Chuojiao (Poking Foot)
戳腳A northern Chinese style of low stances and rear kicks from Raoyang in Hebei. Since 2014 it has been on China's national list of intangible heritage.
Quick Facts
ChinaCharacter & Origin
Training
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
About Chuojiao (Poking Foot)
Chuojiao, literally stabbing leg, is a northern Chinese style based on kicks, historically also called zhiziquan or tangzi tui. China's national intangible cultural heritage portal derives it from Shaolin, and according to tradition it arose under the Song dynasty, took firm shape under the Ming and flourished under the Qing. The documented Raoyang branch was founded, per the portal, by Feng Keshan, who taught in Raoyang, Hebei, under Emperor Jiaqing. Raoyang chuojiao is of the martial branch and focuses on real combat without ornament. Hand power comes from the spine, kick power from the gluteal muscles, stances are low, and rear kicks, swings and sweeps are typical. A proverb says the hands are two doors and the legs lead the main strikes. Forms include shisan jiao, which the Song family of Raoyang regards as the core of the style, plus jiu zhizi and jingang chui. Weapons practiced are the spear, saber and double-headed spear. Since 2014 chuojiao has been on China's national list of intangible cultural heritage as item VI-74, with Taocheng district in the city of Hengshui as applicant. It is practiced in Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin and Liaoning.
History
China's national intangible cultural heritage portal derives chuojiao from Shaolin. According to tradition it arose under the Song dynasty, took firm shape under the Ming and flourished under the Qing. We have not found this tradition in sources of the period. The documented Raoyang branch begins, according to the portal, with Feng Keshan, who taught chuojiao in the Raoyang area of Hebei province under Emperor Jiaqing (1796–1820). His followers made it into a coherent branch that spread around Hengshui, especially in the villages of Beiguanzhuang, Wodi, Beizhangbao and Beishan. Today chuojiao is practiced in Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin and Liaoning. Historically the style was also called zhiziquan, jingang chui, tangzi tui and jiufan yuanyang tui.
How it differs
According to the national portal, chuojiao has a civil (wen) and a martial (wu) branch, and Raoyang chuojiao is part of the martial one. The Shenzhen Special Zone Daily gives the nickname northern leg, which sets the style apart from the hand-focused southern styles. The Raoyang Song family regards the form shisan jiao as the core of the style. The English Wikipedia divides the forms differently, into the martial Hao direction from Shenyang with nine linked forms of double kicks and the civil Hu direction with twelve to thirty-two movements. It names the family branches Liu of Lixian, Duan of Raoyang, Zhao of Gaoyang, Wang and Wei.
Technique
According to the national portal, the Raoyang branch focuses on real combat without flourishes. It stresses power from the spine and hips, low stances, compact hand work and kicks, mainly rear kicks. Hand strikes draw power from the spine, kicks from the gluteal muscles. Twisting of the waist and hips together with whipping of the head and shoulder produces centrifugal force, which the old masters compared to a twisted rope or a small drum with beads. The basic stance is called ding after the character 丁. The supporting leg bears the weight, the kicking one points its toe down and the heel is raised. Typical are rear kicks such as jiufan yuanyang tui, outer swings, rear stamps and rear sweeps. The forms include shisan jiao, jiu zhizi, jingang chui and shiba lan tui, and among weapons the double-headed spear shuangtou she, the liuhe qiang spear, the qiqiang bagua dao saber and the chunqiu dadao great saber.
Training
The portal gives no specific exercises. It gives only proverb-like principles: the hands are two doors and the legs lead the main strikes, the hands give less power and the legs more, and without the upper body's coordination the legs count for little. Chuojiao passes from master to student and within families, and lives on as a folk tradition in several communities. According to the English Wikipedia, lightness training includes jumping at a wall with weights on the calves. Tradition credits the legendary Deng Liang with eighteen basic leg techniques arranged into a chain of 108 tricks.
Ranks and progression
We have not found a separate grading system for chuojiao in the sources. The intangible heritage portal names Song Junjie as the national bearer, and we have not traced other bearers. The English Wikipedia names Zhang Shuanglong for the Liu family and Li Jiantao for Raoyang as current representatives of the family branches.
Today
Since 2014 chuojiao has been on China's national list of intangible cultural heritage, in the fourth batch as item VI-74 with serial number 1305. The applicant was Taocheng district in the city of Hengshui. On 25 May 2024 Song Junjie demonstrated Raoyang chuojiao at a cultural fair in Shenzhen, according to the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily for the first time in the history of the fair.
Did you know
In the novel Water Margin the hero Wu Song, drunk, defeats Jiang Menshen with kicks that the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily attributes to chuojiao. The Song family calls the form shisan jiao a living fossil of Chinese martial arts. The style is also nicknamed yuanyang tui, literally the mandarin ducks leg. According to the English Wikipedia, Hu Fengsan walked about 500 kilometres under Emperor Guangxu to study with the Duan brothers.
Frequently asked questions
What does chuojiao mean?
Literally stabbing leg. Historically the style was also called zhiziquan, jingang chui or tangzi tui, and it is nicknamed the northern leg.
Where does chuojiao come from?
According to China's national intangible cultural heritage portal it derives from Shaolin. The documented Raoyang branch, however, begins with Feng Keshan, who taught in Raoyang in Hebei under Emperor Jiaqing.
Is chuojiao on the intangible heritage list?
Yes. Since 2014 it has been on China's national list as item VI-74, with Taocheng district in the city of Hengshui as applicant.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.