Preface
Praying mantis boxing is a martial art with both combat combat and health care value, and it is a rare national intangible cultural heritage.
Mantis boxing has always been known to absorb the strengths of all boxing, open and inclusive, inclusive cultural genes, so in the long process of development has formed a unique phenomenon of many genres.
In addition to the southern Zhoujia mantis with very different styles, the traditional northern mantis has more than 10 school names, such as plum blossoms, Taiji plum blossoms, Tai Chi, plum blossom wrestlers, wrestlers, seven stars, arhats, mandarin ducks, Liuhe, horse monkeys, Tongji, Taiyi, light plates, eight steps, eight poles, jade rings, overturned, secret doors, Siping, ape style, long fist, Shaolin and so on.
Praying mantis boxing is inseparable from literature
Some of these genres are aliases of each other, but in fact they are in the same vein, some are completely different, some are similar, and the relationship is intricate and difficult to count.
Plum blossom mantis is an important school in mantis boxing, many in the history of the development of mantis boxing, familiar figures belong to this school, such as Liang Xuexiang, Sun Yuanchang, Jiang Hualong, etc.
Although such an important school of mantis boxing is well-known, the academic community has little explanation of the meaning of the name "plum blossom", and even if it is mentioned, it is superficial and has a single angle, which not only affects the understanding of the sages of Chuangquan in later years, but also directly weakens people's understanding and style expression of plum blossom mantis boxing.
We can try to study the meaning of "plum blossom" in plum blossom mantis boxing from multiple perspectives such as the image of plum blossoms in classical literature, through the study of boxing spectrums, and bionic comparisons, so as to demonstrate the multiple meanings of plum blossoms, and reveal that the naming of plum blossom mantis boxing is an example of the integration of literature, martial arts and philosophy in mainland China.
The Ming and Qing dynasties entered a mature period of literature, and some rare brushstrokes appeared in literary works, such as expressions related to language bands, which implied multiple meanings.
For example, the names of people in "Dream of Red Mansions", such as Zhen Shiyin and Jia Yucun, in the book "A Thousand Red Caves, Ten Thousand Yan with the Same Cup", the original meaning of the cave is to cry, and the cup is sad.
For example, the word "Ming" used in the Ming Dynasty medical work "Ming Medical Miscellaneous Works" contains three meanings of "Gaoming", "famous" and the name of the dynasty.
The ancient books of praying mantis boxing can be traced back to the book "Luohan Xinggong Short Fight" written in the Qianlong period, and the "Plum Blossom Mantis Boxing Essentials" at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, etc., the latter has clearly called this door plum blossom mantis boxing.
"Luohan Xinggong Short Fight" uses a lot of poems and famous sentences, such as writing and beating him "Peach is another spring, and the fisherman is not allowed to come to ask for it" from Xie Fangde's "Find a peach source to avoid Qin, and the peach is another spring, and the flowers fly with the flowing water, I am afraid that a fisherman will come to ask for it".
The method of playing on and taking off, "the wild catkins go with the wind, and the light peach blossoms flow by the water" comes from Du Fu. Writing the buckle hand overturning technique "With my color of apricot blossoms and red thousands of miles, dare to fight against the spring trees in the rain ten thousand people" used Su Shi and Wang Wei's poems.
In addition, Li Bai, Du Mu, Qin Guan, Wang Shifu, Huang Daozhou and other famous words and sentences can be easily used, these rich literary penmanship shows that the sages of this family are very familiar with literature and ink, and the polysemy of the name of "plum blossom" has the author's knowledge reserve conditions and the characteristics of the background of the times.
The image of plum blossoms is weak and strong
Why is the plum blossom mantis fist named "plum blossom"? The author has examined a large number of literature and materials, and each family has not talked much about it, and even if it is discussed, it is nothing more than a passing mention of plum blossoms and five petals connected.
However, there are many five-petal flowers, such as pear blossoms, periwinkles, frangipani abound, and there are many lovely flowers of water, land and grass, such as "pear blossom courtyard dissolves the moon, catkins pond light wind", why is there no pear blossom mantis boxing and other genre names in history?
