A brief history of traditional martial arts

Contrary to what many people think, traditional martial arts originated from the battlefield rather than being born out of it.

The purpose of saying this is to recognize that there is a huge difference between so-called traditional martial arts and battlefield martial arts.

First of all, the most important thing on the battlefield is physical fitness.

First, wearing armor on the battlefield is the norm, and the stronger and stronger the body is, the heavier the armor can be.

Secondly, the consumption of battlefield raids and mutual killings is usually far greater than that of civilian conflicts.

Therefore, the generals in the cold weapon era had much greater height, weight and fat mass than ordinary people. The descriptions in history books and novels of them being like the devil descending to earth were no joke.

In terms of simply emphasizing physical fitness, training in resistance to blows, endurance, and explosive power is much more important than complex technical training. As the saying goes, one strength can defeat ten skills.

Battlefield

Then, the second thing to pay attention to on the battlefield is the classification and coordination of arms. Because of the high intensity of the battlefield, everyone does not need to know many techniques, but instead practice a single technique to the extreme.

For example, heavy cavalry practiced charging and breaking through formations, light cavalry practiced swinging swords and beheading, rangers practiced mobile archery, and archers practiced drawing longbows.

Finally, we also need to see that the battlefield is a lot of people against a lot of people, that is, a large number of soldiers of the same type gather together, which further simplifies the technical content. For example, when you shoot arrows, the accuracy requirement may not be that important, but the strength requirement is the first priority. When a spearman charges, it is more important to be able to hold the spear and bring huge momentum.

So we can see that on the battlefield, complicated techniques are actually not needed. In order to practice simple techniques to the extreme, the requirements for physical strength, reaction, explosiveness, endurance, and willpower are actually higher, and the training system is actually very mature.

So it is not wrong to say that traditional martial arts originated from the battlefield, but it is actually inappropriate to say that they were derived from the battlefield, because the two have different backgrounds and are both mature systems. Although many traditional martial arts originated from soldiers who came down from the battlefield, they are two different fields after all.

Classification and development of traditional martial arts.

Well, since traditional martial arts did not originate from the battlefield, where did they originate from?

This question is actually very complicated, just like the numerous and complex factions of traditional martial arts.

But it is also simple to analyze from the perspective of geographical and social environment.

To put it bluntly, traditional martial arts are folk martial arts, and the biggest problem among folks is that they have no armor. It is a serious crime for folks to privately keep armor. Often, only bandits may have one or two pieces of broken armor, or some rattan armor or leather armor. And they have to be relatively wealthy. For ordinary people, patchwork leather clothes are luxury goods, let alone armor that is difficult to make.

Another basic situation is, do civilians use weapons? Of course they do, and they should use them if they can. Especially in the countryside. Towns don’t need to carry swords when traveling, so they use knives, swords, spliced ​​weapons, and nunchakus.

Therefore, traditional martial arts are actually different from what we imagine today. The use of weapons is a very important content.

On the contrary, boxing and kicking are a kind of compromise when weapons cannot be used, just like a soldier will use a gun when he has bullets, and use a bayonet when he has no bullets. If there is no bayonet, he can just hit it with a gun. If there is no gun, he can use a knife. Only when he is most helpless will he resort to hand-to-hand combat.

Therefore, the use of weapons is actually the core content of the practical functions of traditional martial arts.

The classification should also be based on this.

Regional classification

For example, in rural areas in the north, where the land is wide and flat, people are good at using spears and swords. The boxing and kicking skills of many martial arts schools are naturally derived from swords and spears, and adapted to the terrain conditions. For example, Bajiquan moves like a gun, and Baji spear is also very famous.

In the southern towns, people could not carry large swords or guns, nor could they use them, so they mostly used short swords and short sticks, such as Wing Chun’s eight-cut sword and six-and-a-half-point stick. Wing Chun’s fists and feet were naturally adapted to fighting in a small space.

In terms of large-scale and open movements, Wing Chun is naturally inferior to Baji in flat and wide areas. In terms of short and powerful movements, in the streets and alleys, in the east and west rooms, Baji may find it difficult to unfold and be defeated.

Of course, the situation in civilian life is different from that on the battlefield. Weapons are not used thoroughly in civilian life. Many times they cannot be used. Sometimes people dare not use them because killing is against the law. Sometimes they are not easy to use because people have to work and live.

kicking kung fu

So in terms of its spread, boxing and kicking kung fu gradually became more widespread, with the main purpose being to defeat the opponent by subduing him, or even to “stop when the time is right”.

In terms of distinction, it can be made by the weapons they use. Their fists and feet are often extensions of the weapons.

This is also the origin of various routines. The starting positions of many boxing routines do not seem to be suitable for bare-handed fighting. The reason is that long-term practice of a certain weapon has formed muscle memory and force habits, so even if there is no weapon in hand, it is like holding a knife or a gun.

However, unless there is war, most people tend to use low-intensity fist and foot attacks, so most factions have formed a unique fist and foot system, and the sword and weapon content has gradually been separated. For example, although Bajiquan is good at using guns, it is very famous for elbow strikes and shoulder strikes, which are pure human body fighting without weapons.

Adversarial Quantity Classification

Another key point of classification is that the environment is influenced not only by the region but also by the number of people.

On the battlefield, it is usually many-to-many.

In traditional martial arts, there are situations such as one against the minority. One against the majority, few against one, and few against many, which occur in various environments.

For example, wrestling is a typical one-on-one sport. Which is mostly seen in rural areas and some towns in North China.

Most traditional martial arts are one-on-one and few skills. That is, after practicing, the person should be able to defeat three to five people. Or be able to handle three to five people around him in a group fight.

Later, there was a large number of development in southern towns. Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do was deeply influenced by this category. There should also be some people in the north who still like this category. The flying kicks should be this category. However, due to urbanization, this category gradually declined.

Few against one, few against many, rarely exist nowadays, but they can still be seen in novels and some boxing manuals. Such as the multi-person formations in temples and Taoist temples to subdue the enemy. The collective exercises of a few villages, communities and clans.

Internal and external distinction

The most important distinction or development of traditional martial arts is the emergence of internal martial arts. Most traditional martial arts later had the content of internal martial arts and used it as the basic skills.

But this is a complex and poorly understood field, one that is mixed with both truth and falsehood. I will not explain it in detail if my level is not high enough.

Current Development of Traditional Martial Arts

It is definitely moving towards ring-based martial arts. In fact, there have been traditional martial arts that have been ring-based for a long time. They have already been globalized, that is, unlimited fighting. Bruce Lee has made extremely important contributions to this sport.

But it is hard to say how it will develop in China. After all, the country is the biggest operator, and the influence of private clubs and competitions is very limited. The definition at the national level is performing arts, which makes it difficult to evaluate.