Lei Tai

Lei tai
A fighter preparing to throw his opponent from the lei tai
Traditional Chinese	擂臺
Simplified Chinese	擂台
Literal meaning	striking platform
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin lèitái

The lei tai is an elevated fighting arena, without railings, where often fatal weapons and bare-knuckle martial arts tournaments were once held. "Sanctioned" matches were presided over by a referee on the platform and judges on the sides. Fighters would lose if they surrendered, were incapacitated, were thrown or otherwise forced from the stage. The winner would remain on the stage (as its "owner") unless ousted by a stronger opponent. If there were no more challengers, they would become the champion. Private duels on the stage had no rules and were sometimes fought to the death.

In its present form, the lei tai first appeared in China during the Song dynasty. However, ancient variations of it can be traced back to at least the Qin dynasty. Today it is used in Sanshou and Kuoshu competitions throughout the world.

According to Kung Fu Magazine, the Chinese character for Lèi (擂) combines the word for "thunder" (léi 雷) with the radical for "hand" (shǒu 手). It can mean, "to give an open challenge." But taken literally, it means to “beat (a drum)". Tái means "stage" or "platform." It is also commonly referred to as a Dǎ lèi tái (Traditional: 打擂臺 Simplified: 打擂台 - "Fight Beat (a drum) Platform"). The character for Dǎ combines the word for “robust or vigorous” (dīng 丁) with the radical for "hand" (shǒu 手). This can mean, "to strike, hit, beat, or fight". In Cantonese, using the Wade-Giles superscript number system, Lei tai is pronounced Leui⁴ Toi⁴. A common English rendering of this is "Lui Toi or Loey Toy". Da lei tai is pronounced Da¹ leui⁴ toi⁴ or Da² leui⁴ toi⁴.

It is important to note the Chinese military once used a Zhong Jun Lei Gu Tai (中军擂鼓台 – “Central Military Drum Beating Platform”) to drum out commands on the battlefield and to tell time in the capital city. (see Gulou and Zhonglou) Three kingdoms general Zhang Fei used a “drum beating platform” to teach his soldiers troop movements. 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.