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Piguaquan
(fist of chopping and hanging)
Full name - "tongbei pigua quan" ("chopping-hanging fist of through preparing"), another names - "pigua" ("put on the armor"), "pi gua" ("trigram `pi'"), "momian" ("mop one's face"). Even Qi Jiguang's "Treatise about art of fist" (Ming dynasty) has words "Pi gua heng quan" and "Pao jiazi qiang bu pi gua".
Piguaquan was wide spread even during Ming dynasty. At the end of Qing dynasty this style was popular in Yanshan, Cang and Nanpi counties of Hebei province. During the reign under the motto "Tongtai" it was spread on Beijing-Tianjing region. When in the beginning of our century "Zhonghua wushi hui" ("Assotiation of chinese warriors") was founded in Tianjing, piguaquan became one of the main subject in its program of teaching and spread in northern regions of China. In 1928 Central guoshu institute was founded in Nanjing, piguaquan was included in its program of teaching as high-level subject. During Chinese Republic main centres of piguaquan were Cang county, Tianjing, Lanzhou, Shenyang.
Piguaquan is a substyle of tongbeiquan (fist of through preparing). At last period of Qing dynasty some books called this style "pigua tongbi" and thought that it is a substyle of tongbiquan (fist of throwing power through arms).
First who taught tongbeiquan in Yanshan and Cang was Pan Wenxue. During many years Pan taught in Yanshan school civil and military sciences. Successors of Pan in Yanshan were Li Yunbiao and Xiao Hecheng; after Li and Xiao there were Huang Linbiao and Yu Baolin; after Huang and Yu main keepers of tradition were Ma Fengtu, Ma Yingtu and Huang Senting. In Huang and Ma families tongbei pigua quan transferred during two generations, strengthened and developed its techniques on the base of phrases "in rules (i.e. rules of using fists) and forms (i.e.outer shapes) - understand penitration, body (i.e. strong body) and using (i.e. technique) - prepared" and "through spirit reach metamorphose, provide oneself by ten thousand penetrated by one". Later, due to Ma Fengtu and Ma Yingtu, who train and spread this technique during all their life, and combined it with bajiquan, fanziquan and chuojiao, from Huang's technique it was formed a new branch of martial arts.
Methods of this style include shuaifa (methods of throwing arms like wheep), paifa (methods of bangs), pifa (methods of chopping), lunfa (methods of waving by arms). During chopping strike all back, starting from the waist, used as axis, upper body turn left and right, both arms attack continuously like rain.
In piguaquan it is necessary that arms were moved in vertical plane, body movements were co-ordinated with wrists, movements of arms - with each other, movements of arms - with legs, body don't turn front, when body turns - waist doesn't turn. The next kinds of force are used: gunle jing (force of rolling limitation), tuntu jing (force of "swallowing" and "spitting out"), pigua jing (force of choppping and hanging), lulu jing (force of rattled wheel). If opponent hit from above - it is necessary to execute hanging movement, if from below - throwing movement, if from side - parring movement, if from front - dragging movement. Hanging, throwing, parrinf and dragging movements used palm, therefore another name of the style - piguazhang (palm of chopping and hanging).
Base of tongbei pigua quan is shier da tangzi (12 big sets of exercises) and da jiazi (big framework), basic sets - piguaquan (fist of chopping and hanging), qinglongquan (fist of dark dragon), feihuquan (fist of flying tiger) and taishuquan (high elegant fist), additional sets - liutuishi (form of flowing legs), liutui jiazi ("prop of flowing legs") and tongbei shilu tantui (10 routines of tongbei tantui). Weapon sets: qiqiang (amazing spear), liuhe daqiang (big spear of six co-ordinations), pigua dao (pigua broadsword), pigua shuangdao (two pigua broadswords), tongbei xiaojian (tongbei straighsword - small set), qishisan jian (73 straightswords), lanmenjue (stake, bared the gate), fengtou gou (hook "head of phenix"), wushiwu tu (55 schemes) or wushiwu gun (55 poles), bashiba gun (88 poles), fengmo gun (pole of madman), sanjiegun (three-sectional staff); also in our days on the base of tonbei conceptions of throwing power and techniques of using biangan (handle of wheep - some kind of short pole) from Gansu province, in the southern regions of Gansu province it was developed independent system of using biangan.
Distinguished features of the style: big opening and big closing, soft and hard help each other, main working on long distance, but short strikes are also used. Main arm techniques: zhan (wipe), tan (wheep), pi (chop), gua (hang), bin (throw away), zhan (cut up). Traditional rule: "slowly build framework, quickly hot by fists, quickly use methods".