The magazine presents an overview of the 10 most famous styles, or rather types, of traditional Chinese Wushu.

Kung fu or gong fu (from Chinese 功夫) is a term in modern meaning used outside China to denote Chinese and is a synonym for it. In the literal sense, the term means a skill, competence, mastery honed over years in any kind of activity (crafts, arts, sports, etc.). The original term for "Chinese martial art" is 中国武术 (zhongguo wushu).

1. Shaolinquan (Fist of Shaolin Monastery) 少林拳

Shaolin Wushu is well known in its homeland of China and abroad. It originated in the Songshan Shaolin Buddhist monastery, located in the Chinese province of Henan. It is characterized by powerful blows, as well as the presence of numerous acrobatic techniques, jumps and somersaults.

• : conversation with Masha Pipenko about wushu, taijiquan and Wudang boys
• : thousands of kung fu schools are here!

2. Taijiquan

The origin of taijiquan is a historically controversial issue, with different sources having different versions (dates of creation vary from the 7th to the 14th century). Many people perceive this art in a simplified way - either as a sport, or as recreational gymnastics, or as a type of hand-to-hand combat. Modern views characterized by slow, fluid movements with deep and controlled breathing.

3. Wing Chun (Fist of Eternal Spring) 咏春拳

Wing Chun is one of the most powerful, focused and popular forms of Wushu. Uses many combat techniques, for this reason it is considered an applied direction. Departures from the line of attack are complemented by instant direct attacks when approaching at an extremely close distance. Famous followers: (Ye Wen) and Bruce Lee.

The founder of the style was Dong Haichuan from Hebei Province. Dong Haichuan created a style based on the techniques of local Wushu styles. Distinctive features Bagua is the use of military equipment in a constant circular movement. All movements are interconnected and seem to transform into one another.

One of the oldest representatives of Chinese internal martial arts It has long history used by the Chinese military. Characterized by direct movements and explosive strikes, without the use of brute force.

A style of Southern Chinese kung fu developed by master Chen Heng in 1836. This style is characterized by the sweep and amplitude of powerful blows with the fist and forearms. Bruce Lee spoke positively of this style, saying that it was the only style of Chinese kung fu that could hold its own against Muay Thai.

The name of the style means that the punching power of its fighters is such that it reaches all the limits of the universe and even goes even further. For a long time, the style was transmitted only among Chinese Muslims (Hui). A characteristic feature of Bajiquan is considered to be a special explosive release of force in a blow.

One of the largest styles of Chinese Wushu. It is currently one of the most popular styles of Wushu in the world. According to legend, the style was founded by Wang Lan, based on his observations of how a praying mantis attacks its prey or fights another mantis. Speed ​​and continuity of movement - business card style.

A modern type of wushu, created in the 60s of the twentieth century. A mixture of techniques from various southern styles. It is carried out at close and medium distance. A huge variety of hand techniques and an abundance of short punches, with low and stable poses.

10. Changquan (long fist) 长拳

A family of wushu styles with full extension of the arm when striking and additional rotation of the shoulders to extend the distance of the strike (sometimes used as a synonym for all northern styles). As a rule, such styles fight at long range.

Based on materials from China Whisper, Wikipedia and other open sources.

Related materials

I am glad to welcome all fans of steel chains, fans of sharp shurikens and, of course, fans of superman's flights, because today we will talk about the game “Yie Ar Kung-Fu”. This fighting game, in fact, is the first high-quality fighting game, because... the same “Street Fighter” appeared only a couple of years later, and “Mortal Kombat” even later.

You can't beat skill!

