Ditangquan, (, literally "ground tumbling

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

") is a category of

martial art Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

that originated in the

Shandong Province Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizatio ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

during the

Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

(960–1279).

History

According to the Quanzhou Ditangquan Fa style, a Dishuquan practitioner monk by the name of Hui Kai, a fellow of Sui Yue (also a Dishuquan practitioner) from the White Lotus temple, taught the art of Ditangquan Fa (Ground sequences Canine Methods) to Zheng Yishan. Zheng Yishan taught very few students but the main proponent of the art was Zhuang Zishen.

Characteristics

The major characteristic of ditangquan is the ability to perform tumbles, falls, turns, leg skills,

somersault A somersault (also ''flip'', ''heli'', and in gymnastics ''salto'') is an acrobatic exercise in which a person's body rotates 360° around a horizontal axis with the feet passing over the head. A somersault can be performed forwards, backwards ...

s and aerial

acrobatics Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most often performed in acro ...

using those techniques for both offense and defense. Since the time of its origin, this martial art has spread throughout

and has been incorporated into other martial arts styles. Although ditangquan exists as a traditional style, extant versions of it were unknown to the Chinese modern wushu coaches and players of the 1970s; as a result, a "new" version of Ditangquan was created based on the tumbling techniques of monkey and drunken styles, but without the characteristic monkey or drunken movements.Where Wushu Went Wrong
, Origins of Modern Ditang. Today, traditional versions of Ditangquan can still be found included as parts of other styles, such as in chuojiao, or as separate martial arts, such as Fujian góuquán (dog style); in the traditional styles, there is less emphasis on tumbling and more emphasis on attacking and defending while falling on the ground. In modern wushu, however, the "new" ditangquan remains a common style used in competition today.

Styles

Examples of the varieties of Ditangquan that now exist include, among others: * Moving-on-the-Ground Boxing (地行拳); * Plum Blossom Ground Tumbling Boxing (地躺梅花拳); * Shaolin Earth Dragon Boxing (少林地龙拳); * Flying Dragon Ground Tumbling Boxing (飞龙地躺拳);

References

External links

Di Tang Ground Boxing 地趟
Chinese martial arts {{martialart-stub