Tai chi chuan (traditional Chinese: 太極拳; simplified Chinese: 太极拳; pinyin: tàijíquán; Wade-Giles: t’ai4 chi2 ch’üan2) is an internal Chinese martial art often practiced for health reasons. Tai chi is typically practiced for a variety of other personal reasons: its hard and soft martial art technique, demonstration competitions, health and longevity. Consequently, a multitude of training forms exist, both traditional and modern, which correspond to those aims. Some of tai chi chuan’s training forms are well known to Westerners as the slow motion routines that groups of people practice together every morning in parks around the world, particularly in China. more…
Thursday, May 28th, 2009 / Armando Alvarado
Category: Wushu Styles
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Saturday, May 23rd, 2009 / Armando Alvarado
The Chinese word Gun (Chinese: 棍; pinyin: gùn) refers to a long Chinese staff weapon used in Chinese martial arts. It is known as one of the four major weapons, along with the Qiang (spear), Dao (sabre), and the Jian (sword), called in this group “The Grandfather of all Weapons“. more…
Category: Esperanto
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Friday, May 22nd, 2009 / Armando Alvarado
The jian is a double-edged straight sword used during the last 2,500 years in China. The first Chinese sources that mention the jian date to the 7th century BC during the Spring and Autumn Period;[1] one of the earliest specimens being the Sword of Goujian. Historical one-handed versions have blades varying from 45 to 80 centimeters (17.7 to 31.5 inches) in length. The weight of an average sword of 70-centimeter (28-inch) blade-length would be in a range of approximately 700 to 900 grams (1.5 to 2 pounds).[2] There are also larger two-handed versions used for training by many styles of Chinese martial arts.
In Chinese folklore, it is known as “The Gentleman of Weapons” and is considered one of the four major weapons, along with the Gun (staff), Qiang (spear), and the Dao (sabre). more…
Category: Wushu Weapons
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Wednesday, May 20th, 2009 / Armando Alvarado
Qiang (traditional Chinese: 槍; simplified Chinese: 枪; pinyin: qīang) is the Chinese term for spear. Due to its relative ease of manufacture, the spear in many variations was ubiquitous on the pre-modern Chinese battlefield. It is known as one of the four major weapons, along with the Gun (staff), Dao (sabre), and the Jian (sword), called in this group “The King of Weapons“.
Common features of the Chinese spear are the leaf shaped blade and red horse-hair tassel lashed just below.
When the spear is moving quickly, the addition of the tassel aids in blurring the vision of the opponent so that it is more difficult for them to grab the shaft of spear behind the head or tip. The tassel also served another purpose, to stop the flow of blood from the blade getting to the wooden shaft (the blood would make it slippery, or sticky when dried). The length varied from around 7 feet (2 meters) long, commonly used by infantry, increasing up to the length of 13 feet (4 meters) favoured by cavalry. The spear is typically made of wax wood, a strong but flexible wood. It bends to absorb impact preventing breakage. The bending motion combined with the horse hair tassel makes the spear tip very hard to follow.
Many Chinese martial arts feature spear training in their curriculum. The conditioning provided by spear technique is seen as invaluable and in many styles it is the first weapons training introduced to students. Moreover, some schools of empty handed fighting in China credit spear technique as their foundation, notably Xingyiquan and Bajiquan.
Category: Wushu Weapons
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Saturday, May 16th, 2009 / Armando Alvarado
Dao (Chinese: 刀; pinyin: dāo; Wade-Giles: tao1, “knife”) is a category of single-edge Chinese swords primarily used for slashing and chopping (sabres), often called a broadsword in English translation because some varieties have wide blades. In China, the dao is known as one of the four major weapons, along with the Gun (staff), Qiang (spear), and the Jian (sword), and referred to as “The General of All Weapons”. Dao is actually a generic word used to denote any member of a family of single-edged, broad-bladed cutting or slicing tools, but in common, everyday usage means knife.
The weapon, also known as dan dao 單刀 (single knife) when just one is used, is thereby thought to be an adaptation of the kitchen knives common to Chinese cuisine. Dao also appears in the names of such polearms as the pudao and guan dao, indicating that their blades were primarily intended for slashing and cutting attacks rather then stabbing ones more…
Category: Wushu Weapons
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Saturday, May 16th, 2009 / Armando Alvarado
Nanquan (Chinese: 南拳; pinyin: Nánquán; literally “southern fist”) refers to those Chinese martial arts that originated south of the Yangtze River of China, including Hung Kuen, Choi Lei Fut, and Wing Chun. more…
Category: Wushu Styles
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Thursday, May 14th, 2009 / Armando Alvarado
Guan Yu (160 – 219) fue un general de la milicia bajo el mando de Liu Bei durante la dinastía Han tardía del este y el período de los tres reinos de la antigua China.
Uno de los mejores guerreros de los tres reinos. Bien preparado en la administración y preparación tanto de ciudades como de ejércitos. Un gran maestro en la caballería y prácticamente fue reconocido con el mote de “Dios de la Guerra”. Fue leal hasta la muerte a sus dos hermanos con los que, en el rosa jardín de melocotones, había jurado:
- “Aunque nacidos en días distintos juramos morir juntos en el mismo día del mismo mes del mismo año.” more…
Category: Wushu People
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Thursday, May 14th, 2009 / Armando Alvarado
The Chinese weapon known as the pudao (朴刀, literally: celtis sabre) was originally an edged infantry weapon which is still used for training in many Chinese martial arts. The pudao is also known as the horse-cutter sword since it was used to slice the legs out from under a horse during battle. The blade of a pudao is shaped like a Chinese broadsword, but the weapon has a longer handle usually around one and a half to two meters (about four to six feet) which is circular in cross section. It looks somewhat similar to a guandao but the difference is that a podao has a lighter and longer blade with a ring at the other end and is an infantryman’s weapon while a guandao has a heavier blade with a longer haft, a pointed tip at the other end and is usually a cavalryman’s weapon.
Category: Wushu Weapons
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Thursday, May 14th, 2009 / Armando Alvarado
In the Chinese martial arts, imagery of the Five Animals (Chinese: 五形; pinyin: wǔ xíng; literally “Five Forms”)—Tiger, Crane, Leopard, Snake, and Dragon—appears predominantly in Southern styles, especially those associated with Guangdong and Fujian Provinces.
Category: Wushu Styles
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Wednesday, May 13th, 2009 / Armando Alvarado
Chángquán (traditional Chinese: 長拳; simplified Chinese: 长拳; pinyin: Chángqúan; literally “Long Fist“) is a general term for external (as opposed to internal) Northern Wushu. It is one of the types of Wushu kung fu.
Category: Wushu Styles
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