Hong Kong cinema has undoubtedly influenced the current Western view of Chinese martial arts, a romantic view in which Kung Fu training is motivated by high values. But is this a vision adjusted to reality? Has there been a similar view of martial arts in China before the modern era?
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The Thirty-Six Stratagems (三十六計 Sānshíliù Jì) is a book that collects the knowledge of the Chinese people about warfare, listing a series of strategies or tricks to impose themselves in a war conflict, which any military leader and strategist should know.
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Countless times we refuse to face our fear and avoid the situations we are afraid of. We may never be able to get rid of it completely, but we can learn to live with it, without letting it condition us.
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The “ten essential points” of Tàijíquán (太極拳十要 Tàijíquán shí yào) are a series of key principles for the practice of this martial art. They were dictated orally by Master Yáng Chéngfǔ 楊澄甫 and recorded by his disciple Chén Wēimíng 陳微明.
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The jiàn 劍 or double-edged straight sword appeared in China two thousand seven hundred years ago. However, over time its use would be abandoned on the battlefield and became a symbolic and ritual weapon, which would end up being associated with scholarship and the upper class.
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Because of the way it conditions the practice and learning of martial arts, we believe that approach is at least as important as the method itself. We should stimulate reflection on certain aspects of Kung Fu training and teaching today, to encourage a healthy attitude towards practice.
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Today, Chinese martial arts are often divided between external styles (外家 wàijiā) and internal styles (內家 nèijiā). However, this division is not accepted by all practitioners and, if we contemplate how these concepts originated, we can realize that the classification has little practical basis.
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Yáng Lùchán 楊露禪 was a master of Tàijíquán 太極拳 and one of the greatest martial artists of his time. He is considered the founder of the Yáng style of Tàijíquán 楊氏太極拳 and was an essential figure in the popularization of this martial art.
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In 1973 a collection of manuscripts written mostly on silk dealing with a wide variety of subjects was unearthed in Mǎwángduī 馬王堆. Among them, in addition to a series of medical texts, the Dǎoyǐntú 導引圖 stands out, a silk scroll with drawings that resemble the exercises that we know today as Qìgōng 氣功.
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The biànzi 辮子 was a traditional way of wearing hair, imposed by manchu rulers on the local population after the conquest of China and the establishment of the Qīng 清 dynasty in 1636.
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