Ziranmen or Zi Ran Men (), also known as Natural Boxing, is a

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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 ...

style of

kung fu 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 ...

that is taught in conjunction with

Qigong ''Qigong'' (), ''qi gong'', ''chi kung'', ''chi 'ung'', or ''chi gung'' () is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation used for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial-arts training. With roots in ...

breathing techniques. The style traces its lineage to Dwarf Xu, who based it on ancient

Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...

philosophy.

Du Xinwu Du Xinwu (; 1869–1953), aka Ru Xia (儒侠), Dou Mi Guan Jushi (斗米观居士) was a Chinese martial artist and an important figure in the development of Zi Ran Men kung fu. Du was born into a wealthy family in the city of Zhangjiajie in Hu ...

, the next bearer of the lineage, served as a bodyguard to

Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...

, then the provisional president of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

. Du imparted his knowledge of "Natural Boxing" to his eldest son Du Xiu Si and Wan Laisheng, a prominent twentieth century martial artist.

Philosophy

Zi Ran Men/nature boxing is based on ancient Taoist philosophy,

Traditional Chinese Medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...

and, most importantly, the philosophy of "One and Zero". It combines physical training, qigong, meditation and combat techniques. Through training, Zi Ran Men is said to enhance the spirit of the mind, regulate the circulation of qi and develops physical sensitivity. According to practitioners when the body is in harmony, you will live a long and healthy life. The main principle of Zi Ran Men is to overwhelm the opponent by attacking continuously, using every part of the body to strike. Zi Ran Men make use of four fundamental techniques: ''Tun'' (contraction), ''Tu'' (expansion), ''Fu'' (floating) and ''Chen'' (sinking). These techniques are generally expressed through movement of the spine. Zi Ran Men is also noted for its footwork (''bu fa''), which involves moving lightly on the balls of the feet and enables sudden changes of direction. Kicks are a key part of the art's arsenal.

Training

Unlike many internal martial arts, Zi Ran Men's early training focuses on hard physical exertion, with the internal aspects only becoming apparent to the practitioner later in training. The style contains over eighty extended forms and hundreds of short combination drills. Training to exhaustion in these methods forces the student to cease using muscular force and to move in a relaxed manner. The basic training routine is a static exercise which involves rotating the hands in sequence; Du Xinwu is said to have practiced this routine atop wooden stakes with weighted sandbags attached to his arms and legs, which enabled him to highly develop his ''qing gong'' ("light body technique"). Over time, the student's natural stepping movements develop into lower stances. Zi Ran Men emphasises the natural development of movement. Practitioners also make use of ''pai da gong'' techniques, which involves striking and being struck by various pieces of equipment, including wooden posts, sandbags and iron balls. These practices are intended to strengthen the body and increase striking power. An item of equipment apparently unique to Zin Ran Men is the "pushing/striking cart", a wooden cart filled with stone which is moved by shoves and strikes.

References

{{Kung fu schools Chinese martial arts