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Shuai Jiao

Shuai jiao is known as China's wrestling and throwing art. It is a Northern Chinese martial art that was not well known in the south until the 1930's.  It may be one of the oldest martial art styles in existence. Shuiajiao emerged around 2,000 years ago and was originally taught only to the military elite. Starting in the Qin dynasty, Shuaijiao was demonstrated in tournaments for the Imperial court. During the Qing dynasty, China maintained a camp of 300 full-time fighters who trained for competition with China's allies. Today, Shuaijiao is still taught primarily to the military and police in China and Taiwan.

Modern shuiajiao was popularized by Chang Dungsheng, a Chinese master who fought many challenge matches in China before relocating to Taiwan to teach at the Central Police Academy. Shuaijiao was introduced to the United States in 1978 by Dr. Chi-Hsiu Daniel Weng, a master who studied Shuaijiao for 20 years from Grandmaster Chang Dongsheng. Shuaijiao popularity has grown during the past several years. Major Chinese martial arts tournaments now include Shuaijiao divisions. Shuaijiao fighters have also competed successfully in Sanshou  (full-contact fighting) competition.

Shuaijiao integrates striking, kicking, throwing, tripping, grappling, joint locking, and escaping methods. Shuaijiao fighting principles are based on Taijiquan, but its techniques are applied with more force. It uses hand and foot strikes to soften up an opponent for a bone breaking throw. Unlike Judo, where break falls are used to lessen the impact of a throw, Shuiajiao teaches students to lock their limbs to intensify the impact. There are 30 theoretical principles of Shuaijiao; the six major principles are: absorbing, mixing, squatting, hopping, turning, and encircling.

Shuaijiao fighting strategy emphasizes maintaining balance and controlling the opponent. Tactics emphasize throwing the opponent while maintaining a joint lock, and then following with a vital point strike. There are 36 major throws in the system, with 3600 combinations. Shuaijiao is notable for joint attacks and hard throws. Shuaijiao styles are categorized by region. The four major regional styles are Mongolian, Beijing, Tianjin, and Baoding. The Baoding style is taught in the United States.

Competition is similar to actual combat, except that strikes and kicks are allowed only in conjunction with a throw and joint attacks are discouraged. A win is three falls, with points awarded upon completion of the throw when control is maintained over opponent. There are no pinning nor submission holds, since, in actual combat, the throw would be followed by a finishing strike.

There are a dozen stationary training stances to train strength and flexibility. Twenty moving patterns train the position and footwork used in approaching, joint locking and throwing. Wushu type high kicking exercises train leg strength and flexibility. The kicks most often used in Shuaijiao fighting are low kicks and sweeps. Unique to Shuaijiao is "belt cracking", which uses the uses the uniform belt in exercises that train strength and proper position. Throws are practiced in drills and in sparring with a partner. Sparring is practiced at all levels, as soon as the student has mastered break falls.

Sillum

An alternative pronunciation of Shaolin.

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