Chapter 14 Section 9 Pictographic Fist

Pictograph boxing includes two categories: one is bionic boxing combined with imitation of animals and martial arts, such as monkey boxing, snake boxing, eagle claw boxing, mantis boxing, etc. Drunken Fist, which completes various martial arts movements, such as Drunken Fist, Drunken Sword, Drunken Cudgel, etc. Animals living in nature, whether they are small insects or giant tigers, lions, and elephants, in order to maintain their own survival, they are all fighting against various adverse conditions tenaciously, and those who cannot adapt to the environment are eliminated Yes, those who can adapt stay.In the long process of biological evolution, all kinds of animals have gradually mastered a set of unique skills to survive in harsh environments.To get food, they have to be able to hunt and attack.If they are not eaten by other animals, they must be able to avoid and defend.No one can tell how many kinds of animals there are in the great world.Some are strong and powerful, some are weak and timid, some are big and some are small, some can fly and some can swim.There are so many ways animals of all shapes and sizes use to attack and defend.When tigers, lions, and leopards attack, their movements are as fast as lightning, and they use their sharp teeth and claws to directly attack the vital points of their prey, just like the "evil tiger digs out its heart" in martial arts; Following a meandering route, it cleverly uses the protective color to approach the prey quietly.In a state where the prey was defenseless, within a very short distance, a sudden blow [shu uncle] ended the life of the prey.Animals also have their own housekeeping skills when defending. For example, hedgehogs and tortoises, in times of crisis, turn their bodies together, shrink their heads, are covered in thorns and armor, and no one can do anything about them; , relying on his agile and flexible footwork to escape from the dangerous place.Thousands of forms and changes of offensive and defensive fighting in the animal world constantly inspire ancient Chinese martial artists and provide them with inexhaustible materials for creating martial arts movements.Animal imitation is actually an ancient Chinese martial art, and it is also a common phenomenon in ancient Chinese sports. Almost all martial arts categories and genres have more or less animal imitation content.Xiang Xingquan is just more concentrated, combining animal movements with martial arts more fully.

Xiangxingquan not only has a complete set of routines that meet the requirements of martial arts offense and defense, but also imitates the drunken state of animals and drunks, which is vivid and lifelike. It skillfully combines these movements that have nothing to do with martial arts with martial arts, fully It shows the magical imagination of the working people in ancient China.Wushu bionics does not simply imitate the shape of animals, but through imitation, and then imitates the expression of animals, to experience the artistic conception of animals living unrestrained in nature, to achieve the purpose of cultivating temperament and enriching emotions.It integrates self-defense, fitness, self-cultivation and joy.This is a fruitful result of the development of ancient martial arts in the direction of entertainment, and it can also be said to be an artistic creation.

The movement of pictograph boxing is very difficult, not only requires good physical fitness and superb technical level, but also requires rich imagination.In this way, not only the appearance is similar, but also the expression is similar. This is the "picture meaning" pursued by pictograph boxing.There are many pictographic boxing in ancient Chinese martial arts, and the bionic pictographic boxing includes snake boxing, eagle claw boxing, crab boxing, dog boxing, duck boxing, lion boxing and so on.Only three are introduced below. Monkey is familiar and loved by people, and it is also an animal related to human beings.It is lively and active, smart and agile, and its movements are dexterous and changeable, and its fighting methods are surprisingly fast.People have been imitating monkeys for a long time. In the "Guiding Map" of the Western Han Dynasty unearthed in Mawangdui, Changsha, there is a fitness method that imitates monkeys, called "monkey washing".

However, the written records about Monkey Boxing were much later, and first appeared in "Ji Xiao Xin Shu" written by Qi Jiguang in the Ming Dynasty.What Qi Jiguang recorded in the book were some relatively mature boxing techniques at that time, so it can be seen that the appearance of monkey boxing should be earlier than Qi Jiguang's era.Zheng Ruozeng's "Jiangnan Jinglue" in the Ming Dynasty also recorded the "Thirty-Six Ways of Monkey Boxing", which shows that Monkey Boxing has become a relatively popular boxing style in the Ming Dynasty.In the famous Shaolin martial arts, there is also monkey boxing.Wang Shixing of the Ming Dynasty saw the wonderful monkey boxing performance of Shaolin monks when he visited Songshan Mountain. He described the monks who performed the exercise as "circling and jumping, just like a monkey" ("Songyouji").

The routine movements of the ancient monkey boxing include the basic content of monkey life, such as: the white ape coming out of the hole, the ape peeping, the white ape kicking a branch, the white ape squatting, the white ape picking peaches, the white ape jumping, the white ape offering fruit, the white ape Diao stick, frightened monkey flees, white ape hangs vines, white ape dodges, white ape enters a cave, etc.Monkey Boxing imitates the appearance of a monkey: shrugging shoulders, shrinking neck, rounding the back, corseting the body, bending the elbows, dropping the wrists, bending the knees.But just in this "monkey face" that sits or does not sit, stands or stands, scratches its ears and scratches its cheeks, and is never stable for a moment, there are hidden a series of martial arts techniques, such as: grasping, blocking, throwing, plucking, cutting, tricking, and holding. , buckle, push; leg techniques, such as: wrapping, kicking, kicking, pointing, bouncing and corresponding body techniques (Figure 10).

