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Chinese Martial Arts is a term relating to hundreds of styles native to China. Kung Fu & Wushu are the most popular Chinese names used for Chinese Martial Arts.
Gong Fu is known in the west as Kung Fu.
Wushu literally means Martial Art and both of these terms encompass many styles. In practice the modern sport Wushu is also known as Contemporary Wushu or Modern Wushu.
China probably has the longest history of Martial Arts with many distinctive styles, with their own sets of techniques & ideas. Some focus on mimicking animal movements, some focus on harnessing and projecting Qi (Energy), while others just concentrate on competitions & exhibitions.
Each style offers a different approach to common problems of self defence, health & self cultivation.
Chinese Martial Arts can be split into different categories such as External, Internal, Northern & Southern.
Northern Styles are fast with powerful kicks, high jumps & generally more fluid and rapid movements. Southern Styles focus more on strong arm and hand techniques, stable immovable stances & footwork.
External includes the hands, eyes, body & stances.
Internal includes the heart, mind, spirit & strength.
Chinese Martial Arts training consists of basics, forms applications & weapons. Each style has its own unique training system with a varying emphasis on each of those components.
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The ShaolinSi (Shaolin Monastery) a Buddhist Temple located in Henan province was founded by Indian Buddhist Priest, Bodhidharma (Damo), over 4000 years ago, it is considered to be the oldest Martial Art in the world therefore the root of all Martial Arts.
In the early years immediately following the founding of the Shaolin Temple in 495 AD, the first Soldier Monks created a set of eighteen different fighting actions - the original Kung Fu - which utilised all parts of their bodies. These were combined with the use of various weapons made from simple farming tools and were initially a means of providing daily exercise and as a form of meditation. Later they were used as a means of self defence.
Northern Shaolin Kung Fu, known as an external Martial Art emphasises long range techniques, quick advances & retreats, wide stances, kicking & leaping techniques, whirling circular blocks, quickness, agility & aggressive attacks. Shaolin Kung Fu, also famous for its amazing hard Qigong performances by Shaolin Monks such as bending a spear on the throat, breaking wooden poles over the body, smashing stones and bricks to pieces with bare hands and standing on 1 finger.
There is also Southern Shaolin Temple located in Fujian province which is 6 hours drive from our School.
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Wushu sport is both an exhibition and a full-contact sport derived from traditional Chinese martial arts. Created in the People's Republic of China after 1949, Wushu has spread globally through the International Wushu Federation (IWUF), which holds the World Wushu Championships every two years.
Wushu is composed of two disciplines: taolu (forms) and sanda (sparring). The forms are similar to gymnastics and involve martial art patterns and manoeuvres for which competitors are judged and given points according to specific rules. The forms comprise basic movements, stances, kicks, punches, balances, jumps, sweeps and throws based on aggregate categories traditional Chinese martial art style and can be changed for competitions to highlight one's strengths. Competitive forms have time limits that can range from 1 minute, 20 seconds for external styles to over five minutes for internal styles.
The Events:
- Bare handed: Changquan (Long Fist), Nanquan (Southern Fist) and Taijiquan (Taiji Fist)
- Short Weapons: Dao (Single edged sword), Jian (Double edged sword), Taijijian (Taiji double edged sword) & Nandao (Souther single edged sword)
- Long Weapons: Gun (Staff), Qiang (Spear) and Nangun (Southern Staff)
- Sanda: Sparring/Free Fighting
Most of the events were set up in 1958.
These events are performed using compulsory or individual routines in competition. Compulsory routines are those routines that have been already created for the athlete, resulting in each athlete performing basically the same set. Individual routines are routines that an athlete creates with the aid of his/her coach, while following certain rules for difficulty, number of acrobatics, etc.
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Sanda (free fighting) is a modern Chinese self-defence system & combat sport, and is considered China’s answer to Western kickboxing or Thailand’s Muay Thai boxing.
