NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Five Ancestors

Five Ancestors Fist (Chinese: 五祖拳; Pinyin: wǔ zǔ quán; Minnan: ngó chó kûn) is a Southern Chinese martial art that consists of techniques from five different styles: Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: æ±‰è¯æ‹¼éŸ³; Traditional Chinese: æ¼¢èªžæ‹¼éŸ³; Pinyin: , lit. ... Mǐn Nán (Chinese: 閩南語), also spelt as Minnan or Min-nan; native name Bân-lâm-gú; literally means Southern Min or Southern Fujian and refers to the local language/dialect of southern Fujian province, China. ... Chinese martial arts (often abbreviated as CMA) refers to the enormous variety of martial art styles native to China. ...

Five Ancestors has been attributed variously to Chua Giok Beng (pinyin: Cài Yùmíng) of Jinjiang near Quanzhou in Fujian in the second half of the 19th century or to Bái Yùfeng, a famous 13th century Shaolin monk of the original Henan Shaolin temple in the North of China to whom Five Animals style and Hóngquán (洪拳) have also been attributed. The Cai (Chua) branch also calls themselves He Yang Pai, a tribute to Cai's teacher. White Crane Kung Fu (白鶴拳; pinyin: bái hé quán; Hokkien: pek hok kun) is one of the original five animals of Shaolin Quan and one of the styles that constitute Five Ancestors Fist. ... This article contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... Emperor Taizu (March 21, 927 - November 14, 976), born Zhao Kuangyin, was the founder of the Song Dynasty of China, reigning from 960 to 976. ... Iron Shirt is a dog form of Kung fu exercise also known in Wing Chun as Golden Bell, or in Ashida Kim Black Dragon Ninjitsu as Iron Body. ... Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: æ±‰è¯æ‹¼éŸ³; Traditional Chinese: æ¼¢èªžæ‹¼éŸ³; Pinyin: , lit. ... Quanzhou (Chinese: 泉州; pinyin: Quánzhōu) is a prefecture level city, located in the Fujian province of China. ... Fujian (Chinese: ç¦å»º; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Fu-chien; Postal System Pinyin: Fukien, Foukien; local transliteration Hokkien from Min Nan Hok-kiÃ n) is one of the provinces on the southeast coast of China. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... For the style associated with Gu Ruzhang, see Northern Shaolin (martial art). ... Henan (Chinese: æ²³å—; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ho-nan), is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. ... Main gate of the Shaolin temple in Henan. ... Alternative meaning: In geology, North China (continent) and South China (continent) were two ancient landmasses that correspond to modern northern and southern China. ...

One of the primary characteristics of Five Ancestors is its reliance on the Sam Chian (pinyin: Sān Zhàn 三戦; literally "three battles") stance and its corresponding hand form of the same name, which it obtained not from Fujian White Crane (since it in fact draws upon the yin/yang white crane method), but from the militaristic characteristics of Taizu. The "three battles" refer primarily to the three stages of a wuzu practitioners can achieved: battle preparations, battle techniques and battle strategies; all of which must be mastered in order to attained a good level. Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: æ±‰è¯æ‹¼éŸ³; Traditional Chinese: æ¼¢èªžæ‹¼éŸ³; Pinyin: , lit. ...

Sam Chian can also be said to allow development of the eight Five Ancestor principles and so, is considered the most important form in the style. Indeed, it is said that this form contains all the principles of the Five Ancestors system. Thus it is the first form taught to junior students, so that they may explore the essential points of Five Ancestors from the start of their training.

There is an Okinawan version of Sam Chian, which is possibly better known in the West. The Okinawan pronunciation is: Sanchin. Best known by its Japanese name, Sanchin is a martial arts training routine (Japanese: kata) of Fujianese (south China) origin that is considered to be the core of several styles, the most well-known being the Goju Ryu and Uechi Ryu styles of Karate as well as the Chinese martial...

Although the exact method depends on the school, Five Ancestors is known for is large variety in power generational methods. Due to the distinct character of each ancestor, these methods change depending on the power required. Some schools teach tension forms that develop power, of which there are about ten, and fist forms that train technique, of which there are dozens. Others stress a relaxed body, instead seeking maximum transmission of the relevant Jīn. The Chinese character ç‹ (pinyin: JÄ«n) can mean either muscle or tendon [1]. Exercises designed to develop JÄ«n are known as JÄ«ngÅng (ç‹ åŠŸ). In the context of Chinese martial arts, such exercises develop the ability to recruit the tendons at the beginning and end of a movement as...

On top of this are miscellaneous hand forms, two-man forms (also known as form-drill) that may or may not include sticking hands, and forms for a comprehensive arsenal of weapons including rice bowl and chopsticks, umbrellas, even opium pipes.

Over the decades masters have added to this list introducing material they considered relevant to the time.

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See also