Our story begins in the fighting room, where Lee arrived to take part in the tournament. The best kung fu masters gathered in that hall, yes, especially since everyone took with them clubs, shurikens, chains and other devices with which they would beat our lilac-haired young man. Lee himself is armed only with fists, although, unlike other contenders for victory in the Kung Fu tournament, he can jump, which will greatly facilitate Lee’s task, because no one has yet canceled blows to the head during a jump. Of course, you can only play as Lee himself, however, our purple-haired boy’s opponents will be very different, i.e. even though there are only 5 of them, they will all have different styles fighting, as well as different weapons that our kung fu fighters will use in accordance with their style. Also, the fighting style is greatly influenced by the weight of kung fu masters, i.e. Fat guys tend to move slowly, but fight better in close combat, despite the fact that they also have weapons, while skinny kung fu fighters throw a punch and quickly move away.

To win the tournament, our lilac-haired young man will have to defeat all five kung fu fighters, after which he will jump and kick the gong and the 6th level will begin, in which he will again have to fight with the same five, although all these fighters will be much more faster, yes, especially since the number of shurikens with fireballs they produce will increase, respectively, these five will follow each other until the moment Lee does not have a single life left.

In the ring

Lee's first opponent will be Wang - a fat man in blue pants and with a club, on which our lilac-haired boy will be able to practice techniques, because... Wang not only moves slowly, but also does not immediately strike, although only at levels 1 and 6, and then the blue-breasted challenger will be made a little stronger. Lee's second enemy will be Tao - a man of average build in purple pants who throws fireballs, and if our Lee hits such a fireball with his foot or hand, the fireball will be destroyed. Lee's third opponent will be Chen, a fat bald man in green clothes, and his weapon will be a chain that hits the floor of the screen, although Lee can also hit it with his foot or hand, just like Tao's fireballs. Lee's fourth enemy will be Lang, a fast girl in pink clothes who throws shurikens. Well, Lee’s fifth enemy will be Mu - a fast, unarmed fat man in white pants, who can really fly at our lilac-haired boy like Superman, but during the moments of flight Lee will have to dodge.

The graphical advantages include the depiction of weapons and techniques of kung fu masters, but the fighting room itself looks quite simple, i.e. this is an ordinary black background with six windows, four chandeliers, a gong, and a sign on which incomprehensible hieroglyphs are written.

In addition to Chinese music, you will be able to hear the sounds of blows that our Lee will inflict on his enemies and that the kung fu masters will inflict on our lilac-haired boy, although all these blows will be similar to the sounds of blows with a pillow, and not at all like blows with a chain or club.

Bottom line

As you already understand, our Li will have to show all applicants that his kung fu is stronger than their kung fu, but whether the lilac-haired master can defeat these five at least once will depend only on you.

Rdirector: Jennifer Yu
The roles were voiced by: Angelina Jolie, Gary Oldman, Seth Rogen, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jack Black, Jackie Chan, Dustin Hoffman, David Cross, Lucy Liu and others.

The next mission of the panda “Dragon Master” Po and the Furious Five is to rescue the bunnies from the village of musicians, where talking wolves have raided in order to rob the local residents and seize all the metal in the village. The wolves needed bowlers and tambourines to make high-tech (for those times) cannons that fired fireworks using the ground-to-ground system. This technology was invented by Lord Shen, an arrogant and stupid peacock, who, with the help of weapons, intends to bring all animal China to its knees, intimidate the kung fu masters and remain, in general, its last adherent. Only now the prophetic sheep keeps predicting that the lord will be defeated by the black and white warrior, and this warrior himself, attacked by pictures from the past, has already come to Shen and is trying to take revenge for the bowlers, although in the end he will have to fight for something completely different.

The charming continuation of the panda's story, quite expectedly, turns out to be almost the best animated sequel in the history of cinema (Toy Stories and Shrek are still not for everyone): perhaps it is due to the fact that the project was taken over by the Asian Jennifer Yu, who looks more like a kung fu master , rather than on the director, or an unheard-of budget for a cartoon of $150 million. One way or another, the studio did not make a mistake, patiently waiting out the crisis, and at the same time did not try to chase the distribution schedule in the hope of releasing the film as quickly as possible and forgetting about it. As a result, everyone received what was due according to the laws of the genre: the audience - joy, the studio - money, the critics - bones. As grandfather Lenin bequeathed (well, almost).

