Muslim Chinese martial arts

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Part of a of articles on Islam in China     Muslim Chinese martial arts

Muslim Wushu

Ba ji quan • Pi Gua Quan• Liu He Quan • Chāquán • Tán Tuǐ •

Muslim Wushu Masters

Ma Menta • Ma Xianda • Zhao Changjun • Chang Tung Sheng

Muslim Chinese martial arts have a long history in China, and many Muslims have participated at the highest level of Chinese Wushu. However, the Qing Dynasty persecutions greatly stimulated the practise of martial arts among Chinese Muslims. The Hui started and adapted many of the styles of wushu such as Bajiquan, Piguaquan, Liu He Quan, and other styles. There were specific areas known to be centers of Muslim martial arts, such as Cang County in Hebei Province. These traditional Chinese martial arts were very distinct from the Turkic styles practised in Xinjiang.^[1]

Contents 1 Bajiquan (八極拳) 2 Zhaquan (查拳) 3 Qishiquan (七式拳) 4 Huihui Shiba Zhou (回回十八肘) 5 Piguaquan (劈掛拳) 6 Tantui (彈腿) 7 Tongbeiquan (通背拳) 8 Xingyiquan (形意拳) 9 References

[edit] Bajiquan (八極拳)

Main article: Bajiquan

Bajiquan (eight extreme fists) was first recorded as being practiced by Wu Zhong, a Hui Muslim from Meng Village in Cang County in Hebei Province during the early Qing Dynasty.

According to tradition, Wu was taught the style by a Taoist priest Lai, and his disciple Pi. They may well have been anti-Qing revolutionaries disguised as wandering priests. Wu spent much of his later life in prison for anti-Qing activities, which would seem to support this idea.^{[citation needed]}

It is believed that at this time, Bajiquan and Piguaquan (chop-hanging palm) were taught together, or may even have been one style. However, after Wu Zhong's death, his eldest daughter Wu Rong married a man in Luotong village, Cang county. For some reason she only taught Pigua, and in the Meng village they only taught Baji.^{[citation needed]}

A few generations later the teaching of the arts was recombined by Li Shuwen (1864 AD-1934 AD). Nicknamed "God of Spear" for his outstanding ability with the spear, Li Shuwen learned Bajiquan from Jin Diansheng in Meng village, and piguazhang from Huang Sihai in Luotong village. Li had many famous students, including Huo Diange, his first disciple, who was bodyguard to Pu Yi, the last Qing Emperor.^{[citation needed]} Huo Diange (and most of Li Shuwen's other disciples) were not Hui, however.

Li's last closed-door disciple was Liu Yunqiao (1909-1992) (also not Hui), who he taught for ten years before his death. Liu was already proficient in long fist and Mizongquan (lost track fist).^{[citation needed]}

Bodyguards of Sun Yat-Sen, Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong were students of grandmaster Liu.^{[citation needed]} One famous disciple of Liu in the west is Adam Hsu.^{[citation needed]}

Bajiquan is sometimes considered an internal system, in that sense more closely related to taijiquan than Shaolin. It is a compact and devastating system, featuring much stamping and weight changing , as well as its own special method of generating power.^[2]

Although bajiquan is no longer practiced exclusively by Hui, there are still many famous Hui practitioners of the style today, including Wu Lianzhi (the lineage holder of the style from Meng Village), Ma Xianda, Ma Lingda, Ma Mingda, and others.

[edit] Zhaquan (查拳)

Main article: Chāquán

Zhaquan or Chaquan is a Muslim longfist (Northern Shaolin) style said to be created by a Muslim named Zhamir (查密尔) who came from Xinjiang in the Ming Dynasty. Widely practiced throughout China, but particularly in Shandong and Henan, Zhaquan features graceful, extended movements, as well as various acrobatic maneuvers and many weapons. The Shandong styles are sometimes divided up into three families: Zhang, Yang, and Li. Zhaquan training includes 10 lines of Tantui (十路彈腿) (see below), 10 forms of Zhaquan (十路查拳), and many other forms in its curriculum (which vary by style).

