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Neijia
''Neijia'' ( 內家) is the collective name for the internal Chinese martial arts. It relates to those martial arts occupied with spiritual, mental or '' qi''-related aspects, as opposed to an " external" approach focused on physiological aspects. The distinction dates to the 17th century, but its modern application is due to publications by Sun Lutang, dating to the period of 1915 to 1928. '' Neijin'' is developed by using '' neigong'' or "internal changes", contrasted with ''waigong'' ( 外 功; ''wàigōng'') or "external exercises" . '' Wudangquan'' is a more specific grouping of internal martial arts named for their association in popular Chinese legend with the Taoist monasteries of the Wudang Mountains in Hubei province. These styles were enumerated by Sun Lutang as tai chi, '' xingyiquan'' and '' baguazhang'', but most also include '' bajiquan'' and the legendary Wudang Sword. Some other Chinese arts, not in the wudangquan group, such as ''qigong'', '' liuhebafa'', '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xingyiquan
形意拳, Xingyiquan , or Xingyi, is a style of internal Chinese martial arts. The word approximately translates to "Form-Intention Fist", or "Shape-Will Fist". The style is characterized by aggressive, seemingly linear movements, and explosive power most often applied from a short range. A practitioner of xingyi uses coordinated movements to generate bursts of power intended to overwhelm the opponent, simultaneously attacking and defending. Methods vary from school to school but always include bare-handed fighting (mostly in single movements/combinations and sometimes in forms) and using weapons with similar body mechanics to those in bare-handed intense fighting. Movement and body mechanics in the art were heavily influenced by the practice of using staves and spears. Historically and technically related martial arts include Dai-style ''xinyi liuhequan'', ''liuhe xinyiquan'', and '' yiquan''. Origins Legends The earliest written records of xingyi can be traced to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wudangquan
Wudangquan ( zh, p=Wǔdāngquán, s=武當拳) is a class of Chinese martial arts. In contemporary China, Chinese martial arts styles are generally classified into two major groups: Wudang (Wutang), named after the Wudang Mountains; and Shaolin, named after the Shaolin Monastery. Whereas Shaolin includes many martial art styles, Wudangquan includes only a few arts that use the focused mind to control the body. This typically encompasses tai chi, xingyiquan and baguazhang, but most also include bajiquan and Wudang Sword. The association with Wudang originated with a popular Chinese legend in which tai chi, Wudang sword, and other internal martial arts are purported to have been created by an immortal Taoist hermit named Zhang San Feng. The terms Wudang and Shaolin were selected in the early twentieth century by the first modern Chinese martial arts historians to distinguish internal and external martial arts. However, they and later historians have found no historical connect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qigong
Qigong ()) is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation said to be useful for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial arts training. With roots in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chinese medicine, Chinese philosophy, philosophy, and Chinese martial arts, martial arts, qigong is traditionally viewed by the Chinese and throughout Asia as a practice to cultivate and balance the mystical life-force ''qi''. Qigong practice typically involves moving meditation, coordinating slow-flowing movement, deep rhythmic breathing, and a calm meditative state of mind. People practice qigong throughout China and worldwide for recreation, exercise, relaxation, preventive medicine, self-healing, alternative medicine, meditation, self-cultivation, and training for martial arts. Etymology ''Qigong'' (Pinyin), ''ch'i kung'' (Wade-Giles), and ''chi gung'' (Yale romanization of Mandarin, Yale) are romanizations of two Chinese words "''qì''" and "''gōng''" ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liuhebafa
