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Flying Claws
The flying claw, flying talon or soft talon (Chinese: 飞爪; pinyin: ''fēi zhua'') is used to ensnare a foe and throw them off balance. It originated in China during the Sui Dynasty and is one of the flexible or soft weapons in the Chinese martial arts. It features metal hand or claw on the end of a chain or rope. It is in the same family as the meteor hammer, rope dart, and chain whip. It is designed to wrap, capture, entangle and grip. Some are more elaborate and the claw actually closes and tightens when the rope/chain is pulled. Those are constructed with a spring mechanism within the metal claw that allows the claw to open and close as the tether is pulled or released. Some of the latter can grab trees and rip off the bark. The flying claw varies in reach and chain/rope length. Length of the chain or rope can be up to 15 meters. Mace variant of the weapon existed, called iron claw (Chinese: 挝; ''tiē zhǎo''), where the (opened) claw is not attached to a chain or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Language
Chinese (, especially when referring to written Chinese) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in Greater China. About 1.3 billion people (or approximately 16% of the world's population) speak a variety of Chinese as their first language. Chinese languages form the Sinitic branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages family. The spoken varieties of Chinese are usually considered by native speakers to be variants of a single language. However, their lack of mutual intelligibility means they are sometimes considered separate languages in a family. Investigation of the historical relationships among the varieties of Chinese is ongoing. Currently, most classifications posit 7 to 13 main regional groups based on phonetic developments from Middle Chinese, of which the most spoken by far is Mandarin (with about 800 million speakers, or 66%), followed by Min (75 million, e.g. Southern Min), Wu (74 million, e.g. Shangh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese form, to learners already familiar with the Latin alphabet. The system includes four diacritics denoting tones, but pinyin without tone marks is used to spell Chinese names and words in languages written in the Latin script, and is also used in certain computer input methods to enter Chinese characters. The word ' () literally means "Han language" (i.e. Chinese language), while ' () means "spelled sounds". The pinyin system was developed in the 1950s by a group of Chinese linguists including Zhou Youguang and was based on earlier forms of romanizations of Chinese. It was published by the Chinese Government in 1958 and revised several times. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) adopted pinyin as an international standard ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sui Dynasty
The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and laying the foundations for the much longer lasting Tang dynasty. Founded by Emperor Wen of Sui, the Sui dynasty capital was Chang'an (which was renamed Daxing, modern Xi'an, Shaanxi) from 581–605 and later Luoyang (605–18). Emperors Wen and his successor Yang undertook various centralized reforms, most notably the equal-field system, intended to reduce economic inequality and improve agricultural productivity; the institution of the Five Departments and Six Board (五省六曹 or 五省六部) system, which is a predecessor of Three Departments and Six Ministries system; and the standardization and re-unification of the coinage. They also spread and encouraged Buddhism throughout the empire. By the middle of the dynasty, the newly unifi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Martial Arts
Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common traits, identified as "families" of martial arts. Examples of such traits include ''Shaolin kung fu, Shaolinquan'' () physical exercises involving Five Animals, All Other Animals () mimicry or training methods inspired by Chinese philosophies, Old Chinese philosophies, religions and legends. Styles that focus on qi manipulation are called ''Internal martial arts, internal'' (; ), while others that concentrate on improving muscle and cardiovascular fitness are called ''Styles of Chinese martial arts#External styles, external'' (; ). Geographical association, as in ''northern'' (; ) and ''southern'' (; ), is another popular classification method. Terminology ''Kung fu'' and ''wu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meteor Hammer
The meteor hammer (), often referred to simply as meteor (), is an ancient Chinese weapon, consisting at its most basic level of two weights connected by a rope or chain. One of the flexible or "soft" weapons, it is referred to by many different names worldwide, dependent upon region, construction and intended use. Other names in use include ''dai chui'', flying hammer, or dragon's fist. It belongs to the broader classes of flail and chain weapons. There is little evidence that they saw use in actual historical combat. Design A meteor hammer consists of a flexible chain or rope with a weight attached to one or both ends. Their construction is similar to a bola, but they are heavier and are not suitable for throwing. As a flexible weapon, meteor hammers can be easily concealed, and may be used as a defensive or surprise weapon. Using a meteor hammer involves swinging the weight around the body to build up angular momentum, and then striking at the target. If the weight is swu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rope Dart