In Kung Fu Panda 2, the creators continue to synthesize a large number of easily digestible humor, equally understandable to any audience, and a small number of dramatic moments, as a result of which some interspecies connection between Po and Tigress is revealed. Typically, this is perceived as some kind of cunning move with completely honest explanations about a friendly shoulder and words of support. But it is possible that Jack Black arbitrarily made the necessary adjustments to the script in order to at least virtually touch Jolie. But, you see, this is an order of magnitude more decent than a donkey and a dragon.

But seriously, an iron hand and nerves of steel are visible in the picture at every move: not only are two multi-move moves developing in parallel in front of us, they are also colorful and shimmering like Christmas tree action scenes, one more beautiful than the other. In them you can finally get a better look at the Praying Mantis, appreciate the balancing act of the Panda-Crane tandem, and admire Master Shifu, who can kill with a drop of water. And also - to enjoy a new character, whose screen time is undeservedly small: Master Croc, voiced by Van Damme (not for our ears, of course, but still) brings with him just enough happiness that it would be stupid not to drag this character into the third Part. There is no doubt that it will take place: the picture is replete with threads to the threequel, you can even guess some zen character in them.

Although, in essence, “Kung Fu Panda 2” does not say anything new: even without detailed knowledge of the conflict, everyone knows that pandas are good, polite and rare, and peacocks are evil, important and useless. But she takes familiar things and makes them truly exciting. If you haven’t seen what happens when animals master kung fu and organize a large-scale massacre using it, then you are in vain. Because it's cooler than refined mermaids. “Panda” even wins over “Pirates” on a key point: there are naval battles. So good luck to her, because next weekend is expected to be hot for both franchises.

We thank CINEMA PARK for your cooperation.

Kung Fu is an ancient Chinese martial art. If you want to learn this art, but there is no sports school nearby, or you cannot afford to pay for classes, or you are too busy, you can learn kung fu on your own. It won't be easy, but it will be worth it.

Steps

Part 1

1. Make room for your workouts. Since you'll be jumping and kicking and punching a lot, you'll need some space. An area of ​​3 by 3 meters will be sufficient.

   • If you don't have an empty training room, clear out one of the corners of any room (move from this corner any objects that you don't want to break and that could injure you).

2. Buy a punching bag. At first you can do without it (since you will be throwing punches in the air), but then you will still need it to practice punches.

   • You can hang the bulb from the ceiling or buy a bulb that sits on the floor.

3. Find instructions. Of course, training with a trainer is The best way learn kung fu, but you can master this martial art on your own (if you are a persistent and purposeful person). Buy a DVD, watch online videos, or look for training instructions on kung fu school websites. On school websites you will find short videos that will teach you basic movements.

   • It's best to find instructions from multiple sources. There are different schools of kung fu, so you need to choose the training method that suits you best. Moreover, there are many kung fu “experts” online who are not actually kung fu experts. By selecting multiple sources, you ensure that your movements and strikes are performed correctly.

4. Choose what you will focus on first. You shouldn’t take on everything at once - this is a rather difficult task. Once you have mastered some stances, decide if you want to concentrate on learning jumping, kicking, or punching.

   • We recommend making a training plan. For example, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays you will practice stances and kicks. And on Tuesdays and Thursdays you will work on balance and flexibility.

   Part 2

   Basic training

   1. Work on your balance and flexibility. Balance in kung fu is necessary in order to take stances correctly. To control your balance, do yoga. Don't think that these are minor exercises - they will help you succeed in learning kung fu.

      • To develop flexibility, start each workout with a warm-up and stretching exercises. Warm-up may include running, jumping and push-ups. Then move on to muscle stretching exercises. This will keep you from getting hurt and will make your body more flexible, allowing you to kick higher and allow your body to bend better.

   2. Master multiple stances. Proper stance is the foundation of any martial art. You will not be able to move correctly if your stance is incorrect. The first three stances described are not intended for combat; they are designed for traditional kung fu and weapon combat.

