 The league's main focus is to introduce a new form of sport competition using the jian, similar to sport fencing, or kendo, and thereby preserve, revive, and advance such jianshu concepts as can only be gained through one-on-one competition.The practice of jianshu in modern times has declined because its traditional military and self-defence functions have been taken over by the invention of firearms and other modern military technology, and because it requires considerable practice and skill in order to wield correctly, and there are now few masters qualified to teach it.Many traditional martial arts from nations other than China have experienced similar declines and have found different ways to maintain popularity, one being through developing similar activities in the form of a sport (e.g.