In the ring as a sport you can punch, kick & throw your opponent. Professional Sanda allows you to use your knees.
Sanda as an un-armed self-defence system you can use all of the above plus elbows, chokes & joint locks.
In Contemporary Wushu tournaments you will have the main Taolu Events (forms) and then the Sanda Event. In these Amateur Tournaments contenders will wear protective gear unlike the Professionals who wear only gloves for protection. In both Professional and Amateur, Sanda is a full contact sport.
Before Sanda was made into a sport their used to be bare handed fights with no rules, this was common in the military between soldiers to test & practice Martial skills, ability & techniques.
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Qin means to seize or trap, Na means to lock or break, Chin Na is one of the four major fighting categories in all Chinese martial styles. The four categories are: kicking (Ti), Striking (Da), Wrestling (Shuai), and Seize-Controlling (Na). While those actions are very often executed in that order (trap then lock), the two actions can also be performed distinctly in training and self defence. Which is to say a trap isn’t always followed by a lock or break and a lock or break is not necessarily set up by a trap?
While techniques along the lines of Chin Na are trained to some degree by most Martial Arts World Wide, Chinese Martial Arts are famous for their specialization in such applications.
Chin Na can generally be categorized (in Chinese) as:
- "Fen Jin" or "Zhua Jin" (dividing the muscle/tendon, grabbing the muscle/tendon). "Fen" means to divide
- "Zhua" is to grab and "Jin" means tendon, muscle. They refer to techniques which tear apart an opponent's muscles or tendons
- "Cuo Gu" (misplacing the bone). "Cuo" means wrong disorder and "Gu" means bone. Cuo Gu therefore refer to techniques which put bones in wrong positions and is usually applied to joints specifically
- "Bi Qi" (sealing the breath). "Bi" means "to close seal or shut" and "Qi", or more specifically "Kong Qi", meaning "air". "Bi Qi" is the technique of preventing the opponent from inhaling. This differs from mere strangulation in that it may be applied not only to the windpipe directly but also to muscles surrounding the lungs, supposedly to shock the system into a contraction which impairs breathing
- "Dian Mai" or "Dian Xue" means (sealing the vein/artery or acupressure cavity). Similar to the Cantonese 2Dim Mak", these are the technique of sealing or striking blood vessels and "Qi" points
Joint lock Chin Na techniques can be effectively used against an opponent’s grabbing attacks as well as against wrestling. Pressing and striking Chin Na can be used to seal the opponent’s breathing, vein/artery, or Qi circulation, which can cause severe pain, numbness, unconsciousness, or even death.
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Baji Quan means "Eight Extremes Fist". It features explosive, short range power and is famous for its elbow strikes. Baji develops shocking power.
The essence of Baji Quan lies in Jin (Power). Most of Baji Quan's moves utilise a one hit push strike from a very close distance. The bulk of the damage is dealt through the momentary acceleration that travels up from the waist to the limb & further magnified by the charging step. Jin has many forms and is developed through many years of practice and horse stance.
The major features of this powerful Art include elbow strikes, arm/fist strikes, hip checks and strikes with the shoulder. All techniques are executed with a very distinctive form of short power, developed through rigorous training.
Baji focus's on in-fighting, entering from a longer range with Baji’s distinctive charging step and issuing power from up close.
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Pigua quan means "chop-hanging fist", also known as Piguazhang "chop-hanging palm" due to its emphasis on palm techniques, it is often practiced along with Baji quan. It features explosive, long-range power. It originated in Hebei Province of North China, but today is also well-known in other places. Pigua quan's power is from the acceleration force of the arms which are often in rotation. The hip movement in Pigua quan is more subtle and gentle compared to Baiji quan because you only need enough to guide the big chops whereas in Baji quan, the hammer punches, elbows and swings rely completely on the quick and powerful rotation of the hips and sink to bring its power out.