      • Rider pose. Bend your knees about 30 degrees, place your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, bend your arms and press your elbows towards your body. Hold your fists with your palms facing up. Straighten your back (as if you were sitting on a horse).
      • Front pillar. Bend your knees and take your left leg back. Hold your right fist in front of your face and your left fist at chest level. Rearrange your legs so that your left leg is in front. After this, rearrange your hands accordingly.
      • Pose "Cheating Leg". Place your right leg slightly back and transfer your body weight to it. Place your left foot slightly forward and touch the floor only with your left toes. Keep your fists in front of your face (like in boxing). If someone attacks you, you will defend with your left foot.
      • Fighting stance. Very similar to a boxer's stance: one leg slightly in front of the other, fists at face level, knees relaxed.

   3. Practice punches. The force of the blow depends on the position of the hips. Just like boxing, kung fu has jabs, uppercuts and hooks.

      • Jab. Take a fighting stance, place your left foot in front of your right, bend your knees, turn your hip towards your opponent and throw out your left fist, and then immediately your right (while turning your right hip).
      • Hook. Take a fighting stance, place your left foot in front of your right, turn your hips back and strike to the left with your right hand bent at the elbow.
      • Uppercut. Take a fighting stance, lower your fist and strike upward to the opponent's chin. At the same time, rotate your hips slightly.

   4. Practice blocks. Blocks vary depending on what strike you are blocking. Any attacking blow is blocked in a fighting stance. In this position, you are able to protect your face and reduce the effectiveness of your opponent's blows.

      • Blocking jabs, uppercuts and hooks is very similar to that in boxing. Block such blows with a bent arm; with the other hand you can strike back.
      • Use both hands to block elbows and kicks. Keep them bent at face level and rotate your hip towards the opponent's strike. This will protect your face and hurt your opponent.

   5. Practice your kicks. Such strikes are one of the most exciting aspects of kung fu. Here are the three basic kicks.

      • Kick-step. Stand in front of a punching bag. Step forward with your left foot and then strike the right side of the bag. inner surface feet. Repeat the move with your right leg.
      • Kick-stomp. Stand in front of a punching bag. Step forward with your left leg, and then lift (in front of your body) your right leg, bent at the knee. Apply a sharp blow to the bag (“stomp” on it).
      • Side impact. Take a fighting stance with your left foot forward. Shift your weight to your left leg and use your right foot to kick the bag at shoulder level. Stay in this position (right leg raised) to practice balance.

   6. Practice throwing combinations of punches (in the air and on the punching bag). First, learn how to throw punches in the air correctly, and then move on to punching the bag. If you are tired, take a break.

      • After you have thoroughly practiced punching the punching bag, find a sparring partner. Don't forget to wear protection (if you have one), or ask your partner to wear special gloves so that you can practice punches (hands and feet) with them.

   Part 3

   Basic movements

   1. "The Dragon". This movement serves to intimidate the opponent. While moving, you must look directly at the opponent. Here's how it's done:

      • Get into horseback position, but place your legs wider and bend them more (squat deeper).
      • Throw your wrist out (as you would with a jab), but bend your fingers into a claw shape rather than a fist.
      • Come out of the squat and throw a side kick to the opponent's stomach area.

   2. "Snake". This is a backward movement with the head raised up when struck (as a snake does).

      • Spread your legs, place your right leg behind your left. Shift your weight to your back leg. Keep your knees bent.
      • Hold your hands as if you want to punch through your opponent. Throw it away right hand forward.
      • Block your opponent by grabbing his arm and deliver a stomp.

   3. "Leopard". This movement will allow you to retreat if necessary.

      • Take a fighting stance, but place your feet wider and shift your body weight to your back leg.
      • When throwing a punch, shift your body weight to your front leg and punch with the knuckles of your open hand (not your fist). Perform this strike carefully, or you will injure your hand.

   4. "Crane". A passive move used when an enemy approaches you.

