Mizongyi (Lost Track Boxing)
迷蹤藝A northern Chinese style associated with Huo Yuanjia and the Shanghai Jingwu school. It builds on unexpected changes of direction and light, open stances.
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About Mizongyi (Lost Track Boxing)
Mizongyi, literally the art of the lost track, is a northern Chinese style associated with Huo Yuanjia of Tianjin. According to the Tianjin intangible heritage center, Huo developed the family mizongquan into mizongyi and was the first to teach it publicly. The style also draws on taijiquan, changquan and tanquan, and its principle is strength that is firm but not stiff, light open stances and unexpected changes. We have not been able to verify who founded mizongquan. The national portal mentions mizongquan forms in the Cangzhou yanqingquan and lists Huo Yuanjia among its practitioners. Huo Yuanjia stood at the origin of the Shanghai Jingwu school, which was founded in 1909 and a year later renamed the Jingwu Athletic Association. He died in 1910. The historian Ben Judkins rejects the rumors of poisoning and considers tuberculosis the probable cause. In 1920 Jingwu had over 1100 members and branches in Hankou, Guangzhou, Foshan, Hong Kong and other cities. The form Huoshi lianshouquan with 72 techniques was inscribed on the Tianjin municipal list of intangible heritage in 2007. Mizongyi is not on the national list separately. Huo Yuanjia's story has been adapted by a number of films, in which the history is considerably reworked.
History
Mizongyi is associated with Huo Yuanjia, who, according to the Tianjin intangible heritage center, was born in 1869 in the village of Xiaonanhe in today's Xiqing district of Tianjin, into a family of martial artists. According to the same source, he developed the family mizongquan into mizongyi and was the first to open the family style to the public. Until then the style had been passed on only within the family, to daughters-in-law, not daughters. In 1909 the Jingwu school was founded in Shanghai's Zhabei district, and in 1910 it was renamed the Jingwu Athletic Association. Huo Yuanjia died in 1910 in the Red Cross hospital in Shanghai. The historian Ben Judkins rejects the rumors of poisoning and considers tuberculosis the probable cause. In his view, Jingwu was not even the first public martial arts school. We have not found in the sources who founded mizongquan. The national portal mentions mizongquan forms in the Cangzhou yanqingquan and lists Huo Yuanjia among its practitioners.
How it differs
According to the Chinese Wikipedia, mizongquan was originally called yanqingquan and is also known as mizongyi or lianshouquan. A proverb says that the first form is mizong and the second yanqing, so the two are not separated. This fits the state portal mentioning mizongquan forms within the Cangzhou yanqingquan. From mizongyi and luohanquan arose, according to the English Wikipedia, the Mizong Luohan style, an external style with influences of long fist, taijiquan and baguazhang.
Technique
According to the Tianjin intangible heritage center, mizongyi comes from mizongquan and also draws on taijiquan, changquan and tanquan. The form Huoshi lianshouquan, Huo's training fist, with 72 techniques is inscribed on the Tianjin list. For the yanqingquan from Cangzhou, the national portal lists the forms mizongquan jiazi, six roads of mizongquan and mizongyi. According to the Chinese Wikipedia, mizongquan is marked by a light body, fast strikes and relaxed footwork, and about seven tenths of the techniques target the upper body and three tenths the lower. The English Wikipedia stresses deceptive hand movements, complex footwork and high jumps.
Training
We have not found a specific training plan in the sources. The Tianjin intangible heritage center describes principles: strength should be firm but not stiff, and soft but not slack, stances light and open, and changes unexpected. According to the Guangming daily, the surviving handwritten manuals are valuable for the study of martial techniques, acrobatics and dance.
Ranks and progression
We have not found a rank system of its own in the sources. In an interview with the Huo family in The Paper, Huo Yuanjia's second son Huo Dongge went at sixteen to teach at the Shanghai Jingwu and in 1924 founded a branch in Surabaya. His great-granddaughter Huo Jinghong became the representative bearer of the Tianjin listing of Huoshi lianshouquan in 2015. According to the English Wikipedia, Jingwu branches exist worldwide today, with their federation, the World Chin Woo Federation.
Today
Mizongyi is not on China's national list of intangible cultural heritage as a separate item. The form Huoshi lianshouquan was inscribed on the Tianjin municipal list in 2007. The national portal mentions mizongquan forms under the item yanqingquan from Cangzhou.
Did you know
The 1972 film Fist of Fury with Bruce Lee draws loosely on the history of Jingwu, but the main character Chen Zhen is fictional. In 1920 Jingwu had over 1100 members and branches in Hankou, Guangzhou, Shantou, Xiamen, Foshan and Hong Kong. Huo Yuanjia's father at first did not want to teach him, because as a boy he was physically weak.
Frequently asked questions
What style did Huo Yuanjia practice?
According to the Tianjin intangible heritage center, the family mizongquan, which he developed into mizongyi. The national portal also lists him among the practitioners of the Cangzhou yanqingquan.
When was the Jingwu school founded?
In 1909 in Shanghai's Zhabei district, and in 1910 it was renamed the Jingwu Athletic Association. Huo Yuanjia died the same year.
Was Huo Yuanjia poisoned?
The historian Ben Judkins writes that there is no evidence of poisoning and considers tuberculosis the probable cause of death.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.