l
Long touted as the father of Asian martial arts, China certainly influenced the arts of Japan and Korea. Japan’s kara-te is reputed to have come from the Shaolin kung-fu of China’s Fukien province. Korea’s famous Three Kingdoms and their martial arts were influenced by nearby China, as was the famous Shilla Kingdom, through its treaty with Tang Dynasty China. China’s enormous size and long history undoubtedly made it the source of many Asian martial arts.
We commonly call China’s martial art kung-fu. The term kung-fu literally means hard work, not martial art. It’s a term made popular during the Bruce Lee movie era, when Westerners were first exposed to his amazing fighting abilities. The correct terms for Chinese martial arts are either wushu, which means martial art, or koushu, which translates to national or military art.
The first written history of Chinese martial arts comes from the reign of Huangdi, the Yellow Emperor of the Zhou Dynasty (1122-255 BC). Huangdi was a famous military general, before becoming China’s leader and wrote a lengthy treaty about martial arts. He is also credited with being the founder of China’s oldest known martial art – chang quan (long fist).
Chinese martial arts are often separated two categories -- external and internal. External Chinese martial arts are those that use muscular force, combined with speed and sheer strength to produce power. External Chinese martial arts are known by their area of origin in China. For instance, famous external northern Chinese martial arts include northern prey mantis, chang quan, monkey, northern shaolin. Southern Chinese martial arts are mainly the southern Shaolin temple arts, such as choy li fut, hung gar, wing chun and hung fut.
Many northern Chinese external martial arts have military origins, because China has typically be governed from the north, with armies originating in northern cities, then extending in southern regions to enforce the dictates of northern rulers. Southern Chinese martial arts were originally the defense methods of farmers and everyday men. During the Qing Dynasty, when Manchurian rulers oppressed China, revolutionary fighting systems sprung up to challenge Qing armies with gorilla-type warfare. Because the Manchurians were Buddhists and declared Buddhist institutions off limits to their own armies and warfare, many revolutionary fighters took refuge in Buddhist temples and monasteries, the most famous being the Southern Shaolin temple. After the conflict, when the Manchurians were defeated, these revolutionaries continued to teach their martial arts under family names, such as Hung, Choy or Li and became known as Shaolin martial arts.
The other type of Chinese martial arts are the internal martial arts. They use what the Chinese call chou jing, or wise force, to overcome their opponents. They actively combine qi (chi) energy, often considered our basic life-force energy, with muscle strength to produce power. Arts such as taiji quan (tai chi chuan), xingyi (hsing-i), bagua (pa kwa) and swai zhou (Chinese wrestling) are the best known Chinese internal martial arts. Today’s common internal Chinese martial arts have their origins in northern China and always contain some amount of internal training alongside fighting practice. That internal training often includes standing meditation and special qi developing exercises.
Chinese martial arts are known by their circular arm and hand movements. Northern styles are famous for high, powerful kicks. Many Chinese arts imitate the fighting tactics of fierce or clever animals, such as dragon, tiger, leopard, preying mantis, crane, or monkey.