Nanquan (Southern Fist)
南拳The collective label for the southern Chinese styles; low stances, short range and vocal exhalation, and today a wushu event.
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Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
Catalogs & Databases for Nanquan (Southern Fist)
About Nanquan (Southern Fist)
Nanquan, literally the southern fist, is not a single school but a collective label for the Chinese styles south of the Yangtze, that is from Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi. Hung gar, choy li fut, wing chun, southern mantis, wuzuquan and a range of other family lines fall under the term; they differ among themselves but share several traits. The southern styles work from a low and firmly rooted stance, attack short and at close range, build on the strength of the forearms and bridging arms, and use high kicks only exceptionally; strikes are often accompanied by a vocal exhalation meant to unite breath with movement. The hand shapes are striking: tiger claw, crane beak, open palm and fist alternate according to the target. The difference from the northern styles is to a large extent a difference of space: the north trained in open country and developed long lines and leaps, while the south worked in narrow lanes, on boats and under arcades, and answered that with short range. Besides the traditional meaning nanquan has a second, sporting one: it is a discipline of modern wushu with a prescribed routine, joined by the weapon events nandao with the southern broadsword and nangun with the southern staff; the competition form went through a revision in 1999 that added difficulty elements to the routines. There is no founder and no year of origin, because this is a category and not a school.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.