''Liuhebafa quan'' ( zh, c=六合八法拳, p=liùhébāfǎ quán, l=Six-Harmonies Eight-Methods Boxing) is an Neijia, internal Chinese martial art. It has been called "''xinyi liuhebafa''" (心意六合八法拳) and is also referred to as "water boxing" ( zh, c= 水拳, p=shuǐquán, labels=no) due to its principles. History The Song dynasty Taoist sage Chen Tuan is often credited with its origin and development. He was associated with the Taoist Monastery on Mount Hua in Shaanxi Province. The ''liuhebafa'' form ''zhu ji'' ( zh, c=築基, p=zhú jī, labels=no) was taught in the late 1930s in Shanghai and Nanjing by Wu Yihui (1887–1958). It is said he had learned the art from three teachers: Yan Guoxing, Chen Guangdi (who learned the art from a monk, Da Yuan and a Taoist, Li Chan), and Chen Helu. Many of Wu Yihui's students had martial arts backgrounds and modified the form to merge it with their own knowledge. This is one of several explanations for its similarities w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wudang Sword
Wudang Sword is a body of Chinese straight sword (''jian'') techniques—famous in China—encompassed by the '' Wudangquan'' or internal martial arts. The oldest reputable accounts of Wudang Sword begin with Grandmaster Song Weiyi around the turn of the 20th century. Sung taught Wudang Sword to Li Jinglin and a few others. He learned the art from a Daoist named Zhang Yehe, who was the 8th generation lineage holder. Song also learned the martial art of ''bagua'' from the kung fu brother of Dong Haichuan, credited as the creator of ''baguazhang''. Disciples of Li Jinglin who learned the Wudang Sword were Huang Yuan Xiou, Meng Xiaofeng, who taught current head Grandmaster in China Ma Jie, and Yang Kuishan, who taught modern day Grandmaster Qian Timing. Both Ma Jie and Qian Timing taught Chang Wuna and Lu Meihui, the current masters of the 13th generation. Li Jinglin also taught his art to many of his friends and colleagues such as Sun Lutang and Fu Zhensong Fu Zhensong (; 187 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ziranmen
Ziranmen (), also known as Natural Boxing, is a Northern internal style of kung fu that is taught in conjunction with ''qigong'' breathing techniques. The style traces its lineage to Dwarf Xu, who based it on ancient Taoist philosophy. Du Xinwu, the next bearer of the lineage, served as a bodyguard to Sun Yat-sen, then the provisional president of the Republic of China. Du imparted his knowledge of "Natural Boxing" to his eldest son Du Xiusi and Wan Laisheng, a prominent twentieth century martial artist. Philosophy Ziranmen is based on ancient Taoist philosophy, Traditional Chinese Medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medicine, alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific, with the majority of treatments having no robust evidence ... and, most importantly, the philosophy of "One and Zero". It combines physical training, ''qigong'', meditation and combat techniques. Thr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yang Shaohou
Yang Shaohou (; 1862–1930) was a Chinese martial arts master who, along with Yang Chengfu (楊澄甫; 1883–1936), represents the third generation of Yang-style tai chi. Grandmaster of his generation and known for his compact "small-frame" techniques, he was a ferocious fighter and a demanding teacher. Early life Yang began learning tai chi at age 7, in Beijing under his father Yang Jianhou, his uncle Yang Banhou (who formally adopted him), and his grandfather — the founder of Yang-style tai chi — Yang Luchan. His name at birth was Yang Zhaoxiong (楊兆熊, Pinyin: Yáng Zhàoxióng). But as was common in the era, as he reached adulthood he took the courtesy name Yang Mengxiang (楊梦祥, Pinyin: Yáng Mèngxiáng), and after he earned a reputation he changed it to Yang Shaohou. Shaohou can be translated as "young noble", and makes use of the "hou" (侯) character from his father's and uncle's names in a reflection of respect for his lineage and his status as grandma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neijin
In advanced traditional Chinese kung fu (martial arts), Neijin (Traditional Chinese: 內 勁; pinyin: nèijìn) refers to the conscious control of the practitioner's qi, or "life energy" via strengthening self physical posture, to gain power delivery capability and efficiency advantages in combat. Nèijìn is developed by using "Neigong" (Traditional Chinese: 內功; pinyin: nèigōng) (內 功), or "internal exercises," as opposed to "wàigōng" ( 外 功), "external exercises." Li vs. Neijin Practitioners of kung fu refer to two separate forms of personal force: Li (Traditional Chinese: 力) refers to the more elementary use of tangible physical (or "external") force, such as that produced by muscles. Neijin (Traditional Chinese:內勁) or Neigong (Traditional Chinese: 內功), in contrast, refer to "internal" forces produced via advanced mental control over psychic energy (the qi). The degree of Li force one can employ in kung fu depends on several variables such as res ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neigong