The rope dart or rope javelin (), is one of the flexible weapons in Chinese martial arts. Other weapons in this family include the meteor hammer, flying claws, Fei Tou flying weight, and chain whip. Although the flexible weapons share similar movements, each weapon has its own specific techniques. The rope dart is a long rope (usually ) with a metal dart attached to one end. This was a weapon from ancient times, which allows the user to throw the dart out at a long-range target and use the rope to pull it back. The rope dart can be used for twining, binding, circling, hitting, piercing, tightening, slashing and other techniques. Rope dart play consists of twining, shooting, and retrieval. Twining and shooting can be done from any joint such as foot, knee, elbow, and neck. The rope is anchored on one hand and played primarily with the other hand. Skillful use of the rope dart can easily trick an opponent because the dart can shoot out very suddenly, from a person beyond immedia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chain Whip
The chain whip, also known as the soft whip, is a weapon used in some Chinese martial arts, particularly traditional Chinese disciplines, in addition to modern and traditional wushu. It consists of several metal rods, which are joined end-to-end by rings to form a flexible chain. Generally, the whip has a handle at one end and a metal dart, used for slashing or piercing an opponent, at the other. A cloth flag is often attached at or near the dart end of the whip and a second flag may cover the whip's handle. The flag or flags adds visual appeal and produces a rushing sound as the whip swings through the air. The rushing noise also helps the user with identifying the location of the other end, since the weapon moves too fast to be normally noticed by human eyes. Construction There is no standard on the length of the chain whip. The typical length is also different between north and south China. The chain is shorter in the south which make it more suitable for close quarter fight ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tiger & Crane Fists
''Tiger & Crane Fists'' () (AKA ''Savage Killers''). Accessed 2 November 2009. is a 1976 kung fu movie, starring 70s Hong Kong star Jimmy Wang Yu. The story concerns the Tiger and the Crane martial arts style of two schools that has been separated from each other for many years. No one can determine which technique is the best. Both organizations find they must put their differences aside and work together in order to defeat Lu Ting Chu, who is a nearly invincible lackey for Japanese occupational forces. Defeating Chu is essential to repelling the Japanese invaders. Footage from the film was later used in the comedy movie ''Kung Pow! Enter the Fist ''Kung Pow! Enter the Fist'' is a 2002 American martial arts comedy film that parodies Hong Kong action cinema. Written, directed by and starring Steve Oedekerk, it uses footage from the 1976 Hong Kong martial arts film ''Tiger & Crane Fists'' ...''. Cast Notes External links * 1976 films Hong Kong action films ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kung Pow! Enter The Fist
''Kung Pow! Enter the Fist'' is a 2002 American martial arts comedy film that parodies Hong Kong action cinema. Written, directed by and starring Steve Oedekerk, it uses footage from the 1976 Hong Kong martial arts film '' Tiger & Crane Fists'' (also called ''Savage Killers''), along with new footage shot by Oedekerk, to create an original, unrelated plot. The film was a moderate box office success, grossing $17 million worldwide, and received negative reviews. Plot A man, called The Chosen One by the narrator, wanders from town to town to search for the man who killed his family and tried to kill him when he was a baby. In one town, he meets Master Tang, a very ill and slightly deranged sifu, and asks Tang to help him improve his already impressive martial arts ability. Master Tang is skeptical at first, but after seeing The Chosen One's mark (his sentient tongue, which he names Tonguey), he allows him to train at his dojo. The Chosen One is introduced to two other students: ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chain And Rope Throwing Weapons
A chain is a wikt:series#Noun, serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression (physics), compression but line (geometry), linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension (physics), tension. A chain may consist of two or more links. Chains can be classified by their design, which can be dictated by their use: * Those designed for lifting, such as when used with a Hoist (device), hoist; for pulling; or for securing, such as with a bicycle lock, have links that are torus shaped, which make the chain flexible in two dimensions (the fixed third dimension being a chain's length). Small chains serving as jewellery are a mostly decorative analogue of such types. * Those designed for transferring power in machines have links designed to mesh with the teeth of the sprockets of the machine, and are flexible in only one dimension. They are known as roller chains, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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