Portal:Chinese martial arts
Portal maintenance status: (October 2018)
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Introduction
Chinese martial arts, often named under the umbrella terms kung fu (/ˈkʊŋ
Selected general articles
- This page contains a concise listing of individual systems of traditional Chinese martial arts (传统中国武术 chuántǒng Zhōngguó wǔshù). Listings of various branches / lineages of a martial art system are located on a corresponding Wikipedia page which details the history of the system. The following list of traditional Chinese martial arts (传统中国武术 chuántǒng Zhōngguó wǔshù) is by no means exhaustive. Read more...
- In the Chinese martial arts, imagery of the Five Animals (Chinese: 五形; pinyin: wǔ xíng; literally: "Five Forms")—Tiger, Crane, Leopard, Snake, and Dragon—appears predominantly in Southern styles, especially those associated with Guangdong and Fujian Provinces. An alternate selection which is also widely used is the crane, the tiger, the monkey, the snake, and the mantis.
The Five Animal martial arts supposedly originated from the Henan Shaolin Temple, which is north of the Yangtze River, even though imagery of these particular five animals as a distinct set (i.e. in the absence of other animals such as the horse or the monkey as in T'ai chi ch'uan or Xíngyìquán) is either rare in Northern Shaolin martial arts—and Northern Chinese martial arts in general—or recent (cf. wǔxíngbāfǎquán; 五形八法拳; "Five Form Eight Method Fist"). Read more...
There are hundreds of different styles of Chinese martial arts, each with their own sets of techniques and ideas.
The concept of martial arts styles appeared from around the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Before the Ming period, martial skills were commonly differentiated mainly by their lineage. There are common themes among these styles which allow them to be grouped according to generalized "families" (Chinese: 家; pinyin: jiā), "sects" (Chinese: 派; pinyin: pài), "class" (traditional Chinese: 門; simplified Chinese: 门; pinyin: mén), or "schools" (Chinese: 教; pinyin: jiào) of martial art styles. There are styles that mimic movements from animals, or otherwise refer or allude to animals or mythical beings such as dragons, and others that gather inspiration from various Chinese philosophies or mythologies. Some deeply-internal styles tend to focus strongly on practice relating to harnessing of qi energy, while some more-conspicuously-external styles tend more to display skills and abilities in competition or exhibition.
The rich variety of styles has led to the creation of numerous classification schemes.
Geographical location such as regional affiliation is one well-known example.
A particular Chinese martial arts style can be referred to as either a northern fist (Chinese: 北拳) or a southern fist (Chinese: 南拳) depending on its point of origin. Additional details such as province or city can further identify the particular style. Other classification schemes include the concept of external (Chinese: 外家拳) and internal (Chinese: 内家拳). This criterion concerns the training focus of a particular style. Religious affiliation of the group that found the style can also be used as a classification. The three great religions of Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism have associated martial arts styles. There are also many other criteria used to group Chinese martial arts; for example, imitative-styles (Chinese: 像形拳) and legendary styles; historical styles and family styles. Another more recent approach is to describe a style according to their combat focus. Read more...- Fānziquán (Chinese: 翻子拳; literally "Rotating fist") is a Chinese martial art that emphasizes offense and defense with the hands. Its movements have been described as:
: Two fists are fast like the falling rain drops, and fast like a snapping whip. Read more...
A joint lock is a grappling technique involving manipulation of an opponent's joints in such a way that the joints reach their maximal degree of motion.
In judō these are referred to as, 関節技 kansetsu-waza, "joint locking technique") and in Chinese martial arts as chin na which literally means "catching and locking". In Korea these are referred to as, 관절기(gwan-jerl-gi, joint skill) or 관절꺾기(gwan-jerl-kerk-gi, joint breaking). Read more...
A kick is a physical strike using the leg, foot, heel, tibia, thigh or knee (the latter is also known as a knee strike). This type of attack is used frequently by hooved animals as well as humans in the context of stand-up fighting. Kicks play a significant role in many forms of martial arts, such as savate, taekwondo, MMA, sikaran, karate, Pankration, Kung Fu, Vovinam, kickboxing, Muay Thai, Yaw-Yan, capoeira, silat, and kalaripayattu.
Kicking is also prominent from its use in many sports, especially those called football. The best known of these sports is association football, also known as soccer. Read more...
A punch is a striking blow with the fist. It is used in most martial arts and combat sports, most notably Boxing where it is the only type of offensive technique allowed. In sports, hand wraps or other padding such as gloves may be used to protect athletes and practitioners from injuring themselves.
The use of punches varies between different martial arts and combat sports. Styles such as Boxing, Suntukan or Russian fist fighting use punches alone, while others such as Kickboxing, Muay Thai, or Karate may use both punches and kicks. Others such as wrestling and judo (punches and other striking techniques, atemi, are present in judo kata, but are forbidden in competitions) do not use punches at all. There are many types of punches and as a result, different styles encompass varying types of punching techniques. Read more...
