Shuai Chiao is the oldest martial art of China. It has a history of over 2,000 years – although some claim that it dates back much further. According to legend, Shuai Chiao – which was originally called Chiao Ti ( There have been at least 87 different names used for Shuai Chiao. ) – was first used in 2697 B.C. in battles between the Yellow Emperor (Huang Di) and Chi Yu, who was a rebel and also a powerful wrestler. In the Chin Dynasty, which began in the year 221 B.C., Shuai Chiao – which was still known as Chiao Ti – became part of the official military training program. Thereafter, Chiao Ti was known by various names throughout history until the central government of the Republic of China established the Central Kuo Shu Institute in Nanjing in 1928 and standardized the name to Shuai Chiao. Shuai Chiao achieved its highest level of development between the Ch’ing and Ming dynasties. There was a common saying at that time, “The instant you are touched you are thrown”. This referred to the high level of skill that existed among fighters. At that time in history, Shuai Chiao was primarily known by the name of “Kuai Chiao” – which translates as “Fast Wrestling”. By the late Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911), 4 styles of Shuai Chiao were dominant in China – Mongolian, Beijing, Tien-Tsin, and Bao Ding. In China there are many regional dialects spoken (although written dialects all use the same Chinese characters). These dialects developed independently of each other due to China's long history, the size of the country, and geographic isolation of certain areas. In a similar fashion, regionally distinct styles of Shuai Chiao also evolved. As previously mentioned, the 4 primary styles of Shuai Chiao in existence by the late Qing Dynasty were Mongolian, Beijing, Tien-Tsin, and Bao Ding. However, within these primary styles existed variations of each. Bao Ding is a large city in Hebei province of Mainland China. At one time there were numerous Shuai Chiao masters there and consequently numerous variations of Bao Ding style Shuai Chiao developed. Bao Ding Kuai Chiao incorporates strikes, joint locks, throws, and attacks to vital points. It appeals to grapplers who want to expand their grappling skills with Shuai Chiao and also add a striking dimension to their arsenal. It also appeals to those who specialize in striking and kicking but need to add grappling skills to their existing knowledge. Interestingly enough, Bao Ding Kuai Chiao does not seem to conflict with other martial arts styles. On the contrary, it integrates rapidly with other martial arts skills so students from other martial arts backgrounds do not have to forget everything they have already learned. The character"Shuai" (first tone) literally means "to stumble; to fall', "to throw down", or "to cause to break by falling or throwing down". The character "Chiao" (third tone) is a pictograph of an animal horn, and has various meanings including, "horn", "angle", and "corner". Written together, "Shuai Chiao" refers to the martial art style of Shuai Chiao. Interestingly, in Mainland China, "Shuai Chiao" is currently written . The character is also pronounced "Chiao" but with the first tone. It means "to trip". Traditional shuai chiao people prefer to write Shuai Chiao with the character . This was the character used to write many of the names for shuai chiao in ancient times. Being a pictograph of an animal horn, it points to the ancient origins of Shuai Chiao. Also, the additional meaning of "angle" and "corner" help to reinforce the idea of fighting strategy and technique. Some interesting techniques [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-XWRGeP5mY"]Beijing Style Shuaijiao/Wrestling - YouTube[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee8kQICyEIM"]Technique of The Week - YouTube[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL8Tz7JCFaY"]Shuaijiao.TV Technique of the Week - YouTube[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jirYfi1-0Q"]ShuaijiaoTV Technique of The Week - YouTube[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_vtatzJn_Q"]ShuaijiaoTV Technique of The Week - YouTube[/ame]
I personally like the belt cracking thing, to help forms in just about any method of martial arts! After i learned it from an instructor in Shuai Chiao. I now include it with every thing from wing chung, pa gua, hsing yi, taiji, karate! Amongst the systems I have studied I often find that Shuai Chiao is usually somehow helpful and often contained with the system already to a small degree.
19th Lohan, Nice thread! Here's an older thread that I put up sometime back with a bunch of my questions about Shuai Chiao. In which I posted a bunch of info and vids. http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60851&highlight=Shuai+Chiao
I thought 19thLohan was trying to make like a list of techniques done in Shuai Jiao in this thread. Your thread is more like a information on the over all system of Shuai Jiao. I personally only do about 12 throws/concepts from Shuai Jiao myself anymore. Mainly because I have no one to train with. So is all I can do is the practice, with out the live training. Those are nice 19thLohan the videos above especially the fireman's carry that is shown. I don't like the reach through the front that tech but more a wrap around the leg from the back to the front, it is easier for me to lift the other person.
I haven't been here long, so hate to come off like the NooB looking for favors, but... I'd love to see this and Slip's thread together turned into a sticky. This is the best collection of info/clips on the subject I've ever seen, and imho it's a very worthwhile piece of kung fu history and practice. Oh, and it works.
There isn't really any need to make it a sticky as there aren't many threads in this section anyway,so there's no chance of it being lost in the annals of MAP right now.
No worries If it gets that there are many many threads in this section we will reassess which threads to make stickies
