I Know Kung Fu

Holla everyone! The Greek Man is back from his vacation! I had a wonderful relaxing time in the tiny island of Innouses from which the majority of my family is descended from. You've probably never heard of it since it's like a little dot on the map of Greece (and practically invisible on a global scale)so I'll be sure to give you an insight on another post. Right now I would like to write about one of the things I'm really looking forward to indulging myself in China: Martial arts. Ever since my mom took me to my first lesson in Karate at the age of 7 I've been literally sucked into arts of fighting. I studied Shotokan Karate of the Japan Karate Association (JKA) for over 14 years, during which I participated in many national championships and tournaments here in Greece. I attained my black belt rank at the age of 12 and I consider it one of my greatest achievements to date. I've also trained in Aikido during my year in Sunderland University where I got to study a softer side of martial arts. For as long as I can remember I've always stayed up late reading books on a variety of martial arts and their philosophies. Thankfully the web has provided me with even more resources to further my indulgence. That being said, it's apparent that in Beijing I will be expanding my "warrior" horizons even further. So let's take a look at some of the most popular Chinese martial arts and their history, right after the jump.


Martial arts, known in Mandarin Chinese as "wushu" or for us westerners as "kung fu", are a huge part of China's culture. It's no coincidence that most of the martial arts icons that have existed over the years have all been of chinese descent. Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Yip Man and Jet Li have always captivated the world with their skills each with their own respective style. Many Chinese TV shows and films involve martial arts in some way. If you travel to any city in China you are sure to see people grouped up in parks practising Tai Chi. So, yeah, I'm going to a country where I will literarily be able to feed my passion to the fullest.

China is the birthplace of a great deal of styles that have been developed over the past 2000 years, most of which are the predecessors of modern fighting arts. Each of them has their own philosophy but also include many common ideas and elements. From personal experience, I could say that one of the most important ones is that wushu focuses on the natural use of the body and taking advantage of the opponent's strength, rather than using pure strength and dynamic techniques as seen in arts such as Japanese Karate and Greek Pankration. From mimicing animal movements to focusing one's "qi", the Chinese have developed martial arts that tackle self-defense situations and exercising of the body in many different ways. They are usually categorised as internal and external, and also based on the location (north, south etc.) and the part of China a style is descended from. There are also styles that were developed by Buddhist monks, including the widely popular Shaolin style.

So let's take a brief look at some of the more or less popular martial arts styles.

Bajiquan

In English "Eight Extremes Fist" or in Japanese "Hakkyoken". This style originates from the Heibei province of Northern China and is famous for its explosive short ranged power, and even more for its elbow strikes. Its first recorded teacher, according to Wikipedia, was Wu Zhong (1712-1802). Its main tactical advantage lies in close range combat by forcing openings on the opponent and then striking with elbow,knees,hips and shoulders at vulnerable points of the human body. The style includes weapon techniques, such as spears, staves, sabres and two-handed heavy blades.

One of the reasons I would most likely choose to learn this style would be because of my height (I'm a short guy standing at a proud 160cm). Thus, close range is where I mostly shine.


Hou Quan

We're all probably familiar with the art of fighting like monkeys right? Well it is no joke. There are Chinese fighting arts that have been influenced by the quick movements of our primate counterparts. Hou Quan literarily means "Monkey Fist" and can be traced way back to the Han Dynasty times. The style involves moving on all fours, performing a variety of acrobatic movements. The majority of techniques target vulnerable areas, such as the knees, throat, groin and eyes. The tactical advantage lies in the use of constant movement to confuse the opponent and strike fast and hard when an opportunity presents itself. As funny as it may sound (I laughed when I first read it myself) the imitation goes as far as to mimic a monkey's facial expressions during combat. The style's main speciality weapon is the staff.

I don't really believe I am capable of taking up such an art due to the acrobatics. My body type will most likely not be able to perform them. But it would be cool and quite entertaining to see what I could possibly accomplish. :-p

Northern Praying Mantis

Also known as Shangdong Praying Mantis from the province it originated from, is a style that mimics the movements of a highly aggressive insect...the praying mantis. It was developed originally by Wang Lang during either the Song or Ming Dynasty. The style's most distinct feature is its pose, where three fingers of each hand form hooks to mimic those of the insect. The hands are used in a whip-like manner for both defensive and offensive techniques. It's well known for targetting pressure points of the human body and using fast footwork, greatly influenced by Hou Quan.

