Changquan
Group of Chinese martial arts / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Changquan?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Changquan (simplified Chinese: 长拳; traditional Chinese: 長拳; pinyin: chángquán; lit. 'Long Fist') refers to a family of external (as opposed to internal) martial arts (kung fu) styles from northern China.
This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Also known as | Long Fist |
---|---|
Focus | Striking, weapons training |
Country of origin | China |
Creator | Zhao Kuangyin |
Famous practitioners | (see notable practitioners) |
Parenthood | |
Descendant arts | Sanshou, Northern Praying Mantis |
Olympic sport | Wushu (sport) |
The forms of the Long Fist style emphasize fully extended kicks and striking techniques, and by appearance would be considered a long-range fighting system. In some Long Fist styles the motto is that "the best defense is a strong offense," in which case the practitioner launches a preemptive attack so aggressive that the opponent doesn't have the opportunity to attack. Others emphasize defense over offense, noting that nearly all techniques in Long Fist forms are counters to attacks. Long Fist uses large, extended, circular movements to improve overall body mobility in the muscles, tendons, and joints. Advanced Long Fist techniques include qin na joint-locking techniques and shuai jiao throws and takedowns.[1]
The Long Fist style is considered to contain a good balance of hand and foot techniques, but in particular it is renowned for its impressive acrobatic kicks.[2] In demonstration events, Long Fist techniques are most popular and memorable for their whirling, running, leaping, and acrobatics. Contemporary changquan moves are difficult to perform, requiring great flexibility and athleticism comparable to that of gymnastics.
Long Fist's arsenal of kicks covers everything from a basic front snap-kick to a jumping back-kick, from a low sweep to a whirlwind-kick. Specifically, typical difficulty movements in modern changquan include the whirlwind kick, the butterfly kick, the cekongfan (侧空翻; 'side somersault'), and the lotus kick.