Chin Woo Athletic Association

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Chin Woo Athletic Association (Traditional Chinese:精武體育會, Simplified Chinese:精武体育会, Pinyin: JīngWǔ TǐYù Huì; lit. Elite Martial Athletic Association) is a Chinese martial arts association founded in Shanghai on July 7, 1910, but conflicting sources also cite dates in 1909. Due to the the inherent weakness of anglicization, it can be found spelled in many ways - Jing Mo, Ching Wu, Jing Wo, etc.

Many sources say that Chin Woo was founded by Huo Yuanjia^[1] (霍元甲), the famed challenge fighter who died within months of its establishment. This gives the false impression that only one person founded the entire association when in reality it was founded by a committee of people. Due to Huo Yuanjia's popularity and recent death, the committee had decided that he should be the "face" of Chin Woo, resulting in his strong association with it.

Because Huo was widely admired as a Chinese national hero, a series of other masters agreed to teach at the school including Eagle Claw (鷹爪派) master Chen ZiZheng (陳子正), Seven Star Praying Mantis (七星螳螂拳) master Luo Guangyu (羅光玉), Xingyi (形意拳) master Geng Xiaguang, and Wu Jianquan (吳鑑泉), the founder of Wu style Taijiquan (吳式太極拳).

One of the first major public martial arts schools in China, Chin Woo was intended to create a more open environment for teaching and learning martial arts as opposed to the secretive training that had been common in the past. By doing so, the founders felt that this would keep alive traditions that secrecy and social change would otherwise doom. The basic curriculum drew from several styles of martial arts, giving practitioners a well-rounded martial background in addition to whatever they wished to specialize in. The Chin Woo Association inspired the ecumenism seen in the Chinese martial arts community during the Republic of China giving rise to such efforts as the National Martial Arts Institutes. Sun Yat Sen (孫逸仙), founder of the Republic of China, attended the third annual event held by Chin Woo in 1915, giving a speech of encouragement to the attendees.^[2] When Sun Yat Sen attended again at the 10th annual event in 1920, he also wrote for a special Chin Woo newsletter and made a plaque with the engraving "martial spirit".^[2]

Shut down by the government of the People's Republic of China in 1966^[3], the Chin Woo Association was allowed to re-open after the Cultural Revolution, and currently has more than 150 branches around the world.

1 Standard Curriculum
2 Fictional portrayals
3 See also
4 Footnotes
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Standard Curriculum

During the early days of Ching Wu (Jing Mo) in Shanghai, chief instructor, Chao Lin Ho developed a curriculum that became the standard Ching Wu sets(Fundamental Routines).

1. Twelve Rows of Tan Tui
2. Gung Lic Kuan (Work - Strength Fist)
3. Jeet Kuan (Flying Swallow)
4. Big Battle Fist (Upper & Lower)
5. Eight Trigram Saber (Ba Gua Dao or Pa Kua Tao)
6. Shepherding Staff
7. Five Tigers Catches the Lamb Spear
8. Tam Tui Sparring
9. Set Fist
10. Saber versus Spear

Styles taught varied from school to school, depending on the local Masters, i.e. Northern Mantis, Northern Shaolin Lo Han, Mizong, etc. The standard curriculum, however, was universally in all Chin Woo Associations.

[edit] Fictional portrayals

Jing Wu Men, also known as Fist of Fury, a 1972 film starring Bruce Lee, was a tribute to the association.
Jing Wu Ying Xiong, also known as Fist of Legend, a 1994 film starring Jet Li, was a remake of Bruce Lee's film.
Fearless, another movie starring Jet Li (this time portraying Huo Yuanjia), shows how Huo defeated the foreign fighters in the competition. The story is semi-fictional.
Legend of a Fighter, a 1982 movie starring Leung Kar Yan as Huo Yuanjia, and directed by Yuen Woo Ping.
Actor Ray Park is a practicer of Chin Woo and has put it to use in both Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and X-Men.

[edit] See also

Huo Yuanjia, founder.

[edit] Footnotes

^ chinwoo.org.cn. Chin Woo detailed history (1). (Chinese)
^ ^a ^b chinwoo.org.cn. Chin Woo history summary. (Chinese)
^ chinwoo.com. History

[edit] References

Morris, Adam (2004). Marrow of the Nation: A History of Sport and Physical Culture in Republican China.. The University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-24084-7.

Kennedy, Brian; Elizabeth Guo (2005). Chinese Martial Arts Training Manuals: A Historical Survey. Berkeley, California: North AtlanticBooks. ISBN 1-55643-557-6.