Shuai jiao (Chinese: 摔跤 or 摔角; pinyin: Shuāijiāo; Wade–Giles: Shuai-chiao) is the general Mandarin Chinese term for wrestling. As a generic name, it may be used to cover various styles of wrestling practised in China in the form of a martial arts system or a sport. The narrower term pertains to wrestling styles of the North China Plain. The art was introduced to Southern China in Republican era after 1911.[1]
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The earliest Chinese term for wrestling, "jǐao dǐ" (角抵, horn butting), refers to an ancient sport in which contestants wore horned headgear with which they attempted to butt their opponents. Legend states that "jiao di" was used in 2697 BC by the Yellow Emperor's army to gore the soldiers of a rebel army led by Chi You.[1] In later times, young people would play a similar game, emulating the contests of domestic cattle, without the headgear. Jiao di has been described as an originating source of wrestling and latter forms of martial arts in China.[2]
Of course the entire head butting anecdotes in the previous paragraph may be entirely, or at least partially, speculative. The linked page (角抵) doesn't mention anything about horned headgear, and instead it goes into great length about an ancient military game where competitors tried to upset each other's balance, not unlike Sumo or Ssireum (even the image at right, i.e. Shuai jiao wrestling.JPG, which depicts wrestling during the Tang Dynasty, only shows two contestants wrestling without wearing any horned helmets). Additionally, according to several Chinese dictionaries, the proper pronunciation for the characters 角抵 should be jué dǐ as opposed to jǐao dǐ, where certain distinctions need to be made about how this term should then be translated: jiǎo means angle, corner, or horn, as well as a unit of money (one tenth of a yuan), whereas jué refers to a theatrical role, an ancient three-legged wine vessel, the third note of the pentatonic scale, as well as friendly competition, wrestling in particular. The various meanings for dǐ include giving resistance or opposition (as in fighting), to offset/counteract/neutralize an action already taken, to substitute something with an equivalent, to mortgage or offer collateral in financial dealings, to arrive at or reach a destination, and to offend or break a law/regulation. So taking both of these characters when using this other, apparently correct, pronunciation and translating them simply as "wrestling" is also an acceptable (and more practical) interpretation to saying they mean "horn butting." One should note that head-butting can be inferred by using the homophone 觝 (to butt, to resist, to push) to compose the term jué dǐ (角觝), even though the concept of wrestling when using this alternate ideogram isn't completely ruled out.
"Jiao li" (角力) was first referenced in the Classic of Rites[3] during the Zhou Dynasty [edit: this term is also incorrectly ascribed to the pronunciation of 角 as jiǎo when it should be jué]. Jiao li [jue li] supplemented throwing techniques with strikes, blocks, joint locks and attacks on pressure points.[1] These exercises were practiced in the winter by soldiers who also practiced archery and studied military strategy.
Jiao li [jue li] eventually became a public sport held for court amusement as well as for recruiting the best fighters. Competitors wrestled each other on a raised platform called a "lei tai" for the potential reward of being hired as a bodyguard to the emperor or a martial arts instructor for the Imperial Military. Jiao li [jue li] was taught to soldiers in China over many centuries and its popularity among the military guaranteed its influence on later Chinese martial arts through the end of the Qing dynasty.
The term "shuai jiao" was chosen by the Central Guoshu Academy (Zhong Yang Guo Shu Guan 中央國術館) of Nanjing in 1928 when competition rules were standardized . Today, shuai jiao is popular with the Mongols of Inner Mongolia, where it is called "böhke," who hold competitions regularly during cultural events.[4] The art continues to be taught in the police and military academies of China.
The word "shuai," 摔, stands for "to throw onto the ground", while "jiao" may be one of two characters: the first and older, 角, stands for "horns" and the second and recent, 跤, stands for "wrestle or trip using the legs". In modern Chinese Shuai Jiao is always written using the more recent characters 跤, and should be translated as "to throw onto the ground through wrestling with legs". The use of the character 角 is because in the earliest form of Shuaijiao, players wore helmet with horns and head-butting was allowed. This form of Shuaijiao is called 'Ciyou Xi'.
Shuaijiao can be divided into the following styles:
Beijing Style (北京) - This is in essence the lineage from the Manchu Buku style that was practised by the Imperial Guards Brigade, Shan Pu Ying (善扑营, literally the Expert in Wrestling Unit). The main characteristic is the use of the legs to kick and off-balance opponents, and the use of arm locks.
Tianjin Style (天津) - This is the lineage of Ming Dynasty Shuaijiao mixed with Manchu Buku (布庫). The main characteristic is the use of legs to kick and off-balance, and the use of forearms in blocking and striking.
Baoding Style (保定) - This is the lineage that is called Kuai Jiao (快跤) or "Fast Wrestling". The main characteristic is the fast application of technique. Another characteristic is the adaptation of Shaolin Quan from Ping Jingyi, a famous teacher of Shuaijiao who learned Shaolin style from the Meng family of Nanguan County even though he was a Muslim Hui.
The above three styles are sometimes called Hebei Style (河北) Shuaijiao or simply Shuaijiao. Wrestlers wear a jacket called Da Lian.
Shanxi Style (山西) - This is the lineage of Song Dynasty Shuaijiao. It is mainly practised in the counties between the mining city of Datong in northern Shanxi and the provincial capital Taiyuan in central Shanxi. The main characteristic is leg catching techniques, as traditionally wrestlers wear only tight knee-length pants.
Mongol Style (蒙古) - This is the lineage from Mongolian wrestling.
Xinjiang Style (新疆) - This is the lineage from various Turkic styles. The main characteristic is waist techniques.
General references
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