Taizuquan (Grand Ancestor Fist)
太祖拳A Chinese style named after the founder of the Song dynasty. The attribution to the emperor is tradition; what is documented is Qi Jiguang'"'"'s 16th-century mention.
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About Taizuquan (Grand Ancestor Fist)
Taizuquan carries the name of Emperor Taizu, that is Zhao Kuangyin, founder of the Song dynasty in the tenth century. The attribution to the emperor is tradition, not historical evidence: Chinese martial arts contain many such attachments to famous names, and in this case no contemporary source supports it. What is documented is the mention of Taizu's long fist in the Jixiao Xinshu, General Qi Jiguang's military manual of the 1560s, where it appears among the styles the general examined. It is for this reason that taizuquan is regarded as one of the historical roots of changquan, "long fist". The style exists in two clearly distinct forms. The northern one is practised chiefly in Guangdong as Taizu changquan and works with long, open movements and four principal routines. The southern Nan taizuquan is at home in Fujian and Taiwan, has shorter trajectories and its own forms such as the Small Four Gates and the Flying Eight Trigrams. The technical principle both branches share is to use the opponent's own attack as the means of bringing him under control; instead of blocking and countering as two separate steps, the style expects you to take over his motion. The syllabus covers empty hand and weapons alike — staff, spear, sabre, straight sword — as well as partner drills. Today taizuquan is maintained mainly in Fujian, in Taiwan and across Southeast Asia.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.