It is often said that originally Baji quan and Pigua quan were the same art but split hundreds of years ago. Li Shu wen remarried the two systems in the late 19th to early 20th century and today these two styles are often taught as complementary arts. There is a Chinese martial arts proverb that goes: When pigua is added to baji, gods and demons will all be terrified. When baji is added to pigua, heroes will sigh knowing they are no match against it.
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Qigong or Energy Cultivation is an aspect of Chinese Medicine involving the coordination of different breathing patterns with various physical postures and motions of the body. Qigong is mostly taught for health maintenance purposes, but there are also some who teach it as a therapeutic intervention. Various forms of traditional Qigong are widely taught as a counterpart of Chinese Martial Arts.
Qigong was historically practiced extensively in Taoist and Buddhist monasteries to enhance the spiritual aura and this led to being incorporated into Martial Arts training.
Qigong exercise requires one to relax, to be calm, natural and free from distractions, so that it can remove stress and dispel tension.
Advanced Qigong can focus the Qi (Energy) to specific parts of the body & perform super human feats known as hard Qigong. Hard Qigong requires body conditioning such as repetitive body striking to make the skin, muscle and bones ready to withstand such forceful attacks. While the meditation (Qigong Exercises) builds energy in your body. The more Qigong you practice the more Qi you will build up in your body and the more Vital Energy you have the less ill you are and the stronger your body and immune system will be.
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More commonly known in the west as Tai chi. Famous for its Yin/Yang symbol, Taiji Quan literally means “Supreme Ultimate Fist” and is a Taoist Internal Martial Art. There are different styles of Tai chi such as, Wu Dang San Feng Taiji, Chen style, Yang style, Wu style, Wu Yuxiang style and Sun style Tai chi. Yang style Taiji is the most popular Taiji style practiced today by millions of people world wide and is very good for both health and combat.
The legendary founder of Wu Dang Wushu which includes Wu Dang San Feng Taiji, Bagua Zhang & Xingyi Quan was Master Zhang San Feng, born in 1247 A.D. Zhang San Feng created Wudang wushu by researching the basic theory of Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, and the Eight Diagrams (Bagua). Wudang wushu has a very close relationship with the theories of Taiji, Yin/Yang, the Five Elements, the Eight Diagrams, and the Nine Palaces. Zhang San Feng was able to incorporate the Daoist practice of changing the Essence into Internal Energy , Internal Energy into Spirit , and Spirit into Emptiness to form the theory of Wudang wushu. There have been different storys on the origin of Taiji quan. The traditional legend goes that the wise man Zhang San Feng created Taiji quan after he had witnessed a fight between a sparrow and a snake. While modern Taiji originated from the Chen Style Taiji quan during the 19th century, Yang style, Wu style, Wu Yuxiang, and Sun style Taiji can all be traced back to Chen Style Taiji.
Tai chi is a very powerful art, for both internal power and longevity. Taiji Quan is a Martial Art which embodies Taoist Philosophy. When Tai chi was developed, Martial Arts were very aggressive. Ones proficiency was measured by the strength and aggression of attack. In terms of Taoist principle of Yin & Yang this was a purely Yang conception of Martial Arts. What was revolutionary was the incorporation of the Yin element to fighting. In Tai chi one uses a balance between yielding and attacking. It is for this reason Tai chi is described as a needle in cotton or hardness concealed in softness. Taiji follows the simple principle of “subduing the vigorous by the soft.”
Clinical studies have shown that Tai chi can lower blood pressure, reduce nervous tension and benefit the immune, digestive, cardiovascular and respiratory systems and is all round good for keeping your body young and healthy.
Tai chi can be practiced for health benefits and to circulate Qi around the body and it is said that if you practice Tai chi as a Martial Art for ten years you would be an amazing fighter.
The training involves two primary features: the first being the solo form Quan (fist), a slow sequence of movements which emphasize a straight spine, relaxed breathing and a natural range of movement. The second being pushing hands for training stickiness and sensitivity in the reflexes. Through various motions from the forms used in concert with a training partner you learn leverage, timing, coordination and positioning.
