Born in the 19th year of Emperor Guangxu’s Reign of the Qing Dynasty (1893), Lu Zijian lives in Chongqing City, Sichuan Province, China. Despite his age, he is healthy and lithe. He is a well know martial artist, heading the Dragon Gate lineage of Daoism (Long Men Pai). In 2002 Lu was awarded 9... more »
Baguazhang is one of the three main Chinese martial arts of the Wudang school, the other two being Taijiquan and Xingyiquan. It is more broadly grouped as an internal practice (or nèijiā gong). Bāguà zhǎng literally means “eight trigram palm,” referring to the trigrams of the Yijing (I Ching), one of the canons of... more »
Baji chuan (eight extremes fist/boxing) is a Chinese martial art that features explosive, short-range power and is famous for its elbow strikes. It originated in Hebei Province in Northern China, but is also well-known in other places today, especially Taiwan. Its full name is kai men baji quan, which means “open-gate eight-extremities... more »
A butterfly kick or horse kick (xuànzi, circle) is a kick featured within many disciplines of martial arts, but originally practiced in Chinese martial arts, in particular modern Wushu. It is so named because as the legs reach the apex of their arc the arms are stretched out, leaving all limbs extended in a... more »
Cha chuan is a Chinese martial art that features graceful movements and some acrobatic aerial maneuvers. Cha chuan also includes a large range of weapons. Cha chuan falls under the classification Chángquán (literally “long fist”), a general term for external Northern Chinese martial arts, which are known for their extended, long movements. Cha chuan... more »
Changquan (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... more »
The Chen family-style is the oldest and parent form of the five traditional family styles. Chen style is characterized by Silk reeling, alternating fast/slow motion and bursts of power. Contemporary tai chi chuan is typically practised for a number of widely varying reasons: health, external/internal martial art skills, aesthetics, meditation or as an athletic/competition... more »
Chuojiao (poking foot) is a Chinese martial art that comprises many jumps, kicks, and fast fist sequences. The fist and feet work in unison and strike continuously forward, like “falling meteorites”, never giving the opponent a moment to recover. The qing gong portion of this style’s training involves a practitioner jumping against a wall... more »
Ditangquan, (ground tumbling boxing) is a category of martial art that originated in the Shandong Province of China during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). The major characteristic of ditangquan is the ability to perform tumbles, falls, turns, somersaults and aerial acrobatics using those techniques for both offense and defense. Since the time of its origin,... more »
Fanziquan (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. Fānziquán routines are usually quite short and very fast. It is a source of many other modern... more »
Houquan (monkey fist), is a Chinese martial art which utilizes ape or monkey-like movements as part of its technique. Traditional houquan as taught in Mainland China includes running on all fours (i.e. the hands and feet), various difficult acrobatic movements such as flipping sideways in the air, front flips, back flips, back handsprings, hand... more »
Huaquan (Hua Fist/Boxing) is a style of Kung Fu which is believed to have originated in Jining in Shandong Province. It is said that during the Kaiyuan reign of the Tang Dynasty there existed a Mount Hua knight named Cai Mao, who was famous for his prowess in combat and swordplay. Apparently Cai Mao... more »
Li Lian Jie (born April 26, 1963), better known by his stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese martial artist, actor, film producer, wushu champion, and international film star who was born in Beijing, and has taken up Singaporean citizenship in 2009. After three years of intensive training with Wu Bin, Li won his... more »
Nanquan (southern fist) refers to those Chinese martial arts that originated south of the Yangtze River of China, including Hung Kuen, Choi Lei Fut, and Wing Chun. The contemporary Wushu event Nanquan is a modern style created in 1960 derived from martial arts derived in the Chinese provinces south of the Yangtze River and... more »
Paochui (cannon punch) or Sān Huáng Pào Chuí (literally “Three Emperor Cannon Punch”) is a Chinese martial art attributed to the Three August Ones: Fuxi, Shennong, and Gonggong. The spread of Pào Chuí was due in part to its early association with Shaolin. Pào Chuí was one of the earliest styles to be imported... more »
Piguaquan (chop-hitch fist/boxing), also known as Piguazhang (chop-hanging palm) due to its emphasis on palm techniques, is often practiced along with Bajiquan and is a style of wushu (Chinese martial arts) that features explosive, long-range power. It originated in Hebei Province of North China, but today is also well-known in other locales, including Taiwan.... more »
Sanda (Sanshou) literally “free fighting”) or an “unsanctioned fight” is a Chinese hand-to-hand self-defense system and combat sport. Not seen as a style itself, rather it is considered as just one of the two components of Chinese martial arts training and is often taught alongside taolu (forms) training. However, as part of the development... more »