A Summary of Chinese Martial Arts

What was fascinating was while learning about the Chinese Martial Arts, there were two major forms known as Wushu & Kung-fu.  These martial arts began only as self defense and training for Chinese Soldiers during the reign of the Yellow Emperor.  During the Shang dynasty, Confucius suggested to Duke Ding to practice both the literary and martial artforms, thus allowing non-military individuals the chance to learn the form for health reasons as well.  

From these martial art forms, came influences with weapons such as the swords and spears.  As time went on, many different groups of Chinese developed their own styles and forms based on their location and leadership.  Even the Shaolin Monasteries became training grounds for martial arts, not just for defense but for healthy exercise.  Of the many common Chinese martial art forms of today include:   Bagua, Drunken Boxing, Eagle Claw, Five Animals, Hsing I, Hung Gar, Lau Gar, Monkey, Tiger, Bak Mei Pai, Praying Mantis, Fujian White Crane, Wing Chun, and Tai Chi Chuan.  Many of these martial art forms have cross over seas and merged with different fighting styles all over the world.  During the Spring and Autumn period and Warring States period (770 B.C. - 221 A.D.), a woman competed in a sword competition by the name of Yuh Niuy.  After the competition to understand how she used a sword, she shared philosophies which have been passed down through writings such as:

"When fencing, though highly alert,

  The appearance is as calm as a fair lady's

  But when in action, a vicious Tiger emerges."

These teachings on style and form influenced philosophy where many forms became a lifestyle of internal and external training.  It was only when both mental and physical aspects of the training showed the most effective results.  I personally would love to study a form.  The hardest part is picking just one to start off with. We'll see when I get back home to the States.

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References:

Shouyu, Liang.  "An Introduction to Chinese Martial Arts".  Located at www.nardis.com/~twchan/liang.html

Pictures provided by:

Wikipedia.  Chinese Martial Arts.  Located at http://enwikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_martial_arts