The basic characteristics of Monkey Boxing are crispness, quickness and strength, alternating rigidity and softness, lightness and agility, avoiding heavy forces and advancing sideways, moving body, hands, and steps quickly and simultaneously, and intensive boxing techniques.Monkey Boxing generally does not take the initiative to attack, and uses more body and quick dodge to avoid confrontation with the opponent.Look for opportunities while dodging, and give the opponent a sudden continuous blow. A mantis is a carnivorous insect that moves slowly. Its two huge forefeet have sharp serrated teeth, like two large knives, held high in front of its chest at any time. Once it encounters prey that can be eaten, such as flies, moths, and butterflies Grasshoppers, grasshoppers, etc., with unexpectedly fast and accurate movements, use two powerful forefeet to strike like lightning.At this time, any dexterous insect can only wait to die, and there is absolutely no hope of surviving.Praying mantises are very stealthy and patient, making them hard to spot when approaching or waiting for their prey.

The fighting method of the mantis gave great inspiration to ancient martial artists, and created the mantis boxing.There are two types of Mantis Boxing, South and North.Nanpai Mantis Boxing was created by Zhou Yanan in Guangdong in the Qing Dynasty, and its style is similar to Nanquan. Northern Mantis Boxing was created by Wang Lang, a native of Jimo, Shandong, in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.It is said that Wang Lang liked to practice martial arts since he was a child, and he had studied martial arts in Shaolin Temple for many years.After the Shaolin Temple was burned for anti-Qing and Ming Dynasty, Wang Lang left Shaolin Temple and returned to his hometown in Shandong.Wang Lang, who is good at observation, saw a praying mantis fighting a big cicada one day, so he watched the battle quietly from the sidelines with great interest. Freedom, hardness and softness, advancing and retreating in an orderly manner.Wang Lang looked at it, his heart suddenly moved, and he thought: "Isn't the fighting method of this praying mantis very similar to the fighting technique of martial arts?" He caught many praying mantises and went home. There are various techniques such as sticking, sticking, collapsing, cuddling, flashing, hooking, hanging, tricking, picking, sealing, and splitting.In the end, Wang Lang combined Shaolin boxing and mantis fighting techniques, using the movements of the forearm of the mantis and the movement of monkeys in the footwork, which is called "monkey step". fist" (Fig. 11).

This kind of mantis boxing is widely spread in the north.In the spread, other schools gradually evolved, such as the powerful and vigorous Seven Star Mantis (also called Arhat Mantis), the soft Liuhe Mantis (also called Horse Monkey Mantis), the soft and rigid Plum Blossom Mantis (also called Tai Chi Praying Mantis).Later, there were arm-armed mantises, hand-wrestling mantises, bare plate mantises, and eight-step mantises.The common characteristics of Mantis Boxing are rigorous movements, agility and strength, both long and short movements, and strong aggressiveness.When exerting force, the body and arms shake and shake, fast and violent, but sometimes softness is also used, there is softness in the rigidity, and rigidity in the softness.

In the description of Liangshan heroes in the Song Dynasty in "Water Margin", we can often see that many Liangshan heroes displayed their martial arts in a drunk state, throwing fists to shock the wind and rain, and weeping ghosts and gods with legs.For example, Lin Wusong beat Jiang Menshen when he was drunk, Kong Liang Wusong got drunk and beat Kong Liang when he was drunk, Lu Zhishen beat Shanmen when he was drunk, etc., are all well-known stories. Zuiquan, also known as "Drunken Boxing" and "Drunk Eight Immortals", used to draw on the ancient "Drunken Dance" ("Jinbi Shilei" Volume 12), and it was widely spread in the late Ming Dynasty.This kind of boxing is mainly to imitate a drunk man leaning forward and backward, tilting this way and that, in a state of being intoxicated, pretending to be drunk, sometimes pouring himself a drink, sometimes tossing and turning, half tilted, half tilted, seemingly upside down, Take advantage of the situation to complete various martial arts combat movements, such as: cuddling and buckling, kicking and hooking, leaning and squeezing, and flashing and moving.People describe it as "the head is like a wave, the hands are like a shooting star, the body is like a willow, and the feet are like a drunkard" (Figure 12).

Drunken fist combines boxing, wrestling and drunkenness into one, and it has better concealment in fighting. It can paralyze the opponent, make him relax his vigilance, and then catch him by surprise.The movements of Drunken Fist are very difficult, and only when the whole body is practiced to the extent that "there is no place to be afraid of being hit, and there is no place where it is not to be hit", can the characteristics of Drunken Fist be fully reflected, so that the body can be broken step by step, and the movement of the heart can follow the shape. , pointing to the east and hitting the west, avoiding the real and attacking the imaginary.However, it is not easy to achieve this level, which requires not only good flexibility and flexibility, but also good martial arts skills.A "Song of the Drunken Eight Immortals" vividly describes this unique boxing style: "The drunk, the drunk, is called the Eight Immortals. The head and neck once touched the top of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Who would dare to deal with the shoulders. Arms are as strong as iron; Elbows are like thunder and lightning. Fists are like hitting a pillar, palms are like wind and smoke. Knees raised, people are lifted; Chao'er, pulling east and west, so that people can't stay in it. Eight caves of immortality, make a crown and Gu Tian." ("Boxing Classics and Boxing Techniques")

The martial arts that imitate the drunken state include not only the drunken boxing practiced by a single person with bare hands, but also the chic and straight drunken sword, the imposing drunken stick, the vigorous drunken knife, the elusive drunken gun, and the "drunk man show" where boxing sparring is used. Monkey", people call these martial arts "six drunks".