      • Get into Leg Cheat pose, but place your feet close together to hide the cheat leg.
      • Raise your arms to the sides, distracting your opponent.
      • As your opponent approaches, strike with a "deception" leg (that is, a leg that rests on the ground only with its toes).

   5. "Tiger". Fast and efficient movement.

      • Take a fighting stance, but place your feet wider. Basically, you have to kind of crouch down.
      • Keep your hands at shoulder level; Fold your fingers into a claw shape (which points outward).
      • Throw a jab-jab combo followed by a side kick to the opponent's neck.

   Part 4

   Philosophy

   1. Know that there are two main schools of kung fu. On non-training days, read classic kung fu and martial arts literature such as Sun Tzu, Bruce Lee, Tak Wah Eng, David Chow and Lam Sai Wing. You will get an idea of ​​two schools of kung fu.

      • Shaolin. This is the oldest kung fu school. She is known for “external” movements and workouts aimed at strengthening muscles, ligaments and tendons. This school symbolizes what most people think of kung fu.
      • Wu Dong. It's not like that old school, which interprets the original concepts of kung fu. She is known for “internal” movements and training aimed at strengthening and controlling the life force (chi). This school focuses on meditation, contemplation (Zen) and inner strength.

   2. Compare your movements with the movements of animals. This comparison is at the heart of kung fu. It will also direct your thinking in the right direction and force you to use your full potential.

      • Rumor has it that there is an athlete in New Zealand who once dug a hole about a meter deep and jumped in and out of it. Gradually he made the hole deeper and deeper and step by step he turned into a kangaroo man. You have to think about the animals not only during the fight, but also during training.

   3. Meditate . Japanese samurai used meditation to improve their fighting skills. They believed (and not without reason) that meditation would help them develop tactics for a future battle. Meditation clears your mind and helps you find peace of mind and strength, so it is recommended to meditate for about 15 minutes daily.

      • Imagine a car accident. When it happens, time seems to slow down. This is the state of meditation. This calm state is very helpful during a contraction because everything slows down and you can react faster.

   4. Train, train and train some more. This is the only way to succeed in kung fu. The movements themselves may seem useless. But if you train daily, meditate, read literature, this will become your way of life (then you will wonder how you lived without kung fu).

      • Practice punching in the air, on the punching bag, and with a sparring partner.
      • Correct mistakes in movements and strikes. Watch the instructions to make sure you do everything correctly. Otherwise you will learn something other than kung fu.

Of course, most of the fights can be found in films about martial arts, which were released in the 70s in such incredible amount that have become a separate genre. The legendary Bruce Lee probably went through thousands of fights throughout his short life (he died under mysterious circumstances at the age of 32), but film fans are especially fond of his fight with Chuck Norris in one of his last films, “Way of the Dragon.”

Now Chuck Norris has become a meme, the authors of which endowed him with divine qualities and superhuman abilities, and then Bruce Lee gave him a great blast. Moreover, the scene itself looks quite funny - because of the inappropriately moving camera, Lee’s attempts to tear out a tuft of hair from Norris’s chest and, most importantly, a cute little kitten is watching all this. However, in this historical duel, the hero of Chuck Norris was defeated, and what’s more - killed.

Old Star Wars fans, for whom the franchise is akin to a religion, are usually very unhappy with new episodes filmed in the 1990s and 2000s. But even the most orthodox fans did not remain indifferent in that short period of time when the treacherous Count Dooku, played by record-breaking actor (290 roles) Christopher Lee, and the wisest of the Jedi, Master Yoda, fought with each other with lightsabers.

As a little old green alien of unknown origin, Yoda, whom Empire magazine ranked as the 25th best movie character of all time, amazed audiences with both his infinite wisdom and his unbearable inversions in word order (“You must let go of everything that you you're afraid of losing"!). But when this little creature with rare gray hair on his head he carefully puts the stick aside and takes out a lightsaber; he suddenly turns into an incredibly jumping fighting machine. Unfortunately, not for long - the count, who has lost his composure, decides to leave the battle unfinished.