There are several Chinese martial arts known as Snake Boxing or Fanged Snake Style (Chinese: 蛇拳; pinyin: shéquán; literally: "snake fist") which imitate the movements of snakes. It is a style of Shaolin Boxing. Proponents claim that adopting the fluidity of snakes allows them to entwine with their opponents in defense and strike them from angles they wouldn't expect in offense. Snake style is said to especially lend itself to applications with the Chinese straight sword. The snake is also one of the animals imitated in Yang family Taijiquan (T'ai chi ch'uan), Baguazhang and Xingyiquan. The sinuous, fluid motion of the snake lends itself to the practical theory that underlies the "soft" martial arts.
Different snake styles imitate different movements of snakes.
Some, for example, imitate the Cylindrophiidae, while others imitate the python, while some schools imitate other types of snakes, like the viper and the cobra. There are two unrelated, Northern and Southern snake styles. Read more...
Pushing hands, Push hands or tuishou (alternately spelled tuei shou or tuei sho) is a name for two-person training routines practiced in internal Chinese martial arts such as Baguazhang, Xingyiquan, T'ai chi ch'uan (Taijiquan), Liuhebafa, Ch'uan Fa, Yiquan. It is also played as an international sport akin to Judo, Sumo and wrestling, most notably in Taiwan, where the biannual Tai Chi World Cup is held. Read more...
The jian (simplified Chinese: 剑; traditional Chinese: 劍; pinyin: jiàn; Cantonese: Gim) is a double-edged straight sword used during the last 2,500 years in China. The first Chinese sources that mention the jian date to the 7th century BCE during the Spring and Autumn period; one of the earliest specimens being the Sword of Goujian. Historical one-handed versions have blades varying from 45 to 80 centimeters (18 to 31 inches) in length. The weight of an average sword of 70-centimetre (28-inch) blade-length would be in a range of approximately 700 to 900 grams (1.5 to 2 pounds). There are also larger two-handed versions used for training by many styles of Chinese martial arts.
Professional jian practitioners are referred to as jianke (Chinese: 剑客; pinyin: jiànkè; literally: "sword guests" or "swordsmen"; a term dating from the Han dynasty). Read more...- Sanshou (Wushu Sanshou), also known as Sanda (Wushu Sanda), Chinese boxing or Chinese kickboxing, is a Chinese self-defense system and combat sport. Wushu Sanshou is a martial art which was originally developed by the Chinese military based upon the study and practices of traditional Kung fu and modern combat fighting techniques; it combines full-contact kickboxing, which includes close range and rapid successive punches and kicks, with wrestling, takedowns, throws, sweeps, kick catches, and in some competitions, even elbow and knee strikes.
Wushu Sanshou is not seen as a style itself, but rather is considered as just one of the two components of Chinese martial arts training and is often taught alongside Wushu Taolu (forms) training. However, as part of the development of sport wushu by the Chinese government, a standard curriculum for sanshou was developed. It is to this standard curriculum that the term Wushu Sanshou is usually applied.
This curriculum was developed with reference to traditional Chinese martial arts. This general Wushu Sanshou curriculum varies in its different forms, as the Chinese government developed a version for civilians for self-defense and as a sport. Some of the most famous fighters in Sanshou are Fang Bian (Sanda), Cung Le (MMA), Liu Hailong (Sanda), Muslim Salikhov (Sanda), Zabit Magomedsharipov (Sanda), Zhang Tiequan (MMA), Hossein Ojaghi (sanda) and Zhenwei Wang (sanda). Read more...
Piguaquan (Traditional Chinese: 劈掛拳, literally "chop-hanging fist"), also known as Piguazhang (劈掛掌, "chop-hanging palm") due to its emphasis on palm techniques, is often practiced along with Bajiquan (八極拳, literally "eight extremes fist") and is a style of wushu (Chinese martial arts) that features explosive, long-range power. It originated in Cangzhou, a prefecture in Hebei Province of North China, but today is also well known in other locales, including Taiwan. Piguaquan's power is from the accelerational force of the arms which are often in rotation. The hip movement in Piguaquan is more subtle and gentle compared to Bajiquan, because you only need enough to guide the big chops whereas in Bajiquan, the hammers, punches, elbows and swings rely completely on the quick and powerful rotation of the hips, and sink to bring its power out. Read more...
Tai chi (taiji), short for T'ai chi ch'üan, or Tai ji quan (pinyin: tàijíquán; 太极拳), is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for both its defense training and its health benefits. The term taiji refers to a philosophy of the forces of yin and yang, related to the moves. Though originally conceived as a martial art, it is also typically practiced for a variety of other personal reasons: competitive wrestling in the format of pushing hands (tui shou), demonstration competitions and achieving greater longevity. As a result, a multitude of training forms exist, both traditional and modern, which correspond to those aims with differing emphasis. Some training forms of tàijíquán are especially known for being practiced with relatively slow movements.
