Many Kung Fu styles trace their origins to an alleged Shàolín 少林 temple in the southern province of Fújiàn 福建, which would be attacked by the troops of the Qīng 清 dynasty, and from which only five monks, known as the Five Elders or Five Ancestors of Shàolín (少林五祖 Shàolín wǔ zǔ), would escape.
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Many martial styles incorporate meditation practices in different ways or have an important meditative component in their practice. But, what is meditation, and why is it related to martial arts?
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Qī Jìguāng 戚繼光, a general of the Míng 明 dynasty and military genius, not only invented the “mandarin duck” formation (鴛鴦陣 yuānyāng zhèn), but modified the design of the Chinese long sabre based on the Japanese one, and also studied Japanese sword techniques to introduce them into the handling of this weapon.
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The ink brush (毛筆 máo bǐ) is used in both Chinese calligraphy and traditional painting, and is one of the Four Treasures of the Study (文房四寶 wén fáng sì bǎo). Let’s see its features and the different types that exist.
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The Silk Road (丝绸之路 Sīchóu Zhīlù) was a network of land roads that made up one of the most important trade routes in history. Zhāng Qiān 張騫 was an important figure in the opening of this trade route and the cultural exchange between East and West.
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Within the Choy Li Fut system we have a myriad of martial techniques of all kinds: fist techniques, kicks, qin-na 擒拿, sweeps… In addition, it is remarkable a wide variety of strikes with open hand or palm techniques, that come to us from Chan Heung’s first master and uncle, Chan Yuen-Woo 陳遠護, who was an expert in the Fut Gar system or Buddha’s Palm style.
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Qī Jìguāng 戚繼光 was a general of the Míng 明 dynasty, famous for leading expeditions against the attacks of the Japanese pirates wōkòu 倭寇 and later against the Mongols in the north. He was a military genius who, among other achievements, invented the “Mandarin Duck” formation (鴛鴦陣 yuānyāng zhèn), which we will examine in this article.
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General Yuè Fēi 岳飛 (1103–1142) was a famous Chinese national hero of the Sòng dynasty 宋朝, who is credited with creating different styles of martial arts, such as the Eagle’s Claw (鷹爪派 Yīng Zhǎo Pài) or Xìng Yì Quán 形意拳, among others.
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Wǔ Qín Xì 五禽戏 (Five Animals’ Game) is a series of Qì Gōng 氣功 exercises, designed to strengthen the body and preserve health, whose creation is usually attributed to Huá Tuó 華佗, a Chinese physician who lived during the Hàn 漢 dynasty.
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From the first sabres of the Shāng 商 dynasty, to the most recent of the twentieth century, the sabre (dāo 刀) is a weapon that has continued to evolve throughout the history of China, and has been used by regular armies as well as by all kinds of militias, bandits and martial artists.
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