Fanziquan (Tumbling Fist)
翻子拳A northern Chinese style called bashanfan under the Ming dynasty. Its yingzhao fanziquan branch, the eagle claw, from Xiong county is on the national list.
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 Fanziquan (Tumbling Fist)
Fanziquan, literally the flipping fist, is a northern Chinese style. According to China's national intangible cultural heritage portal, it was called bashanfan, eight lightning somersaults, under the Ming, and the military manual Jixiao xinshu by General Qi Jiguang also mentions it by that name. The portal considers masters from Xiong and Anxin counties in Hebei the key figures of the late Qing. We have not been able to verify the founder or year of origin. The best-documented branch is yingzhao fanziquan, the eagle claw, which according to the portal has been handed down for over three hundred years. It combines the eight techniques of fanziquan with the grabbing and leverage methods of Yue sanshou and the eagle claw hand shape. Main forms are yingzhao xingquan and yingzhao fanzi lianquan. This branch was inscribed in 2008 on China's national list of intangible cultural heritage, with Xiong county as applicant. The bearers are father and son Chen Zhengyao and Chen Guixue. We have not yet found a description of general fanziquan, its training or other branches in higher-level sources. It is a poorly documented style and we are still looking for reliable sources.
History
According to China's national intangible cultural heritage portal, fanziquan was called bashanfan, eight lightning somersaults, under the Ming. The military manual Jixiao xinshu by General Qi Jiguang gives this name too, in its fist-fighting chapter. The portal cites masters from Xiong and Anxin counties in Hebei as key figures of the late Qing. The portal says the yingzhao fanziquan branch, the eagle claw, has been passed on for over three hundred years. We have not been able to verify the founder or origin year.
How it differs
According to the English Wikipedia, fanziquan stresses work of the hands and chuojiao kicks. The fanziquan forms have compact movements with soft and hard force, and Wikipedia classes them among the civil forms, and the chuojiao forms with kicks and wide stances among the martial ones. According to the same source, the most widespread branch today is the northeastern Dongbei fanzi, from which modern competition wushu forms derive, while the full Hebei system is rarely practised. Per the state portal, Yingzhao fanziquan adds to the eight fanziquan techniques the grabbing and leverage methods of Yue sanshou and the eagle claw hand shape.
Technique
We have not found a description of general fanziquan technique in a higher-level source. The national portal describes the yingzhao fanziquan branch, which combines the eight fanziquan techniques with the grabbing and leverage methods of Yue sanshou and the eagle claw hand shape. The main forms are yingzhao xingquan and yingzhao fanzi lianquan.
Training
We have not found a specific training plan in higher-level sources. According to the English Wikipedia, fanziquan is today often taught together with chuojiao as the pair wen and wu, much as xingyiquan and baguazhang are combined. The forms tend to be short and very fast, and Wikipedia cites the image that both fists are as quick as falling raindrops and a cracking whip.
Ranks and progression
We have not found a grading system of its own in the sources. The national list of yingzhao fanziquan bearers included Chen Zhengyao from Xiong county (1933–2009), who learned it from his father Chen Guoqing. The fourth batch added his son Chen Guixue, born in 1960, who has taught in Shandong since 1983 and, according to the portal, trained over a thousand students.
Today
China's national list of intangible cultural heritage includes only the yingzhao fanziquan branch, not fanziquan in general. It was inscribed in 2008 in the second batch as item VI-27 with serial number 799, with Xiong county in Hebei as the applicant. The portal warns that today's way of life is weakening the style and that its protection is urgent.
Did you know
According to the English Wikipedia, Li Gongran from Xiong county was so famous that it was said all fanzi under heaven belongs to Master Li. In the Qing dynasty the style was called bafanmen, and for its importance it is nicknamed muquan, the mother fist. Handwritten manuals tell of the wounded master Wang Zhiyuan, who learned the method from a vagrant in the Shandong mountains around the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between fanziquan and yingzhao fanziquan?
Yingzhao fanziquan is a branch that, according to the national portal, combines the eight techniques of fanziquan with the grabbing methods of Yue sanshou and the eagle claw hand shape. Only this branch is on the national list.
How old is fanziquan?
Under the Ming dynasty, according to the national portal, it was called bashanfan, and the manual Jixiao xinshu by General Qi Jiguang from the 16th century mentions it under this name.
Who are the bearers of fanziquan?
The national list of yingzhao fanziquan bearers names Chen Zhengyao (1933–2009) from Xiong county and his son Chen Guixue.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.