Shaolin Kung Fu Styles
Zui
Quan (Drunken Boxing) (02)
Zui Quan
(Traditional and Simplified Chinese: 醉拳;
pinyin: Zuì Quán, literally Drunken Fist, also known as Drunken
Boxing or Drunkard's Boxing) is a traditional Chinese
martial art. It is a northern or hard style of kung fu that
imitates a drunkard in its movements. The postures are created by
momentum and weight of the body, and imitation is generally
through staggering and certain type of fluidity in the movements.
It is considered to be among the more difficult wushu styles to
learn due to the need for powerful joints and fingers. Zui Quan
is sometimes called Zuijiuquan (醉酒拳,
literally "drunken alcohol fist").
'Drunken
Boxing' techniques are based on the legend of the 'The Eight
Drunken Immortals' of the Taoist Sect from Chinese Mythology. Each
of the techniques in the Drunken Set demonstrates an attribute of
one of the Immortals.
Drunken
boxing includes almost everything contained in any other kung-fu
style and above all that it contains a deceptive philosophy. As
the pugilist staggers about, he or she is concentrating on
creating momentum and avoiding attacks with the style's trademark
unorthodox adaptive moves; for example, if someone is going to
push the pugilist, he or she rolls over his arms and hits him, and
sometimes sinks his or her weight upon him, according to the
situation. The
secret behind Drunken style kung fu is the sudden release of power
from awkward positions. The agile footwork enables the exponent to
totter, sway and fall without harm, confusing his opponent, rising
up on the tips of his toes then dropping to low, crouched
positions. The hand-form which is readily identified with the
Drunken style is the Cup-Holding hand-form.
There
are two kinds of Drunken Boxing, traditional and contemporary.
Traditional Drunken Boxing is fight oriented. Contemporary Wushu
Drunken Boxing is acrobatic and is very different from the
Traditional Drunken Boxing. Contemporary Wushu exaggerates its
drunken appearance, so much so that anyone actually under the
influence of alcohol would have a tough time performing such
actions. Traditional Drunken Boxing also involves stumbling and
staggering, but not to such an extreme as Contemporary Wushu
Drunken Boxing.