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Means Form/Mind, the Form of thousands of things that show outwardly and the heart and the thought of the Mind inwardly.
Another of the 3 major internal Chinese Martial Arts, Xingyi’s attack goes straight through the centre, Bagua goes around the centre and Tai chi gives up the centre.
Xingyi is based on the Taoist concept that natural forces are composed of 5 elements. This view of nature is related to TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine). In relationship to the Martial Art principles, each of the 5 elements applies to a specific organ as well as to different energies expressed by the forms of balance, and by the cycles of creating and destroying.
See table below.
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| The 5 element Fists of Xingyi Quan |
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| Pi Quan |
Splitting Fist
(Like an axe)
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Metal |
Lung |
Rising & Falling |
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| Zuan Quan |
Drilling Fist
(Like lightning)
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Water |
Kidney |
Flowing
(Like a fountain)
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| Beng Quan |
Crushing Fist
(Like an arrow)
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Wood |
Liver |
Contracting & expanding |
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| Pao Quan |
Pounding Fist
(Like a cannon)
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Fire |
Heart |
Firing
(Like firing a cannon)
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| Heng Quan |
Crossing Fist
(Like a spring)
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Earth |
Spleen |
Bouncing
(Like bouncing a ball)
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Xingyi is characterised by aggressive, seemingly linear movements and explosive power. Xingyi Quan features aggressive shocking attacks and direct footwork. The linear nature of Xingyi hints at both the military origins and the influence of spear technique alluded to in its mythology. Despite its hard, angular appearance, cultivating soft internal strength or Qi is essential to achieving power in Xingyi Quan.
The goal of the Xinyi fighter is to reach the opponent quickly and drive powerfully through them in a single burst, this is achieved by coordinating ones body as a single unit and the intense focus of ones Qi.
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Along with Tai chi and Xingyi Quan, Bagua is one of the three major internal Chinese Martial Arts.
Bagua zhang literally means Eight Trigram Palm, referring to the trigrams of Yijing, one of the canons in Taoism.
The practice of circle walking is Bagua’s characteristic method of stance and movement training. Practitioners walk around the edge of a circle in a low stance, facing the centre and periodically changing direction as they execute forms. Students first learn flexibility through such exercises, and then move onto more complex forms and internal power mechanics. The internal aspects of Bagua are very similar to those of Xingyi and Tai chi. eventually many distinctive styles of weapons training are practiced, sometimes including the uniquely crescent shaped deer horn knives, and the easily concealed scholar’s pen.
Bagua zhang is also known for sometimes practicing with extremely large weapons such as Bagua Dao or Bagua Broadsword.
In many schools students study both Xingyi and Bagua. These may be used together in fighting, as they are often complementary. Bagua contains an extremely wide variety of techniques , including various strikes, low kicks, joint locks, throws and distinctively circular foot work.
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Fujian White Crane Is a Southern Chinese martial art which originated in Fujian province, it is one of the seven different kinds of martial arts in Fujian. It was created by a female martial artist called Fang Qi niang. Qi niang’s father new the Southern Chinese martial arts and taught them to his daughter when she was young. The Fang family lived in a place where there were many cranes. Qi niang carefully studied the movements of cranes and combined these movements with the martial arts she learned from her father, creating the White Crane style of Fujian Province.
White Crane focuses on attacking vulnerable pressure points on the body. Some of the features include a combination of Internal and External, short strong rooted stances, close range fighting tactics, sticky hands, quick and triangular stepping, and many different fists like crane claw, tiger claw, eagle claw etc.
The Breathing in White crane is very different, short quick exhalations with an empty air sound. (part of a special qi gong)
Japanese Okinawan Goju Ryu Karate also traces much of its roots back to White Crane and one of the forms is almost identical. White crane forms are very short in the beginning stages but they become longer as you progress.
Yong Chun White Crane is practised throughout the world and is becoming more and more popular.
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