Nanquan
1.Introduction:
Nanquan refers to any style or school of martial arts found in Southern China, namely the Yangtze River Basin. Originating from Southern Shaolin martial arts, Nanquan started to develop into its own class of martial arts in the Ming dynasty. Nanquan usually puts great emphasis on firm stances, powerful fists, and strong momentum. Leaps are rare, while short-range punches are common; an important Nanquan technique is to use one's voice and vital energy to transmit power outwards.
2.Cantonese Nanquan:
Cantonese Nanquan is representative of the Nanquan style. The most influential branches of Cantonese Nanquan are the "Five Famous Schools" , listed as following:
(1)Hung Gar:
Originating from Shaolin temples, Hung Gar was founded by Hung Hei-Gun, who passed the style down to Hung Mun masters. Hung Gar later spread to the Guangdong region, becoming one of the largest branches of Nanquan. Techniques include the Five Elements Fist and Ten Beasts Fist.
(2)Lau Gar:
Lau Gar was founded by master Lau Saam Ngaan and is popular in the Leizhou Peninsula. It is a agile style of martial arts; the swift hand motions are known as "spider claws" , while the challenging and explosive hip movements are known as "prawn waist" . The quality central to Lau Gar is agility — narrow horse stances, short bridge hands, nimble footwork and flexible position shifting are all crucial Lau Gar techniques.
(3)Choy Gar:
Founded by Choy Gau Lee, Choy Gar is a branch of Nanquan that is prevalent in places like Zhongshan and Guangdong. The essence of Choy Gar is speed — attacks in unimaginable places, overwhelming offense, and sacrificing endurance for power are all Choy Gar specialties.
(4)Li Gar:
Li Gar was created by Shaolin monk Li Sou and is prevalent in the Guangdong area. Li Gar puts emphasis on firm, wide horse stances, long bridge hands, a leaning body and leaning steps. It utilizes elbow strikes regularly as offense, and thus requires strength and precision to master.
(5)Mok Gar:
Mok Gar was founded by a Shaolin monk named Mok Ta Shi, later spreading to the Pearl River area. Mok Gar is notably different from other schools of Nanquan in that it emphasizes footwork rather than hand motions. “A good kick beats three punches” is the essence of the Mok Gar style. Intricate leg movements characteristic of Northern schools distinguishes Mok Gar from other Southern schools.
2.Wing Chun:
Wing Chun is a branch of the Nanquan school of Chinese martial arts. It is said that the school is named after an eponymous acolyte of a Shaolin temple in southern Fujian who helped its popularity spread.
Eventually Wing Chun rose in popularity, becoming a mainstream school of modern Chinese martial arts. When Ip Man left mainland China for Hong Kong in the 1950s, he was the first master to officially teach Wing Chun. In the 1970s, his disciple Leung Ting introduced Wing Chun to Germany, beginning a long period of development in Europe and North America.
Wing Chun is a very practical school of Chinese martial arts; unlike many traditional schools which adhere to non-scientific metaphysical theories such as the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams, Wing Chun puts great emphasis on human anatomy, smooth joint movement and even fluid mechanics, making it a viable school of martial arts for lei tai (arena) fights. Regular Wing Chun training is also considered good training for long term strength gains.
3.Choy Li Fut:
Choy Li Fut is a branch of the Nanquan school of Chinese martial arts. It was founded in the 1830s by Cantonese master Chan Heung. After over 100 years of development, Choy Li Fut has spread to countries all over the world.
Choy Li Fut focuses on the hang, swing, and thrust stances. It combines Fut Gar school palm strikes, Choy Gar close range punches and leg movements as well as Li Gar long range punches and wide stances. The twisting torso movements and nimble footwork characteristic of Northern schools also made their way into the Choy Li Fut fighting style. Because of its more methodical routines and practice moves, Choy Li Fut is one of the more beginner-friendly schools; it is often said to have combined “Southern Fists, Northern Legs, and Fut Gar Palm”.
4.Northern Fist, Southern Kick:
There is an inextricable link between the rise of the saying "Nanquan Beitui" , or "Northern Fist, Southern Kick" , and China' s geography. The phrase "Northern Ship, Southern Horse" is often used to describe China' s geography — Southern China has slow-flowing rivers that are favorable to maritime transportation systems, while Northern China relies mostly on land transportation due to fast-flowing rivers that prevent the development of such systems.
Because of their reliance on maritime transportation, brawls on ships happen more often in Southern China. As a result an immediately distinguishable difference between Southern and Northern Chinese schools of martial arts is that Southern stances tend to be wider than their Northern counterparts. Due to limited space on ship decks, Southern schools pay more attention to rapid, continuous hand movements rather than leaps, kicks, and leg movements. Usually Nanquan focuses on the firmness of one’s Horse Stance; regardless of how one’s upper body moves their lower body must remain firm and rooted. Nanquan is thus known for its emphasis on steadiness of the body.