One of the many reasons I would actually like to try this art out is purely for the pressure points part. Although it probably takes years to reach such a level, exploring such a distinctive style with circular motions will be interesting, as Karate is a more forward art.

Northern Shaolin

There is a great variety of Shaolin arts developed by Buddhist monks so I'm only going to touch one. It's considered as one of the most prominent and traditional of all styles. It's main strength lie in the use of quick advances and retreats, aggressive offensive techniques and circular blocking motions. The art is mostly practised through predetermined combinations of techniques, namely forms, routines and sets of movements. Although not practical for applications in real life situations, these routines are graceful to look at and provide the user with a calm spirit, which is the main focus of Shaolin arts. The style was initially practised in the first Shaolin monastery in Henan but was made widely known by Ku Yu Cheung (known for his Iron Palm techniques and the use of the spear). The style incorporates empty hand as well as weapon techniques. Some may be familiar with travelling monk groups that perform their arts to live audiences across the world.

Tai Chi Chuan

Remember what I said about people grouping up in parks and practising Tai Chi? One of the main purposes of this art is for health reasons. I tend to describe it to people as the "Chinese Yoga". Funny that it literarily translates in English as "Supreme Ultimate Fist" (sounds like it came out of a cheesy manga eh?). It's most widespread form is that of slow movement routines that are based on the four seasons of our planet. There are styles, though, that make use of faster paces, weapons, and hard techniques. That being said, there are schools of Tai Chi that use it just as much as a combat art. It's categorised as an internal soft art that focuses on bringing the practisioner to a calm state of mind in order to focus on coordinating movements in a variety of situations rather than muscle tension and strength.

I took up Tai Chi during a year in college where I practised a form based on the spring season. I feel that one of greatest weaknesses are to find a balance between being hard and soft (as my main focus has been a powerful art), so Tai Chi is an excellent choice to further my "softer" side.

Hung Ga

Hung Ga is a style that originates from the Southern part of China and is mostly associated with the folk hero Wong Fei Hung (hence its name). Its influences are derived from mimicing animals such as the horse and tiger. A student of the art would initially spend maybe even a few years practising nothing but stances. It's regarded as a hard style that incorporates well balanced and strong poses along with tiger claw-like attacks. It is often mis-characterised as an external art that relies on brute force, but in reality practisioners are taught to find there spiritual center of balance, hence the long-term stance training.

This is another style I would personally like to study because of its similarities to Shotokan Karate, namely stances and dynamic techniques.

Jeet Kune Do

It is not possible not to mention the style developed by one of the greatest icons of martial arts and pop culture, Bruce Lee. The man literarily opened up Chinese culture to the west and is considered by many as one of the greatest fighters ever (some could argue but I stand firm in my opinion). In English it's known as the "Way of the Intercepting Fist" or just JKD. The "Bruce Lee Foundation" decided to finally name is "Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do" in 2004 since Jun Fan was Lee's Chinese name. The style's core foundations lie in Wing Chun, with other influences deriving from boxing and fencing. In later years, the style grew through Lee's own peronal development. Thus he never claimed to have created a new fighting art, but more or less wanted to, in his own words, "free his comrades from being bounded by laws and philosophies of distinct styles". For some Jeet Kune Do is considered the father of today's mixed martial arts ideology, where one incorporates a variety of methods best suited for their own mind and body.

I'll be honest, I find the idea of practising Bruce Lee's art to be just awesome. He's one of my greatest idols and I would most definitelly want to "pick his brain" by taking up Jeet Kune Do. I highly reccomend to people who are interested in martial arts to read his book "The Tao of Jeet Kune Do". It will really unlock your minds into a whole new world.

So that's it for my small insight on Chinese Martial Arts and my own personal feelings towards them. I'm greatly looking forward to trying most of these out in hopes to find something new to incorporate to my own studies. Once I do start I will most definitely be posting up my thoughts on them (and maybe provide some pictures along the way).

Peace out all^^

Yannis