Chinese martial arts: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 13:03, 28 December 2006

Revision as of 13:07, 28 December 2006

Line 38:

{{main|Styles of Chinese martial arts}}

:''For a list of styles, see [[list of Chinese martial arts]].''

China arguably has one of the longest histories of continuously recorded martial arts tradition with hundreds of different styles, perhaps the most of any society in the world. Of the hundreds of Chinese martial arts that have developed over the past two to four thousand years, there are many distinctive styles with their own sets of techniques and ideas. Also, there are many themes common to different styles that lead many to characterize them as belonging to generalized "families" (家, jiā), "sects" (派, pai) or "schools" (門, men) of martial art styles. There are styles that mimic movements from animals and others that gather inspiration from various Chinese philosophies, myths and legends. Some styles put most of their focus into the belief of the harnessing of [[qi]] energy, while others concentrate solely on competition and exhibition. Each style offers a different approach to the common problems of self-defense, health and self-cultivation.

Chinese martial arts can be split into various categories to differentiate them: For example, ''external'' (外家拳) and ''internal'' (内家拳). Chinese martial arts can also be categorized by ___location, as in ''northern'' (北拳) and ''southern'' (南拳) as well, referring to what part of China the styles originated from, separated by the [[Yangtze River]] (Chang Jiang); Chinese martial arts may even be classified according to their province or city. The main perceived difference about northern and southern styles is that the northern styles tend to emphasize fast and powerful kicks, high jumps and generally fluid and rapid movement, while the southern styles focus more on strong arm and hand techniques, and stable, immovable stances and fast footwork. Examples of the northern styles include [[Changquan]] and the sword and broadsword routines used in contemporary Wushu competitions, and examples of the southern styles include [[Nanquan]], [[Houquan]] (monkey style) and [[Wing Chun]]. Chinese martial arts can also be divided according to religion, imitative-styles (象形拳), and more. There are distinctive differences in the training between different groups of Chinese martial arts regardless of the type of classification.