A Passage to China (走近中国) - Marshal Arts

Marshal arts (also known as kung-fu or Wushu) are one of the typical demonstrations of traditional Chinese culture which includes Wushu and Qu Gong. Perhaps it is one of the earliest and long-lasting sports, which utilizes both brawn and brain. The theory of Wushu id based upon classical Chinese philosophy. Throughout its long history it has developed characteristically with a unique combination of healthy push, practical self-defense, self-discipline and art. In sports such as field and track, ball sports, weightlifting, and boxing, an athlete typically has to retire from full participation in his or her 30s, due to failing physical vigor. The athlete often will have sustained injuries that he r she was not aware of and those injuries will affect his or her health in middle age and older, because of overexertion when young. In Chinese kung-fu, however, a distinction is made between “external” and “internal” kung-fu, it is said that “In external kung-fu, you exercise your tendons, bones, and skins; in internal kung-fu, you train your spirit, your Qi, and your mind.” In addition to training to achieve strong body and mind, strengthen internal organs, and increase circulation of one’s Qi, or flow of vital energy. Progressing from movement to stillness, from firmness to softness, the older one gets the more adept one becomes at kung-fu. And the higher one’s level of achievement in kung-fu, the better one is at maintaining good health and living a long, active life. For Chinese kung-fu, the internal training, that is, practicing Qi Gong, is essential. Chinese say: “Practicing boxing without practicing Qi Gong will come to nothing.”

The skills of Chinese Wushu consist of various forms of fighting: fist fights, weapon fights, and other fighting routines (including such offence and defenses acts as kicking, hitting, throwing, holding, chopping and thrusting) and unarmed combats. According to statistics, there are over 100 schools of Chinese boxing. Among them, seven schools (Shao Lin, Wu Dang, Tai Ji, Xing Yi, Ba Gua, E Mei and Nan Quan) are widely recognized. People see many individual styles within each of these schools.

Yongchun Quan (Eternal Youth Boxing) originated in Fujian Province, later spreading south to Guangdong, Macao hang Hong Kong. Yongchun Quan is just one of a number of styles under the general term, Nan Quan, the Southern Schools of Boxing, a vigorous and aggressive school popular south of the Yangtze River. Of the many styles of Nann Quan, the mists well known are Hongjia Quan, Liujia Quan, Caijia Quan, Lijia Quan, and Mojia Quan, “the Five Great Schools”. Other schools of Nan Quan are Tiger and Crane Boxing, White-Eyebrow Boxing, Confucian Boxing, Souther Skills Boxing, Kunlun Boxing, House of Kong Boxing, Han-Exercising Boxing, Diao School of Teaching, Yue School of Teaching, and Song School of Teaching.

Bei Quan, the Northern School of Boxing is a generic term for those schools in the provinces north of the Yangtze River. Characterized by speed and strength, the Northern School emphasizes variations of kicking and footwork, hence the common saying “Southern fists, Northern legs.” The major styes of the Northern School are Shaolin Boxing, Wheeling Boxing, Zha School of Boxing, Essence Boxing, Flower Boxing, Cannon Boxing, Hong School of Boxing, Full-Arm Boxing, Maze Boxing, Six-Harmony Boxing, Springing Legs, Jabbing Feet, Eigh-Ultimate Boxing, Great Ancestor Extended Boxing and Silk Floss Boxing.

Chinese Wushu involves practice with weapons as well as well as the standard bare-hand skills. Weaponry includes nine kinds of long weapons and nine short, such as knives, spears, swords, and clubs, which together constitute what is called the Eighteen Types of Martial Arts. The majority of these weapons, hence the use of the term the “eighteen military weapons”. This term was already widely used during the Song Dynasty. The Ming novel, Outlaws of the Marsh mentioned it frequently. One version of the book records the eighteen military weapons as the lance, mallet, long bow, crossbow, jingal, jointed bludgeon, truncheon, sword, chain, books, hatchet, dagger-axe, battle-axe, halberd, shield, staff, spear and rake. Today, the term generally refers to the broadsword, lance, rapier, halberd, hatchet, harrow, trident, staff, long-blade spear, cudgel, dagger-axe and wave-bladed spear. This is only a general term, since military weapons were never restricted to just eighteen forms. Other weapons frequently used include the rope-dart, Emei dagger named after the Emei Mountain in Sichuan Province from which the style originated, as well as the bent handled club and hook. Today, the wide variety of weapons used in Wushu practice fall into four groups:

1. Long weapons: Longer than the height of a person and wielded with both hands during practice. They include the lance, staff, great broadsword, spear, halberd, fork, trident and spade.
   
2. Short weapons: Shorter than the height of a person and wielded with one hand. These include the broadsword, rapier, hatchet, hammer, truncheon, jointed bludgeon, dagger and shield.
   
3. Soft weapons: Rope, chains, or sings are used to create linked weapons which are able to strike cloae or far and are wielded with one or both hands. They include the nine-sectioned chain, three-sectioned flail, flying hammers, which are tow iron balls linked by a long iron chain, the rope dart, flying claw and the ordinary flail.
   
4. Twin weapons: Here a pair of weapons are wielded, one in each hand. These include twin broad-swords, handled clubs, twin lances, twin hatchets, twin daggers, double-bladed daggers, Pangusnbi (Twin rods with fist-shaped heads) and duck and drake battle-axes.

Taiji Quan (Tai Chi) originated long age in Chinese history, and was a martial arts practice, with Quan meaning fist or boxing. Due to its heritage and practicability, it has evolved in three directions. With its origin and heritage in Taoism, it is a way to spiritual perfection; with its practicability, it is a way to protect oneself or really fight; and with its health caring effects, it is accepted by the common people as a self-healing or disease prevention or treatment tool.

Taiji Quan boasts several major school of Yang Style, Chen Style, Wu Style, and Sun style, etc., which in turn include a variety of forms respectively. For instance, the Yang school includes the Greater Routine and the Lesser Routine, while the Chen School includes an Old Routine, a New Routine, and the Zhaobao Routine. And most of these forms have created a short form, with Yang Style of 48 movements as an example. Therefore, the beginners are able to learn it more quickly, and the elder or patients are able to learn it more easily.

Tianji Quan exercises are believed to be helpful in treating illness and strengthening the constitution, therefore it is an exercise performed regularly by many people to keep fit, prevent and cure diseases, slow down the pace of growing old and to prolong life. The concentration of the mind is beneficial to biochemical profile of the brain and nervous system, and the flow of the internal self healing energy is beneficial to the delivery of oxygen and nutrition to the tissues. Studies found that practicing Taiji Quan is a great help to the elders. This is an indication of its immense value to men’s health, as has been testified by practice and research. In its purest form, Taiji Quan is a beautiful combination of eloquent, fluid and balanced body movement, yet it can be quite physical and is often used for defense. Because the level of input and complexity is either under the control of or susceptible to the willingness of each individual, Taiji Quan can be enjoy by all ages. This is perhaps why more and more people take to Taiji Quan. Now in China, million of citizens practice Taiji Quan every day.

Over the past three centuries, Taiji Quan has received more and more attention, and its popularity has increased, not only in China, but also gone far beyond its borders to Southeast Asia, Japan, America, European countries and many other countries.

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