Martial Arts Of The World - Webs
Martial Arts Of The World - Webs Martial Arts Of The World - Webs
A 74-year-old Buddhist monk practices boxing exercises at a Shaolin monastery near Zengzhou, Henan, China, 1981. (Lowell Georgia/ Corbis) 34 Boxing, Chinese Shaolin Styles lows, and urbanized settings, many worked the waters in trade, commerce, and fishing. In fact, a portion of the inhabitants spent most of their lives on the boats that sailed the coasts and inland waterways. The primary demands for physical labor were placed on the muscle groups of the upper body. As another contrast, the distance from the cultural centers of the north meant in many cases that a southerner’s education was gained at home, and the vast majority of them were functional illiterates who relied on professional readers to read official decrees and personal letters and to write for them when the need arose. The factors of relatively greater upper body strength and the decreased need for fine-motor skill utilizing finger dexterity led to a reliance on punching as opposed to kicking techniques. The “short-hitting” styles of the south were marked by constricted, inclose movements, ones that could be employed in tight alleyways, on the decks of boats, and in other cramped quarters. The southern fighting styles also developed, for the most part, shorter forms, although a given southern system (e.g., Hung Gar [pinyin hongjiaquan] and Choy Lay Fut [pinyin cailifoquan]) could contain a greater number of forms in its curriculum than some northern systems. One might also surmise that the restrictions placed upon people due to the restrictions of various articles of clothing would play a role in defensive techniques as well. The cold climate of the north and the clothing adapted to such an environment would no doubt hinder the use of hand techniques, but to a lesser extent the use of the legs. The south was more subtropical, and the clothing appropriate for that environment allowed the unencumbered development of the upper-body techniques suitable for the social conditions previously described. Various weapons also saw their use dictated by their geographic location. In the north one would have the luxury of being able to use a long pole arm, such as a spear or long sword, and
so those skills were more deeply researched and trained. In the south, where it was much more crowded and urbanized, the weapons that would find the most use were shorter. These included cleavers and similar chopping weapons, knives, short rods, and short swords. The credit for the origin of both types of boxing is attributed to the Shaolin Temples and to necessity. Law enforcement during the formative period of Chinese boxing was often the province of important people with hired police forces and private standing armies. Commonly, villages were responsible for their own defenses against marauding bands of thieves, slavers, and other brigands who survived on what they could steal, whom they could sell off, and the services gained from those whom they could enslave. Other social services, particularly educational, were absent as well. In this regard, similarities exist between European and Chinese feudal societies. In Europe during the Middle Ages, one of the only ways a person of low birth could gain an education was through the Roman Catholic Church. In medieval Europe, it was possible for a community to send the brightest of their progeny to one of the monasteries that dotted the landscape to learn Latin (the lingua franca of the era), mathematics, and rudimentary medical skills. After completing this education, the student returned home and used the knowledge to benefit the town from which he came. Also, a percentage of the monks who lived in the monasteries of that time were not merely men who had a calling from their God, but who were fugitives from the law, as well. In some cases, sanctuary from prosecution was their primary motivation. For example, those who had gained the disfavor of the nobility or had been in the ranks of a losing army might find a refuge by joining an order. Therefore, among the members of an order were former fighting men who had renounced their family ties and taken on different names. Records of thirteenth-century German monks practicing sword and buckler (small, round shield) combat as a martial sport, along with claims that knights were intimidated by the wrestling skills of medieval monks, demonstrate the availability and efficacy of fighting skills within monastery walls. Similarly, in China Buddhist temples not only concerned themselves with the promulgation and study of Buddhism, but also served as sources of education in literacy, mathematics, and martial skills. The medical profession was also intertwined with the martial traditions. Soldiers had wounds that needed tending, training practices resulted in various injuries from blunt trauma and from weapons practice, and the monks had only themselves to rely on. Tradition maintains that the birth of acupuncture stemmed from soldiers who, upon receiving arrow wounds that were not fatal, found themselves cured or relieved of certain non-combat-related illnesses, pains, or other injuries. Boxing, Chinese Shaolin Styles 35
- Page 4 and 5: Copyright © 2001 by Thomas A. Gree
- Page 6 and 7: vi Contents Japanese Martial Arts,
- Page 9 and 10: Editorial Board D’Arcy Jonathan D
- Page 11 and 12: Bill Adams Director, Bill Adams Fit
- Page 13: Kimberley Taylor University of Guel
- Page 16 and 17: xvi Introduction the sword” in Eu