Plum blossom is "primrose", its maverick, leading the trend of the characteristics of the past generations of people loved, the crown of the poem "in the ice and snow forest with this body, different peach and plum mixed with fragrant dust, suddenly a night of fragrant hair, scattered as a thousand miles of spring is the aria of this."
"Laiyang Mantis Boxing" indicates that the plum blossom mantis boxing is the old mantis boxing, and the earliest ancient book "Luohan Xinggong Short Fight" that details the mantis boxing quotes the poem "Rongtan Wenye" of Huang Daozhou, "The fragrance is clear on the plum blossoms, and the branches are seen but there is none", emphasizing the concept of the emphasis of the mantis boxing.
Liang Xuexiang's "Gun and Stick Boxing Book" is another early monograph of Mantis Boxing, written no later than 1842, and there is an expression of "mantis hand, cold chicken step, plum blossom body" in the book.
The name of "Plum Blossom Mantis" not only highlights the fit between the two boxing, but also has the good implication of "a flower changes first, and a hundred flowers are fragrant" in the hope that the old mantis will create a prosperous mantis boxing.
Plum Blossom Mantis Boxing and the "Way of Longevity"
Plum blossom is a long-lived tree species, the life span can reach 1,000 years! Song Huizong's "Lamei Mountain Bird Map" in the plum oblique, the two pulsatillas on the upper side of the house lean against each other, the lower left corner of the thin gold body inscription "mountain birds are elegant, plum powder makes a light posture, there is a Danqing covenant, Qianqiu refers to the white head." ”
It can be seen that plum blossoms also have the meaning of five blessings and longevity, and the earliest ancient books of mantis boxing have the pursuit of health and longevity, such as "Luohan Xinggong Short Fight" cloud "The way to nourish qi, no better than the eighteen Arhat Gong and the so-called short fighter, Cheng can practice qi to return to God, practice God to return to qi, direct maintenance is harmless, plugging the world and shaking ghosts and gods is holy for God to prolong life but disease".
Praying mantis boxing's emphasis on internal health preservation is also reflected in Liang Xuexiang's "Internal Strength Spectrum" and Song Zide's "Praying Mantis Boxing Spectrum", the latter of which has the use of "lifting, pushing, pulling, pressing and grabbing" health preservation.
The song says, "The internal practice of the eight characters is strong, the five internal organs are safe, the five senses and hundreds of bones are transported together, the five labors and seven injuries do not come to the tide, the circulation of qi and blood circulates around the body, and all diseases are gone, if there is no space for life, it is not false to get rid of diseases and prolong life."
Plum blossoms are different from peonies and other flowers, and they do not like plump and heavy, but are thin and refined. In the Tang Dynasty, Du Mu wrote that the plum blossoms "shine lightly on the stream and cover the Yaotai".
Huang Shang of the Song Dynasty wrote that plum blossoms "do not fall when the snowflakes are condensed, and the branches of the teeth are light". Wu Congxian of the Ming Dynasty wrote plum blossoms "so thin that plum blossoms should have bones, and they are the same as the bright moon and leave traces".
The crown of the Yuan Dynasty compared the plum blossom to a light fairy, "The fairy steps are light, the sound of the jade is admired, the smoke and water of Luofu are far away, and the poetry and dreams are overwhelming." "The light posture of the plum blossom has something in common with the foot of the plum blossom mantis fist.
Song Zide's "Boxing Book" described the praying mantis boxing as "shaped like a dragonfly dotting water, like a butterfly wearing flowers" and has the momentum of a spirit monkey.
In the early days of mantis boxing, many boxers had the habit of practicing monkey boxing, such as Song Zide and Huo Yaochi. Huo Yaochi was known as the "Monkey King" in his early years. The light and thin animals are monkeys, and the plum blossoms are beautiful in plants.
The mantis fist is fierce but can overcome the rigid
Professor Wang Kaiwen believes in the book "Praying Mantis Boxing" that "the plum blossom five blessings can also be a metaphor for the five ways of praying mantis boxing, up and down, left and right, and in and out, clever and changeable."