''Neigong'' (internal strength or internal skill), also spelled ''nei kung'', ''neigung'', or ''nae gong'', refers to a series of internal changes that a practitioner goes through when following the path to '' Dao'', and these changes may be achieved through practices including ''qigong'' or tai chi. ''Neigong'' is also associated with '' xingyi quan''. Neigong practice is normally associated with the so-called "soft style", "internal" or ''neijia'' Chinese martial arts, as opposed to the category known as ''waigong'' or "external skill" which is historically associated with Shaolin kung fu or the so-called "hard style", "external" or '' waijia'' Chinese martial arts. Both have many different schools, disciplines and practices and historically there has been mutual influence between the two and distinguishing precisely between them differs from school to school. Internal martial arts The martial art school of ''neigong'' emphasises training the coordination of the individua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wudang Mountains
The Wudang Mountains () are a mountain range in the northwestern part of Hubei, China. They are home to a famous complex of Taoist temples and monasteries associated with the Lord of the North, Xuantian Shangdi. The Wudang Mountains are renowned for the practice of tai chi and Taoism as the Taoist counterpart to the Shaolin Monastery, which is affiliated with Chan Buddhism. The Wudang Mountains are one of the " Four Sacred Mountains of Taoism" in China, an important destination for Taoist pilgrimages. The monasteries such as the Wudang Garden were made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994 because of their religious significance and architectural achievement. Geography On Chinese maps, the name "Wudangshan" () is applied both to the entire mountain range (which runs east-west along the southern edge of the Han River, crossing several county-level divisions of Shiyan), and to the group of peaks located within Wudangshan subdistrict of Danjiangkou, Shiyan. It is the latter speci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yiquan
''Yiquan'', also known as ''dachengquan'', is a Chinese martial art founded by the ''xingyiquan'' master Wang Xiangzhai. ''Yì'' (意) means Intent (but not intention), ''quán'' (拳) means boxing. History Having studied ''xingyiquan'' with Guo Yunshen in his childhood,The Way Of Power, Lam Kam Chuen, Gaia Books, 2003 Wang Xiangzhai travelled China, meeting and comparing skills with masters of various styles of kung fu. In the mid-1920s, he came to the conclusion that ''xingyiquan'' students put too much emphasis on complex patterns of movement (outer form "''xing''"), while he believed in the prevalent importance of the development of the mind in order to boost physical martial art skills. He started to teach what he felt was the true essence of the art using a different name, without the ''xing'' (form). Wang Xiangzhai, who had a great knowledge about the theory and history of his art, called it "''yiquan''" (意拳). In the 1940s one of Wang Xiangzhai's students wrote ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tai Chi
is a Chinese martial art. Initially developed for combat and self-defense, for most practitioners it has evolved into a sport and form of exercise. As an exercise, tai chi is performed as gentle, low-impact movement in which practitioners perform a series of deliberate, flowing motions while focusing on deep, slow breaths. Often referred to as " meditation in motion", tai chi aims to concentrate and balance the body's purported (vital energy), providing benefits to mental and physical health. Many forms of tai chi are practiced, both traditional and modern. While the precise origins are not known, the earliest documented practice is from Chen Village and Zhabao Village in Henan on the North China Plain, a region where centuries of rebellions, invasions, and adverse economic and social conditions nurtured the development of a wide range of martial arts, including those of the Shaolin Monastery on Mount Song at the western edge of the plain. Most modern styles trace th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
