Martial Arts in Ancient China

Kung-Fu is the most ancient of all martial arts and it is possible to trace its roots back more than 4,000 years. The earliest form of Chinese martial arts were those practised by soldiers for direct use in battlefield combat. Ancient legend states that weapons and hand-to-hand martial arts' techniques were propagated by China's Yellow Emperor. Before he rose to the imperial throne in 2698 BC, the Yellow Emperor had been a notable general and had already written at length on elevated subjects such as astrology, Chinese medicine and the Martial Arts. He developed a form of wrestling called Horn Butting (Jiao Di) where contestants wore horned helmets and attacked each other with their headgear. It is said that this same martial technique was employed on the battlefield, leading to victorious results.

Whatever the truth of such legends, Jiao Di horn-butting developed into a system of wrestling known as Jiao Li during the Zhou Dynasty, 1122 BC - 256 AD. Jiao Li is one of the most ancient systems of Martial Arts in the world and was first put down on paper in the ancient Chinese tome, The Classic of Rites. Jiao Li extended its wrestling repertoire to include sophisticated techniques such as joint-locks, pressure-point attacks plus systemised strikes and blocks. The art was taught to military personnel who also learned archery, war strategy and weapons techniques. Later on Jiao Li became a sport accessible to anyone in the Qui Dynasty around 221 BC. Competitions were held on raised platforms called leitai for popular amusement and military recruitment purposes. A Jiao Li champion could hope to win a post as a military trainer or bodyguard to the court. A form of Jiao Li, called Hui Jiao is still taught today to Chinese police and military personnel. Shui Jiao is also popular in Mongol festivals, although they call it bohke.

During the Zhou Dynasty, martial arts began to develop concurrent with the philosophical trends of society at the time, namely Confucianism and Taoism. In Taoism the universal opposites, Ying and Yang, were transposed to fighting systems, resulting in the hard and soft techniques that are existent in Kung-Fu today. The Taoist system of divination, the I-Ching contributed many mystical elements to Kung-Fu philosophy. Meanwhile Tao itself is a cosmic energy, likened to the Chi power that martial artists sought to harness to boost their powers. Confucianism meanwhile included the practice of martial arts as part of its six arts that should be practised in ideal worldly living alongside calligraphy, mathematics