- Page 18 and 19: xviii Introduction References Frida
- Page 21 and 22: Africa and African America Although
- Page 23 and 24: a range of up to 80 meters. The wou
- Page 25 and 26: the competitors. In this respect, t
- Page 27 and 28: Beginning in 1415, after the Portug
- Page 29 and 30: Many African combat systems relied
- Page 31 and 32: as a result of similar circumstance
- Page 33 and 34: eturn strike; rather, the practitio
- Page 35 and 36: Ranking in most aikidô dôjô is b
- Page 37 and 38: The magic monkey Songoku from a Chi
- Page 39 and 40: A young woman aims at a barrel of s
- Page 41: See also Kendô; Religion and Spiri
- Page 44 and 45: Baguazhang is closely associated wi
- Page 46 and 47: 26 Bandô ———. 1984. The Mast
- Page 48 and 49: Chinese children in a martial arts
- Page 50 and 51: A modern picture of a Buddhist mona
- Page 52 and 53: 32 Boxing, Chinese Shaolin Styles L
- Page 56 and 57: Grand Master Rich Mooney demonstrat
- Page 58 and 59: 38 Boxing, Chinese Shaolin Styles h
- Page 60 and 61: 40 Boxing, Chinese Shaolin Styles m
- Page 62 and 63: 42 Boxing, Chinese Shaolin Styles (
- Page 64 and 65: 44 Boxing, European See also Animal
- Page 66 and 67: 46 Boxing, European marked the end
- Page 68 and 69: 48 Boxing, European If there is one
- Page 70 and 71: 50 Boxing, European practicality an
- Page 72 and 73: 52 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Gilbey, John
- Page 74 and 75: 54 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu papers his w
- Page 76 and 77: 56 Budô, Bujutsu, and Bugei autono
- Page 78 and 79: 58 Budô, Bujutsu, and Bugei Meiji-
- Page 81 and 82: Capoeira Capoeira is a Brazilian ma
- Page 83 and 84: quiring knowledge of capoeira and t
- Page 85 and 86: early 1990s. By the late 1990s capo
- Page 87 and 88: The entries on archery, straight sw
- Page 89 and 90: Contemporary literature provides a
- Page 91 and 92: eral policies in recent years have
- Page 93 and 94: Clovis, one of the earliest Frankis
- Page 95 and 96: A candidate for knighthood, after s
- Page 97 and 98: though the weapons were blunted, th
- Page 99 and 100: wise counsel, attacked the Turkish
- Page 101 and 102: and elevated courtly love to a form
- Page 103 and 104: Combatives: Military and Police Mar
so those skills were more deeply researched and trained. In the south,<br />
where it was much more crowded and urbanized, the weapons that would<br />
find the most use were shorter. <strong>The</strong>se included cleavers and similar chopping<br />
weapons, knives, short rods, and short swords.<br />
<strong>The</strong> credit for the origin of both types of boxing is attributed to the<br />
Shaolin Temples and to necessity. Law enforcement during the formative<br />
period of Chinese boxing was often the province of important people with<br />
hired police forces and private standing armies. Commonly, villages were<br />
responsible for their own defenses against marauding bands of thieves,<br />
slavers, and other brigands who survived on what they could steal, whom<br />
they could sell off, and the services gained from those whom they could enslave.<br />
Other social services, particularly educational, were absent as well.<br />
In this regard, similarities exist between European and Chinese feudal<br />
societies. In Europe during the Middle Ages, one of the only ways a person<br />
of low birth could gain an education was through the Roman Catholic<br />
Church. In medieval Europe, it was possible for a community to send the<br />
brightest of their progeny to one of the monasteries that dotted the landscape<br />
to learn Latin (the lingua franca of the era), mathematics, and rudimentary<br />
medical skills. After completing this education, the student returned<br />
home and used the knowledge to benefit the town from which he<br />
came. Also, a percentage of the monks who lived in the monasteries of that<br />
time were not merely men who had a calling from their God, but who were<br />
fugitives from the law, as well. In some cases, sanctuary from prosecution<br />
was their primary motivation. For example, those who had gained the disfavor<br />
of the nobility or had been in the ranks of a losing army might find<br />
a refuge by joining an order. <strong>The</strong>refore, among the members of an order<br />
were former fighting men who had renounced their family ties and taken<br />
on different names. Records of thirteenth-century German monks practicing<br />
sword and buckler (small, round shield) combat as a martial sport,<br />
along with claims that knights were intimidated by the wrestling skills of<br />
medieval monks, demonstrate the availability and efficacy of fighting skills<br />
within monastery walls.<br />
Similarly, in China Buddhist temples not only concerned themselves<br />
with the promulgation and study of Buddhism, but also served as sources<br />
of education in literacy, mathematics, and martial skills. <strong>The</strong> medical profession<br />
was also intertwined with the martial traditions. Soldiers had<br />
wounds that needed tending, training practices resulted in various injuries<br />
from blunt trauma and from weapons practice, and the monks had only<br />
themselves to rely on. Tradition maintains that the birth of acupuncture<br />
stemmed from soldiers who, upon receiving arrow wounds that were not<br />
fatal, found themselves cured or relieved of certain non-combat-related illnesses,<br />
pains, or other injuries.<br />
Boxing, Chinese Shaolin Styles 35