Animated gif of the day: Bayonet drill with QBZ-95...via China Defence Blog.

So the Chinese are adding Western Martial Philosophy to their homebred Sun Tzu art of war teachings?

They're learning the "Spirit Of The Bayonet"?  Wait what?  You think the bayonet is as obsolete as horses on the modern battlefield?  You look at robotics, the rise of AI, minibots and such and think that it'll never be useful in the future?

Check out this passage from The Truth About Guns!

President Obama displayed ignorance when he characterized bayonets as being similar to horses – obsolete weapons in modern warfare. As an initial matter, the bayonet is a soldier’s last remaining means of defense when the soldier’s primary weapon system is no longer works for whatever reason. In addition, bayonets are a weapon of psychological intimidation; bayonet charges have long incited fear in enemy forces, particularly in conscript or green forces. Finally, bayonets work well for prisoner control, adding a little extra sobering reminder of the fate that will befall any prisoner who tries to escape . . .

Although not common, modern history does provide examples of the use of the bayonet in combat, especially by British Infantry. For example, in 1982, British soldiers conducted a successful bayonet charge up Mount Tumbledown during the Falkland war.  In 2004, British soldiers in Al Amara, Iraq, again used a bayonet charge to dislodge entrenched fighters of Muqtada al Sadr’s Mahdi Army in the Battle of Danny Boy. Most recently, there have been multiple documented cases of British forces using bayonet charges to great effect against the Taliban in Afghanistan.

If you believe some of what is being written today, the last American bayonet charge occurred in the Korean War. However, there are numerous documented cases of bayonets being used in small-unit skirmishes during the Vietnam War. The largest of these took place at Khe Sanh on March 30, 1968 by members of Bravo Co., 1st Bn. 26th Marines. There is anecdotal evidence of bayonet usage occurring during the U.S. Army’s 1st Cav’s hard-won fight at LZ X-Ray, in the Ia Drang Valley of the Central Highlands, 1965.

Story here. 

So what's my point?

It's the same as always.  They're getting hard.  They're doing it by the numbers.  They're methodical.  They're meticulous.  They're determined...and they're not lazy.

Actually the Chinese are lining up to be a perfect enemy. 

If we responded correctly it would make us stronger...we could if we chose to come out the other side of this thing incredibly powerful, focused and driven. That of course assumes that we see the challenge for what it is and steeled ourselves to meet it.

The clarion call is the same.  

As a nation and as individuals we must get harder, stronger, faster...and we've got to do it now.