"Luohan Xinggong Short Fight" has the theory of "adding praying mantis to the top and bottom, left and right", and puts forward the theory of "taking the top, taking the top and bringing it down, taking the left to defend the right, and hitting the right to defend the left".
For example, Bao Guangying's "Plum Blossom Mantis Boxing" believes that "the hand of defeating the enemy is easy to dodge, and it is difficult to defend if it is biased", and it is more to take the side rather than attack the enemy from the front.
Praying mantis boxing "door theory" believes that attacking the enemy outside the enemy has the magic of a second-hand enemy, and the inner door has the magic of a move, and the overall mantis boxing has the characteristics of flexible direction and changeable direction, and the angle of attack is selected according to the situation.
The plum blossom twist hand is the original technique of the plum blossom mantis boxing, which has further developed from the figure-8 shape of the four-ring twisted wire of both hands to the nested shape of the two-handed plum blossom with 28 hands out of ten, and the one-handed twisted wire is a five-petal plum blossom.
Hook and probe hanging, interspersed with belts and other hands are in it, both offensive and defensive, strange and positive, the chest and abdomen of the person are in the center of the five petals, and the five rings overlap and wrap so that the front chest and the middle abdomen are not protected and self-protective.
The five rings form a skein between each other, and at any time send out a series of beatings, insertions, punches, splits, and picking, and the winding and shaking techniques are also among them, that is, they are wound and beaten.
Plum blossom skein hand can both protect and defeat the enemy, "Secret Mantis Boxing Sword Single and Double Plum Blossom Skein Atlas" preface cloud "This plum blossom skein technique, those who do not know think that the flower method, in fact, is not the flower method. ”
Those who practice the law only look at it, and do not use it practically. Plum blossom skein can be practical everywhere, hands and hands are the hands of defeating the enemy, and the practice of not only one person but also many people".
The plum blossom twisted hand contains the beauty of simplicity and unpretentiousness, just like the plum blossom in the ancient poem, "If you talk about the color of the king, Qiong Yao is not enough to treasure", "There are all glamorous and simple, and there is no demon to charm"
The plum blossom pose is revealed in the fist
As a tree with many strong branches and flowers, plum blossoms are beautiful. Wang Mian has a poem: "My family washes the inkstone pond tree, the flowers bloom with light ink marks, don't let people praise the good color, only leave the clear air full of goodness."
"Dictionary of Chinese Martial Arts" "Plum Blossom Mantis Boxing" entry cloud: "Because its shots are three or five hands connected together, just like five plum blossoms, hence the name".
Bao Guangying's "Secret Yin and Yang Intersection Five-Point Plum Blossom Atlas" inherits and develops the five-point plum blossom technique of Yin and Yang with five hands as a formula, eight styles as a section, and four sections as one yuan.
Among them, yin and yang are staggered, attack and defense are mutually compatible, or yin rises and yang closes, or first attacks and then defends, and the cycle is unprovoked. Its preface cloud "the world is big, there are many capable people, there are 3,600 fist methods, how can you do your best and win with one hand?
Sishu is the essence of this technique, considering that it has been lost for a long time, so the book is the atlas "plum blossom mantis boxing is very important to win with one hand, such as wrestling, splitting palms, locking throats, teasing yin, sealing ears, hitting ribs, etc.
But winning with one hand is not a lone hand, "Plum Blossom Mantis Essentials" on wrestling hands "Although the wrestler is one-handed, it is not a lone hand, and there are other techniques to supplement it before it is sent, and it needs to change other methods to catch it after it is sent." It can be seen that the plum does not appreciate the lonely flower and the plum blossom mantis does not fight the lone hand.
The song recipe "Candle shadow shakes the red lightning hand, and the chain is wonderful is the plum blossom", a sentence that sits on the plum blossom has the meaning of the chain wonderful.
epilogue
Although the mantis fist seems to be extremely strong and fast, it is actually full of soft power, and one punch and kick are as beautiful as oriental pictorial paintings.
Our traditional martial arts have never been a stiff force to fight for power, and there is a literary and cultural charm in Chinese martial arts, which is exclusive to our Chinese romance!