Famous Hui exponents of this style include those from ancient times, such as Zheng He, an admiral of the Ming Dynasty,^{[citation needed]} as well as famous practitioners in modern times, like Wang Ziping, Ma Jinbiao, and Zhang Wenguang (who was instrumental in created the modern wushu version of changquan). Still widely practiced by Chinese Muslims, the style nevertheless is now popular with non-Muslim Chinese as well.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Qishiquan (七式拳)

Also know as Qishiquan (七士拳) or the seven warriors. Originally the name memorialized the seven saints of Islam, but was altered to the seven forms. Starting among Muslims in Henan it eventually reached Shanxi. The style, as the name implies is based on seven essential postures from which sets are constructed. Unfortunately, however, the style is getting increasingly rare, and very few people practice it.^[3]

[edit] Huihui Shiba Zhou (回回十八肘)

Huihui Shiba Zhou (Hui elbow eight style) was so secret that it was considered completely lost. That was until 1970 when researches found a teacher Ju Kui who knew the style. Ju Kui born 1886 was from a Hui family in Hebei. At age six he started learning from Sun Dekui of Dezhou, Shandong. He trained for 17 years learning 19 types of martial arts. At the age of 33 he also tried to improve himself by studying with Yang Wanlu an imam from the Tong Shou Mosque.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Piguaquan (劈掛拳)

Main article: Piguaquan

Piguaquan (or Piguazhang) literally means 'chopping and hanging fist'. It is generally believed to have been founded by Wu Zhong, a Chinese Muslim from Meng Village, Cang County, Hebei Province. Wu initially learned the two styles from two Daoist monks Lai and Pi in 1727. Wu then taught his style to his daughter Wu Rong. She is considered to be the second-generation master of this style. She married and taught her martial art to her husband. Her husband and she taught their style as two separate systems: baji and pigua. They only taught piguaquan to her students in the Luo Tong village and the Bajiquan style was taught only at Meng village. Piguaquan is now widely practiced all over China, and features long-arm swinging and chopping techniques, some of which have been adapted and included in modern wushu forms (for example, wulongpanda (烏龍盤打)).^{[citation needed]}

Famous Hui practitioners of Piguaquan today include Ma Xianda, Ma Lingda, and Ma Mingda.

[edit] Tantui (彈腿)

Main article: Tán Tuǐ

Tantui (flicking leg) is a style usually used as basic training for Zhaquan (see above). Originally, there were 28 lines of tantui, one for each letter of the Arabic alphabet; however, later on, the last 18, which were comparatively complex, were merged into two forms called Tuiquanshi (腿拳勢), still practiced in Zhaquan.

Tantui has been adapted and modified by many other styles of martial arts for basic training, including other styles of changquan, the Song style of xingyiquan, and others. Tantui also exists as its own style in Shandong province (where it is written as 潭腿, not 彈腿, however).

[edit] Tongbeiquan (通背拳)

Main article: Tongbeiquan

Tongbeiquan is not exclusively a Muslim style, but certain substyles have been mainly practiced by Hui. In particular, the branch of Baiyuan Tongbiquan (白猿通臂拳) as passed down from Ma Xiaohe has been transmitted mostly within the Hui community in Beijing. One famous practitioner of this style was Zhang Guizeng.

Ma family Tongbeiquan as passed down by the Ma family can also be considered a Hui style (since the Ma family is Hui); the style is still practiced today by its members, including the brothers Ma Xianda, Ma Lingda, Ma Mingda, and their children.

