Yu Yongnian – Yiquan’s Healing Pioneer
During the Cultural Revolution, Yu Yongnian ’s spine was broken due to brutal mistreatment but was miraculously recovered by Zhanzhuang.
During the Cultural Revolution, Yu Yongnian ’s spine was broken due to brutal mistreatment but was miraculously recovered by Zhanzhuang.
Yao Zongxun (姚宗勋), the successor of Master Wang Xiangzhai, founder of Yiquan, was one of the best martial artists in modern China.
Who Inherited Yiquan from Master Wang Xiangzhai? The Story of Yao Zongxun & Sons Read More »
My name is Song Gao (高松), I am an Yiquan/Zhanzhuang instructor, a 5th-generation Yiquan inheritor. My master is Zhang Yongmou (张勇谋), who learned Yiquan first from Master Yao Chengrong (姚承荣), son of Master Yao Zongxun (姚宗勋), and then from Master Yu Yongnian (于永年).
In the mid-1940’s, Wang Xiangzhai set forth a new style of boxing widely acknowledged as effective for health and self-defense. Strictly speaking, Yiquan is reformed Xingyiquan. Master Wang stripped Xingyiquan’s already minimalistic style down to its essential component – the ancient practice of Zhanzhuang. He then composed training drills for expressing Zhanzhuang’s martial power without the limitations of formwork. The result was Yiquan – a lean, streamlined quan that proved competitive and often superior to other styles.
The Origins of Yiquan & The Legendary Wang Xiangzhai Read More »