Today, tai chi has spread worldwide. Most modern styles of tai chi trace their development to at least one of the five traditional schools: Chen, Yang, Wu (Hao), Wu and Sun. All of the former, in turn, trace their historical origins to Chen Village. Read more...
Shuai jiao (Chinese: 摔跤 or 摔角; pinyin: Shuāijiāo; Wade–Giles: Shuai-chiao) is the term pertaining to the ancient jacket wrestling Kung-Fu style of Beijing, Tianjin and Baoding of Hebei Province in the North China Plain which was codified by Shan Pu Ying (善撲营 The Battalion of Excellency in Catching) of the Nei Wu Fu (内務府, Internal Administration Unit of Imperial Household Department). In modern usage it is also the general Mandarin Chinese term for any form of wrestling, both inside and outside China. As a generic name, it may be used to cover various styles of wrestling practised in China in the form of a martial arts system or a sport. The art was introduced to Southern China in the Republican era (see Republic of China (1912–1949)) after 1911. Read more...
Chángquán (simplified Chinese: 长拳; traditional Chinese: 長拳; pinyin: Chángquán; literally: "Long Fist") refers to a family of external (as opposed to internal) martial arts (kung fu) styles from northern China.
The forms of the Long Fist style emphasize fully extended kicks and striking techniques, and by appearance would be considered a long-range fighting system. In some Long Fist styles the motto is that "the best defense is a strong offense," in which case the practitioner launches a preemptive attack so aggressive that the opponent doesn't have the opportunity to attack. Others emphasize defense over offense, noting that nearly all techniques in Long Fist forms are counters to attacks. Long Fist uses large, extended, circular movements to improve overall body mobility in the muscles, tendons, and joints. Advanced Long Fist techniques include qin na joint-locking techniques and shuai jiao throws and takedowns. Read more...- Nanquan (Chinese: 南拳; pinyin: Nán quán; literally: "southern fist", or Chinese: 南派; pinyin: Nán pài; literally: "southern school") refers to a classification of Chinese martial arts that originated south of the Yangtze River of China with emphasis on "short hitting" on the arms movement predominantly on southern styes such as Hung Kuen, Choi Lei Fut, Hak Fu Mun, Wuzuquan, Wing Chun and so on. Read more...
Bajiquan (Chinese: 八極拳; pinyin: Bājíquán) is a Chinese martial art that features explosive, short-range power and is famous for its elbow and shoulder strikes. It originated in the Hebei Province in Northern China, but spread to Taiwan and other places. Its full name is kai men baji quan (開門八極拳), which means "open-gate eight-extremities fist". Read more...
A throw, in martial arts, is a grappling technique that involves off-balancing or lifting an opponent, and throwing them to the ground, in Japanese martial arts referred to as nage-waza, 投げ技, "throwing technique". Throws usually involve a rotating motion, the practitioner performing the throw disconnects with the opponent, and ends balanced and on their feet as opposed to a takedown where both finish on the ground. Throws can however also be followed into a top position, in which case the person executing the throw does not disengage from the opponent. Certain throwing techniques called sacrifice throws (sutemi-waza, 捨身技, "sacrifice technique") involve putting oneself in a potentially disadvantageous position, such as on the ground, in order to execute a throw. Read more...
Dao (Chinese: 刀; Pinyin: dāo) are single-edged Chinese swords, primarily used for slashing and chopping. The most common form is also known as the Chinese sabre, although those with wider blades are sometimes referred to as Chinese broadswords. In China, the dao is considered one of the four traditional weapons, along with the gun (stick or staff), qiang (spear), and the jian (double-edged sword). Here, it is called "The Marshal of All Weapons". Read more...- Taijijian (simplified Chinese: 太极剑; traditional Chinese: 太極劍; pinyin: tàijíjiàn; literally: "Taiji Sword") is a straight two-edged sword used in the training of the Chinese martial art Taijiquan. The straight sword, sometimes with a tassel and sometimes not, is used for upper body conditioning and martial training in traditional Taijiquan schools. The different family schools have various warmups, forms and fencing drills for training with the jian. Read more...
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Selected images
Depiction of fighting monks demonstrating their skills to visiting dignitaries (early 19th-century mural in the Shaolin Monastery).
Modern forms are used in the sport of wushu, as seen in this staff routine
The Yang style of taijiquan being practiced on the Bund in Shanghai
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Topics
| Styles | |
|---|---|
| Techniques | |
| Practical striking | |
| Practical grappling | |
| Wushu taolu (forms) | |
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