since a superior fighter might "beat" his opponent like a drum.

[1] Lei tai in its present form appeared during the Song dynasty when it was used for boxing and Shuai Jiao exhibition matches and private duels.

[2] According to the Chinese Kuoshu Institute (UK), an ancestor of the lei tai was used during the Qin dynasty to hold Jiao Li wrestling competitions between imperial soldiers.

[3] According to Cung Le, a famous mixed martial arts fighter, "In the old days, if you wanted to announce yourself as a boxer in a new village, you built a lei tai, stood on it, and invited all comers to try and knock you off.

For instance, Lama Pai Grandmaster Wong Yan-Lam set up his own lei tai platform in front of Hai Tung Monastery in Guangdong after having worked as a famous bodyguard in Northern China.

[23][24] Eighteenth generation Chen-style tai chi Grandmaster Chen Zhaopi, third nephew of Chen Fake, set up a platform by Beijing's "Xuan Wu Men" city gate after an unauthorized article claiming the superiority of Chen-style tai chi appeared in the Beijing Times, causing many martial artists to challenge his skills.

All weapons and boxing matches were conducted without protective gear like the Jissen Kumite (full-contact fighting) of Kyokushin Karate.

Ha had previously heard of Master Leng's ability to tear at the flesh of his opponents with his bare hands, so he wrapped his torso with a leather strap prior to the fight.

Both men met on the lei tai some time later and signed a contract that stated the fight could end in death.

After a few moments, Leng (apparently seeing the leather straps through his ripped clothing) bypassed Ha's armor by forcing his hand down from the top of the wrap and tore out the triad boss' bowels.

[27] However, the railless architecture of the lei tai allowed a fighter to escape serious injury if they faced a more powerful opponent.

[7] In order to screen the best practitioners for teaching positions at the newly founded Central Guoshu Institute, and in the provincial schools, Generals Zhang Zhi Jiang (张之江) (1882–1966), Li Liejun (1882–1946) and Li Jinglin (1885–1931) held the first modern full contact, national competition in October 1928.

However, the event attracted hundreds of the best Chinese martial artists who participated in boxing, weapons and wrestling in a lei tai ring format.

Though a few see a stringent dividing line between the sports, some such as Anthony Goh, president of the United States of America Wushu Kungfu Federation, see less contrast.

[32] The current president of the United States Kuo Shou Federation Huang Chien-Liang brought six of his students as a team to the 3rd World Kuoshu Championship tournament in Hawaii in 1980.

Meanwhile, in China, "Kuoshu had been oppressed during the Cultural Revolution," notes president Huang, "and martial arts was then allowed only for performance until 1979, when wushu was allowed to include self-defense, so practitioners began writing the rules for the Sanshou Wushu tournaments, and the Communist government held a tournament called Sanshou."

Confirming the common direction of Kuoshu and Sanshou toward safety, however, president Huang approves of the rules changes in full-contact kung fu.

The original fighting area was a nine-meter diameter open circle, but it was later changed to a traditional square lei tai.

The city of Taizhou, Zhejiang hosted the first "On Water Contest of the 'Liqun Cup' International Traditional Wushu and Unique Feats Tournament" from May 22–26, 1999.

To improve safety, the lei tai was a meter shorter than a standard one, which lessened the impact and allowed assistants to quickly jump in the pool to rescue any fighter who might have been unconscious.

In March 2004, the 9th International Chinese Kuoshu Federation (ICKF) World Championship hosted the 3rd water lei tai.

[36] Kung Fu Magazine states the lei tai's railless architecture does not allow a fighter to trap an opponent in the turnbuckle, so the fighting strategy shifts away from power boxing to more evasive "circling" maneuvers.

[7] According to the Swiss Open Kusohu Tournament, lei tai permits the kung fu student to show their understanding of the techniques, moves, rooting, breathing and control of character (i.e. anger).