Category Archives: storia del Tai-Chi

Techniques identification attempts in Zhu Family Chenjiagou Xinjia-preliminary paper and data publication

Posted on by

Full text on Academia.edu: https://www.academia.edu/144235898/Techniques_identification_attempts_in_Zhu_Family_Chenjiagou_Xinjia_preliminary_paper_and_data_publication

This paper is focused about fighting techniques identification among the arsenal available and trainable by the 朱 Zhū Family 陈家沟 Chénjiāgōu 太极拳 Tàijí Boxing in the 新架 Xīnjià method practice. This preliminary work is restricted to analysis and results belonging to 朱向前Zhū Xiàngqián 新架 Xīnjià set.

Research is grounded over fighting techniques identification and classification as data to be detected, disambiguated, marked-up and classified from direct analysis of sources. Sources for this study consist of 新架套路 Xīnjià routines, by this preliminary paper field of research presented is restricted to 朱向前Zhū Xiàngqián master, so in relation to 朱向前Zhū Xiàngqián 新架Xīnjià boxing proximity, sources have been categorized as primary, secondary and tertiary.

Analysis of data retrieved evinced 3 main categories of fighting techniques: striking, projection and joint lock. Percentages of data recorded put in light the strongest predominance of striking techniques among all, a statistically significative and very strong difference confirmed by the application of Mann-Whitney U test.

Deeper analysis of striking data evinced that punching represents the most frequent striking technique, followed by elbow and kicking: Mann-Whitney U test inferred again a statistic significative relevance for mathematical predominance.

Data suggest the presumable and reasonable presence of a striking core of fist techniques.

the comparison and convergence of striking retrieved data from Xinjia method towards contemporary boxing basics, led Taolu training and repetition of routines to be compared to the solo shadow-boxing training phase, and 推手Tuīshǒu to a couple-drill with a cooperative partner.

Integration with modern-boxing and other fighting methods training are finally proposed for ad effective capacity improvement in striking.

Keywords: 中国武术 • 陈氏太极拳 • 新架 • 朱向前 • Chinese martial arts • striking techniques • combat sports • traditional martial arts • cross language information retrieval

David Brown and George Jennings, 2013 “In search of a martial habitus: Identifying core dispositions in wing chun and taijiquan”

Posted on by

Brown David, Jennings George, 2013 “In search of a martial habitus: Identifying core dispositions in wing chun and taijiquan”

Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259641704_In_search_of_a_martial_habitus_Identifying_core_dispositions_in_wing_chun_and_taijiquan

Academia.edu: https://www.academia.edu/21076896/IN_SEARCH_OF_A_MARTIAL_HABITUS_IDENTIFYING_CORE_DISPOSITIONS_IN_WING_CHUN_AND_TAIJIQUAN

Introduction: The Problem of the Martial Habitus In the last 10 years, the field of scholarly study of martial arts and combat sports has been expanding steadily.

For example, a range of empirical qualitative (particularly ethnographic) research has been produced within capoeira (Delamont and Stephens 2008; Joseph 2008a), Venezuelan stick and machete fighting (Ryan 2011), military and ‘reality’ schools of fighting (Bar-On Cohen 2011), mixed martial arts (MMA) (Downey 2007a; Spencer 2009; Abramson and Modzelewski 2011) and Chinese martial arts (Jennings, Brown and Sparkes 2010).

A number of these make quite extensive use of the concept of habitus as developed by Bourdieu (1977) and Bourdieu and Wacquant (1992).

This concept has provided a powerful analytical tool for making sense of the reflexive cultural dynamics taking place between these arts as transcultural practices, their specific sociocultural contexts of adoption and adaption, and the pedagogical and transformative nature of these practices for their practitioners.

The notion of a martial habitus has apparent interpretive connections with Wacquant’s (1992, 2004a) work on the ‘pugilistic habitus’ (for example, certain key dispositions are seemingly shared such as Wacquant illustrated, the near monastic devotion to routinized training practices).

However, unlike the field of boxing, which is the product of a long and increasingly globalized process of standardization of pugilistic logics of practice (i.e. winning, losing, professional, amateur, legitimate, illegitimate, types of body (weight, condition, age, gender) and uses of the body techniques, etc.), at this point in time there are difficulties with accounting for the commonalities and differences of dispositional schemata that might be constitutive of a martial habitus covering the range of martial arts and combat sports that currently exist (Sánchez and Malcolm 2010).

This is due to their immense variety, cultural location and associations, lack of standardization, various intended outcomes of practice and, crucially, body pedagogies.