Which cartoon would you call the most unchildish? Of course, in many of them there are excessive manifestations of sexuality or flat humor. However, no animated film weighs as heavily on children's minds as The Lion King: the death of Mufasa so struck the author of this article that, as a seven-year-old child, he refused to continue watching for a long time. And in vain, because then he would not have seen the outstanding battle of lions against hyenas, and most importantly, the mature lion Simba against his killer uncle Scar. Despite the fact that the main characters in the cartoon are animals, not people, you won’t find so much revenge, meanness and violence in every adult movie. However, the main thing is that good won - albeit with the help of a clawed paw.

There were also plenty of fights in Tarantino's monumental Kill Bill. Many moviegoers salivated with pleasure, watching Uma Thurman's heroine Beatrix alone confront the gang of "88 rabid", or during the final battle with Bill - lightning fast and biting, like a blow of a whip. But in the top of the best battle episodes, another scene will be on one of the top lines: a mortal duel between Beatrix and Bill’s main henchman Elle Driver, who hate each other to the core, brilliantly played by Daryl Hannah. Everything in this scene - from the inability to draw swords in a small, cramped mobile home to the unexpected climax with a torn out eye - is calibrated perfectly. Tarantino loves cinema too much not to make it a cult classic.

There are plenty of first-class fights in brand new films as well. “Fast and Furious 5” came out just a couple of years ago, and after three failed installments, the series has healed new life. Much of the credit for this goes to the guys who persuaded Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to play one of the roles, and to the writers who wrote his fight with Vin Diesel into the plot. When two of the three main heroes of modern action films measure their strength in brutal contact combat, the history of the genre is being made before our eyes. Perhaps "Fast and Furious 6", which will be released on Russian screens on May 23, will be even cooler - in addition to Diesel and Johnson, they invited the third - and perhaps the last - main character of modern action films, Jason Statham.

American so-called “toilet” humor is usually not in our favor, and few people know that through the efforts of actor Will Ferrell and producer Judd Apatow, the United States produces films on the verge of humor of this very category, flavoring it all with surrealism, which takes jokes to a completely different level . And the scene in question can be perceived at the same time as one of the funniest in history, as one of the best fight scenes in history, and, in the opinion of the author of the article, as one of the best scenes in cinema.

In the comedy Anchorman, TV channels compete with each other and fight tooth and nail for ratings. At some point, the tension reaches its limit, and this develops into a bloody battle of TV presenters. Correspondents from five channels - in suits and with hairstyles - take out knives and brass knuckles from somewhere and begin to fight! There are horse guards and trident throwing with fatal, carried out by the hero Steve Carrell. And it all ends with drinking light beer somewhere on the sidelines of a television studio.

What do you think is hidden in the video that has currently received more than 10 million views on Youtube, called “Best fight scene ever”? It’s just a fight that breaks all your ideas about logic from a typical second-class Hong Kong action movie, which flew out of production lines like bullets in the 90s and which usually starred not actors, but karatekas and fitness instructors. The film is called “Unruly”, and one of the main roles in it was played by the American athlete Cynthia Rothrock, who is quite famous in narrow circles, who from the age of 13 gave everyone a light in karate and other martial arts.

However, if you enter her name in a search engine, you will be amazed by the abundance of candid photo shoots in which the now divorced actress quite impressively demonstrated her curves, and did this more than once as her career progressed. And now she successfully teaches martial arts at Hollywood film studios and owns several gyms. But in this scene from Defiant, it all starts not with her, but with two men who, accompanied by incredibly disturbing music, have a fight so funny that you want to show it to all your friends. The obligatory attributes are a fat-smeared body that should glisten, showing off muscles, and slow motion footage of an epic double punch to the face. And the tone for everything is set by the knife that the villain effectively licked (was this written in the script?).

Unfortunately, we left behind many iconic scenes - for example, from boxing films, from action films with Schwarzenegger, we forgot about the heroes of horror films Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees, whose paths once crossed. If you have your favorite movie fight, be sure to share the story about it with us in the comments.