Arts California In Martial Southern Training
Arts California In Martial Southern Training
Hundreds of different styles of Chinese martial arts have developed over the past two thousand years, many distinctive styles with their own sets of techniques and ideas. There are themes common which allows them to be group according to generalized "families" (家, jiā), "sects" (派, pai), "class" (門, men), or "schools" (教, jiao) of martial art styles. There are styles that mimic movements from animals and others that gather inspiration from various Chinese philosophies or mythologies. Some styles put most of their focus into the belief of the harnessing of qi energy, while others concentrate solely on competition or exhibition. This rich variety of styles has led tp 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 (北拳) or a southern fist (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 (外家拳) and internal (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 Islam have associated martial arts styles. There are also many other criteria used to group Chinese martial arts; for example, imitative-styles (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.
Geographical classifications
The traditional dividing line between the northern and southern Chinese martial arts is the Yangtze River. A well known adage concerning Chinese martial arts is the term "Southern fists and Northern kicks" (「南拳北腿」). This saying emphases the difference between the two groups of Chinese martial arts. Although such differences are not absolute and there are many Northern styles that excel in hand techniques and conversely, there are many different type of kicks in some Southern styles. A style can also be more clearly classified according to regional landmarks, province, city and even to a specific village.
Northern styles
Northern styles/Běi pài (北派) feature deeply extended postures — such as the horse, bow, drop, and dragon stances — connected by quick fluid transitions, able to quickly change the direction in which force is issued.
In general, the training characteristics of northern styles put more focus on legwork, kicking and acrobatics. Some say this is because the northern Chinese were generally taller than those living in southern China, and such training takes advantage of their greater range of motion, especially in their legs. Others claim that the terrain of northern China is more suitable to kicking techniques, or that the cold of the northern Chinese winter caused the practitioner to emphasize leg techniques rather than hand skills. Still others suggest that jump kicking techniques were developed to fight Mongolian horseman who used "very short stirrups". Regardless of the reason, Northern styles exhibit a distinctively different flavour from the martial arts practised in the South. The influence of Northern styles can be found in traditional Korean martial arts and their emphasis on high-level kicks.
The group of Northern martial arts includes many illustrious styles such as Baguazhang, Bajiquan, Chāquán, Chuojiao, Eagle Claw, Northern Praying Mantis and Taijiquan. Chángquán is often identified as the representative Northern style and forms a separate division in modern Wushu curriculum.
Southern styles
Main article: NanquanSouthern Chinese martial arts (南派) features low stable stances and short powerful movements that combines both attack and defense. In practice, Nan Quan focus more on the use of the arm and full body techniques rather than high kicks or acrobatic moves. There are various explanations for those characteristics. Some suggest that the physical stature of the Southern Chinese is responsible. The Southern Chinese are generally shorter in contrast to the Northern population and as a result the Southern styles are generally short, direct and powerful. Similarly, it is speculated that the dense urban population and its humid climate made focusing on close-quarter hand techniques more practical then the kicking techniques of the North. Still others suggest that the Southern styles focus on practical fighting techniques that can be mastered in a short time because Southern styles were founded and used by Chinese rebels. The influence of Southern styles can be found in Goju Ryu, a karate style from Okinawa.
The term Southern styles typically applies to the five family styles of Southern China: Choy Gar (蔡家), Hung Ga (洪家), Lau Gar (刘家), Li (Lee) Family (李家) and Mok Gar (莫家). Other styles include:Choy Li Fut, Fujian White Crane, Dog Style Kungfu, Five Ancestors, Wing Chun, Hakka, Southern Praying Mantis Bak Mei and Dragon. There are sub-divisions to Southern styles due to their similar characteristics and common heritage. For example, the Fujian and Hakka martial arts can be considered to be one such sub-division. This groups share the following characteristics that "during fights, pugilists of these systems prefer short steps and close fighting, with their arms placed close to the chest, their elbows lowered and kept close to the flanks to offer them protection". Nanquan (Southern Fist) became a separate and distinct component of the current Wushu training. It was designed to incorporate the key elements of each major Southern style.
Other geographical classifications
Chinese martial arts can also be identified by the regional landmarks, province, city or even village. Generally, this identification indicates the region of origin but could also describe the place where the style have established a reputation. Well known landmarks used to characterize Chinese martial arts include the famous mountains of China. The Eight Great Schools of Martial Arts (八大門派), a grouping of martial arts schools used in many wuxia novels, is based on this type of geographical classifications. This group of schools include: Hua Shan (華山), Éméi Shān (峨嵋山), Wudang Shan (武当山), Mt._Kongtong (崆峒山), Kunlun Mountains (崑崙山),Cangshan (蒼山), Mount Qingcheng (青城山) and Mount Song Shaolin (嵩山少林). Historically, there are 18 provinces (省)in China. Each province have their own styles of martial arts. For example, in Xingyi, there are currently three main branches: Shanxi, Hebei and Henan. Each branch have unique characteristics but they can all be traced to the original art developed by Li Luoneng and the Dai family. A particular style can also be identified by the city where the art was practised. For example, in the North, the cities of Beijing or Tianjin have created different martial arts branches for many styles. Similarly, in the South, the cities of Shanghai, Canton and Futshan all represented centers of martial arts development. Older martial art styles can be described by their village affiliation. For example, Zhaobao style tai chi (趙堡忽靈架太極拳) is a branch of Chen Tai Chi originating from Zhaobao village.
External and Internal
The distinction between external and internal (外内) martial arts comes from Huang Zongxi's 1669 Epitaph for Wang Zhengnan . Stanley Henning proposes that the Epitaph' s identification of the internal martial arts with the Taoism indigenous to China and its identification of the external martial arts with the foreign Buddhism of Shaolin—and the Manchu Qing Dynasty to which Huang Zongxi was opposed—may have been an act of political defiance rather than one of technical classification. Kennedy and Guo suggests that external and internal classifications only became popular during the Republican period. It was used to differentiate between two competing groups within The Central Guoshu Academy. Regardless of the origin of this classification scheme, the distinction becomes less meaningful since all complete Chinese martial art styles have external and internal components. This classification scheme is only a reminder of the initial emphasis of a particular style and should not be considered an absolute division.
External styles
External style (外家; pinyin: wàijiā; literally "external family") are often associated with Chinese martial arts. They are characterized by fast and explosive movements and a focus on physical strength and agility. External styles includes both the traditional styles focusing on application and fighting, as well as the modern styles adapted for competition and exercise. Examples of external styles are Shaolinquan, with its direct explosive attacks and many Wushu forms that have spectacular aerial techniques. External styles begin with a training focus on muscular power, speed and application, and generally integrate their qigong aspects in advanced training, after their desired "hard" physical level has been reached. Most Chinese martial art styles are classified as external styles.
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