Traditional Fighting Arts

Fighting Arts

Ever since man has walked the earth, we have been in conflict with one another.
Over time, our means of dispatching our enemies has advanced from killing with bare hands or crude weapons to the stage where we only have to press a button to unleash destruction on biblical proportions.

Ancient man protected his family and war was a very personal thing.
As civilisation progressed we started to settle, form communities and work the land.
Men were chosen to protect the farmers and other inhabitants of the village;
these men specialised in warfare and refined techniques proven in battle and taught these to their fellow warrior.
Fighting techniques and weapons became more specialised according to the preferred doctrine, strategy and materials available.
Numerous fighting styles arose around the globe but none seems to have touched the souls of
modern day warriors as much as Asian fighting arts.

In China, the earliest weapons found date back 7,000 years and are of surprisingly high quality.
Writings from about 2,000BCE mention martial art concepts. By 1,000BCE, sophisticated
fighting arts had evolved that contained profound principles and philosophies.
Once China had been unified and the Qin Dynasty had been established (221-207BCE), the
warriors needed an outlet to test there skills and boxing and wrestling tounaments were
established.

During the Han Dynasty (207BCE-220CE) sword fighting techniques were linked together to
form sets and after the fall of the Han unarmed fighting forms are documented.
It was during this time that the Shaolin Temple in Henan Province came to prominence for its
martial skills. Not only from the Buddhist monks who studied martial arts but also from the
people who went there to train, people who brought their own arts with them. We must
remember that not all martial styles originated from Shaolin, many martial arts were family or
village arts. However, It was around this time when labelling of the various styles of martial arts occurred and even more recently when they have come under the umbrella term of Kung Fu.

The different styles of Shaolin Kung Fu are associated with so called ‘hard’ or ‘external’ styles. By this we mean that the emphasis is on the strengthening of muscle, sinew etc. Long Fist and the styles that are derived from the essence of five animals: the tiger, snake, leopard, crane and dragon are prime examples.

The most important 'internal' arts, where emphasis is placed on the massaging of the organs
through posture and breathing etc. such as Tai Chi Chuan, Pa Kua and Hsing-yi are not from
Shaolin. They are associated with Daoism and the Wudang school of thought.

Over the years, this separation of Buddhist Shaolin 'external arts' and Daoist 'internal' Wudang
arts has widened. However, it would be wrong to assume that they are not associated or that one is better than the other. Each art encompasses aspects of another. Shaolin arts aren’t exclusively ‘external’ and neither are Wudang arts only ‘internal’.

These numerous styles of fighting are basically successful fighting principles transferred into techniques that have been incorporated into sets of movements or forms: These forms are the most visible aspect of Traditional Martial Arts. The forms are practised repeatedly so that the practicioner learns to carry out the individual techniques instinctively and naturally in a relaxed manner. This enables us to use our bodies with maximum efficiency thus using minimum energy. This generates speed and power, which combined with correct breathing techniques and focusing of the mind allows our energy to be directed and released to a specific point.

There are many paths to follow in the martial arts and we need to find one that suits our phylosophy, intention, our own way. One that we are capable of following successfully, a way to live our lives that suits us. Many say one should study all of one style be it ‘internal’ or ‘external’ and master that before studying others and I agree. However, sometimes circumstances change and we cannot study or decide not to because that style does not suit our philosophy. Sometimes it is good to get a little knowledge of a style before committing oneself. It would be impossible to write deeply about all arts. Firstly, because I do not have the knowledge, secondly the blog would be too big. I can only give you some thoughts I have on styles I have studied, some quite deeply others only on a superficial level.

I do not believe that a martial art from Thailand is better than one from Japan or Vice versa, it is the individual who teaches and learns his art who is fundamental to the efficiency of the individual style. This blog is concerned with styles that have developed in China and Japan only because these are the styles I have knowledge of and I am not qualified to discuss others.