[edit] Xingyiquan (形意拳)

Main article: Xingyiquan

Xingyiquan is commonly attributed to two people: Song Dynasty General Yue Fei and a Ming loyalist Ji Longfeng. Both were considered masters of the Chinese spear and both are said, according to various legends, to have created a set of five elemental fist attacks based on the thrusting motions of this weapon.^[4][5] However, there is no historical evidence that supports Yue as the progenitor of the style. It is never mentioned in his three major biographies written in the Yuan, Qing, and Republican eras.^[6][7][8] Master Ji is said to have claimed he learned Xingyi from the Yue Fei boxing manual that he received on Mt. Chongnan, but some practitioners believe he created the style himself and attributed it to the General because Ji was fighting the Manchus, ancestors of the Jurchens who Yue struggled against.^[9][10]

There are three branches or schools of Xingyi commonly practiced today. The third (synthetic) method was developed and practiced almost exclusively by the Chinese Muslim community in China. This method is devoid of the Five elemental fists entirely, and the Animal forms have been synthesized to simple one and two step patterns of motion.^[11]

Xinyiliuhequan (literally - Fist of Mind, Intention and Six Harmonies) is a martial art that developed in Henan Province among the Hui people. It is considered one of the most powerful and fighting-oriented styles of Chinese Martial Arts, and for a long time it has been known for its effectiveness in fighting, while very few actually knew the practice methods of the style. Xinyiliuhequan, along with Zhaquan and Qishiquan (Boxing of Seven Postures), have been considered Jiaomenquan (教門拳, "religious - i.e. Muslim - boxing") meant to protect followers of Islam in China.

Xinyiliuhequan's practice methods are not numerous compared to other styles, and include ten big shapes (十大形), four seizes (四把), single seize (單把), and so on. The style favors close-range tactics, such as shoulder strikes.

For more than two centuries the style had been kept secret and transmitted only to very few Muslim practitioners. Only at the beginning of this century Han Chinese began to learn the style, but even today, many of the most skillful experts of Xinyiliuhequan can be found within Hui communities in China, especially in Henan Province. In modern times, however, the style has been transmitted to Han Chinese as well, especially in Shanghai through Lu Songgao. The style is considered to have two main branches, the Lushan style and the Luoyang style; the latter style is still comparatively rare outside of Hui communities. ^[12]

[edit] References

1. ^ NTU Bajiquan Kungfu Club http://club.ntu.edu.tw/~ntubachi/Bajiquan/en_about.htm
2. ^ BAJIQUAN. TRADITIONAL CHINESE INTERNAL MARTIAL ARTS (By Alan W. Ellerton and Master Ji Jian Cheng) http://www.wushu.org/eng/1203.php
3. ^ CHA CHUAN and Muslim Systems[1]
4. ^ Pei, Xirong and Li, Yang’an. Henan Orthodox Xingyi Quan. Trans. Joseph Candrall. Pinole: Smiling Tiger Press, 1994. See also, Xing Yi Quan (Mind-Form Boxing) Books Scroll down, 5th book from the top.
5. ^ Heart Chinese boxing emphasizing flexibility and confusing the opponent (Chinese only)
6. ^ History of Song - Biography of Yue Fei (Chinese: 宋史•岳飞传) (ISBN ?) (See also, 岳飞子云 (Chinese only))
7. ^ Qian, Cai. General Yue Fei. Trans. Honorable Sir T.L. Yang. Joint Publishing (H.K.) Co., Ltd., 1995 (ISBN 978-962-04-1279-0)
8. ^ Henning, Stanley E., M.A. Chinese General Yue Fei: Martial Arts Facts, Tales and Mysteries. Journal of Asian Martial Arts. Vol. 15 #4, 2006: 30-35
9. ^ Lin, Jianhua. Form and Will Boxing: One of the Big Three Internal Chinese Body Boxing Styles. Oxford University Press, 1994 (ISBN 0-8704-0942-5)
10. ^ Lu, Shengli. Combat Techniques of Taiji, Xingyi, and Bagua: Principles and Practices of Internal Martial Arts. Trans. Zhang Yun. Blue Snake Books/Frog, Ltd., 2006 (ISBN 1-5839-4145-2)
11. ^ A Means To An End By: Shr Fu Mike Patterson [http://www.hsing-i.com/hsing-i_journal/kungfu.html A Means To An EndBy: Shr Fu Mike Patterson
12. ^ Xinyi Liuhe Quan - the secret art of Chinese Muslims: Brief History by Jarek Szymanski [2]