Black Tiger Fist (

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

: 黑虎拳 ''Hēihǔquán'') is a northern

Chinese martial art Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...

originating in

Shandong 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 civilizati ...

Province.''Shantung Black Tiger: A Shaolin Fighting Art of North China'' by Leo Budiman Prakarsa (Author), Khek Kiong Tjoa (Author), Donn F. Draeger (Author), Quintin T. G. Chambers (Author

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Origins

The traditional lineage of the system begins with master Wang Zhenyuan in the late nineteenth-century; but the style was originally formed at the

Shaolin Temple Shaolin Monastery (少林寺 ''Shàolínsì''), also known as Shaolin Temple, is a renowned monastic institution recognized as the birthplace of Chan Buddhism and the cradle of Shaolin Kung Fu. It is located at the foot of Wuru Peak of the So ...

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

before being transferred to Wang. The style was then passed from Wang Zhenyuan to Wang Zijiu, Wang Zhixiao (1862–1948), then to Gildardo Castro Cruz(?), and finally to Jose Alí Loaiza Pita(?).

Techniques

The Black Tiger style is characterised by its extensive footwork, acrobatic

kicks A kick is a physical strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee (the latter is also known as a knee strike). This type of atta ...

, low, wide stances, and unique fist position (where the thumb is curled in the same manner as the other

finger A finger is a limb of the body and a type of digit, an organ of manipulation and sensation found in the hands of most of the Tetrapods, so also with humans and other primates. Most land vertebrates have five fingers ( Pentadactyly). Chambers ...

s, rather than wrapped around them). According to the Shaolin grandmasters, the style is the single most

external External may refer to: * External (mathematics), a concept in abstract algebra * Externality In economics, an externality or external cost is an indirect cost or benefit to an uninvolved third party that arises as an effect of another party' ...

style in the Shaolin canon; the longer the stylist practices, however, the more he or she comes to rely solely on

internal Internal may refer to: *Internality as a concept in behavioural economics *Neijia, internal styles of Chinese martial arts *Neigong or "internal skills", a type of exercise in meditation associated with Daoism *''Internal (album)'' by Safia, 2016 ...

power.

References

{{Kung fu schools Chinese martial arts Buddhist martial arts