Liuhebafa
六合八法拳An internal Chinese style known as "water boxing". Tradition places its origin in the Song era, but its documented history begins with Wu Yihui in the 20th century.
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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 Liuhebafa
Liuhebafa, "six harmonies and eight methods", is an internal Chinese style nicknamed water boxing for the fluidity of its movement. It is ranked alongside taijiquan, xingyiquan and baguazhang, but is by far the least widespread of them. Two levels have to be kept apart at its origin. Tradition attributes its creation to the Taoist sage Chen Tuan of the Song era, associated with the monastery on Mount Hua in Shaanxi province, and leads a lineage from there through further names. Evidence for this is lacking, however — the sources themselves describe that line as unsubstantiated, and this catalogue therefore records neither founder nor year. The style's documented history begins only in the twentieth century, and it has a definite name: Wu Yihui (1887–1958). He was the first to teach liuhebafa publicly. He himself studied under Yan Guoxing and Chen Guangdi, entering with both in 1901, and under Chen Helu. In 1932 he taught at the Shanghai Youth Association, in 1936 he became head of education at the Central Martial Arts Academy, and after the war he went on teaching in Shanghai — last documented in 1951 at the workers' union club of the city's electricity company. One episode says something about his standing among the masters of his day: Wang Xiangzhai, the creator of yiquan, sent him four of his own students, who became known as the "four diamond warriors".
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.