Nutrition in Combat Sports

300 S.F. Martinez
Table 17.1 Traditional styles of Wushu a
External (hard, physical) styles
Northern
Northern Shaolin
Chang Chuan (Long Fist)
Praying Mantis
Eagle Claw
Monkey
Drunken-style
Drunken Eight Fairies
Ba-ji
Southern
Southern Shaolin (Ermei Shaolin, Wudang Shaolin)
Hung Gar
Choy Li Fut
Wing Chun
Five Animal System (Dragon, Snake, Tiger, Leopard, Crane)
White Eyebrow
White Crane
Lo Han
Internal (soft, mental/spiritual) styles
Taijiquan
Baguazhang
Xingyiquan
a There are other, less common styles, but space constraints preclude
an all-inclusive listing
contemporary orientation towards sports or health preservation. Other frequently
used categories focused on apparent energy outlay, generally classifying the
Chinese martial arts into external or hard styles and internal or soft styles. Regional
influences also are apparent in technique variations such as northern and southern
styles. Some styles evolved from combative techniques observed in the animal
kingdom. [2] Currently under consideration is distinguishing between martial arts
of a more traditional nature and those of a contemporary variety. A partial listing
of traditional external and internal styles is provided in Table 17.1 .
The technological advancement and effectiveness of military firearms progressively
replaced much of the dependence on traditional martial arts training. In a
number of months, a recruit could be trained to use a weapon that could maim or
kill a master who may have dedicated his life to refining his martial art. Political
and practical factors resulted in less visibility and popularity of the traditional martial
artist. Subsequently, the threat of losing these time-honored arts was recognized,
and a concerted effort was begun to preserve these disciplines. It was obvious that
the years required for the traditional teaching necessary to master these arts were
not very practical for widespread dissemination. Masters, with government encouragement,
reviewed, codified, and modified training routines and forms, and opened
the first formal Wushu university department in Nanjing, China, in the late 1920s.