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What is
Shuai-chiao? Origin
and development of Shuai-chiao The original Chinese Martial Art, a combat wrestling system called Chiao-li (Contesting of strength), was systematized during the Chou Dynasty (1122-256 BC). This military combat wrestling system, the first combination of fighting techniques historically employed by the imperial military, consisted of throws (Shuai), hand and foot strikes (Ta), seizing a person's joints (Na), attacking vital parts (Tien) and breaking joints (Tuan). This format proves that Chiao-li used punches, kicks, vital point attacks, Chin-na seizing and breaking joints in the context of throwing. All of these elements of fighting skills were practiced in training during the winter months and used in hundreds of battles in ancient China. It is the root and the foundation of Chinese Martial Arts. At first Chiao-li emphasis is only for military combat, but it gradually became a sport in the Chin Dynasty (221-207 BC) during the reign of the second emperor and became an entertainment event in the fifth century. The importance of proper training methods for the practical aspects of self-defense or sparring is to be emphasized. It is common knowledge that power and speed is of high importance in any kind of self-defense. Shuai-chiao training has been used for over 4,000 years, to train the Chinese Emperor's personal bodyguards, the military and still in the 20th century the police and military academies of China and Taiwan. Shuai-chiao embodies Tai-chi, Shaolin and the majority of Chinese martial arts as they are the offsprings of Shuai-chiao and is the root of all Chinese martial arts. It is the complementary subject matter for San-shou competition and for martial arts in general, a form of evaluation. The poem
of Shuai-chiao In ancient times, Shuai-chiao tournaments were done with nearly naked competitors, in modern times training can be done either in only shorts or with a heavy quilted canvas cotton jacket. One important point is that Shuai-chiao does not depend on the opponent's jacket or clothing in order to throw him. The priority is to grab the muscle and bone through the clothing in order to control and throw down the opponent. The use of the competitor's jacket that has short sleeves above the elbows and the jacket itself wraps tightly around the torso with a canvas belt, adds variety of techniques in controlling and throwing the opponent. Fast footwork using sweeps, inner hooks and kicks to the opponent's legs are combined with the controlling-striking arms that create a two directional action making a powerful throw. Kungfu pants and boots-wrestling shoes are usually worn, but bare feet are acceptable. Accordingly
there are many other major styles of Shuai-chiao such as Beijing, Tienchin,
Mongolian (Boke) and Paoting which is also nick named Kuai-chiao or Fast
Wrestling. There are diverse types of wrestling indigenous to the minority
groups in China such as the Uighurs in Sinkiang and Yis in Yunan province.
Most of the Shuai-chiao practitioners in the late Ching Dynasty are in
the Northern China until the establishment of the Republic of China 1911.
The art was then introduced to Southern China. When Taiwan split from China in 1949, a few champions of Shuai-chiao migrated to Taiwan and introduced Shuai-chiao. The most famous master was Chang Tung-sheng. After the 1970's experts such as Chang Tung-sheng, Jeng Hsing-ping, David Lin, Chi-hsiu D. Weng (USA), Li Wing-kay (Brazil),Yuan Tzu-mou (France), Ching Cheng-hwang (Germany), Luis Lin (Sweden) from China and Taiwan promoted Shuai-chiao overseas to Europe, the United States and Pan America. Training Working with
a partner allows one to emphasize power and coordination instead of just
skill. Drills against full speed punches, kicks and grappling attacks
are practiced to aid in training for San-shou (Chinese freestyle kickboxing)
and self defense. The author (Chi-hsiu D. Weng, Ph.D.), former instructor
of the Central Police College and Military College of Taiwan and assistant
to the late Grandmaster Ch'ang T'ung-sheng would like to stress the importance
of practicing free sparring drills and related mock physical encounter
situations. For the inexperienced novice student, to learn, remember and
deploy martial art techniques quickly is already difficult to do, let
alone choosing the appropriate technique under stress. Technical fighting
theory and understanding is the knowledge, while effective physical applications
of those Shuai-chiao techniques are the requirements of practical self-defense. With China bordering many countries, Shuai-chiao naturally influenced the evolution of wrestling as the civiliation spread. The Chinese characters of the Tang Dynasty Shan-pu (attacking each other) are the same characters used in Japanese wrestling (Sumo) and Korean wrestling (Ssirum). Shuai-chiao origins are in the northern part of China-Mongolia. This Military combat wrestling was further tempered with Mongolian wrestling (Boke) techniques as well as influencing wrestling in other dominated countries of Eastern Europe, India, Russia-Siberia and the countries along the Silk Route during the Yuan Dynasty by Genghis Kahn. The modern
Teng-chieh (Ranking system) was divided into ten levels. Progressing from
beginner, intermediate to professional level, this ranking system was
originally created by Grandmaster Ch'ang Tung-sheng, (the undefeated champion
of Shuai-chiao who was also know as the "King of Shuai-chiao") and was
adapted by the Central Police College in the textbook he wrote in 1966,"The
Method of Shuai-chiao" ..... The new ranking
system complied by Grandmaster Ch'ang and his assistant Dr. Chi-hsiu D.Weng
in the summer of 1983 and was first adopted by the International Shuai-chiao
Association and later the United States Shuai-chiao Association after
Grandmaster Ch'ang passed away in 1985. |