Northern Fist Martial Arts

Tradtional Chinese martial arts have been used for centuries as means of promoting strong minds and general health. Students are taught strikes, blocks, kicks, take downs and joint locks in a semi-private class. Footwork, distance and timing is learned through the use of two person drills and traditional forms. 

Known for its simplicity and clear order, Northern Fist makes use of only four hand techniques: punch, palm strikes, hooks, and claw hand. The forms are considered universal in nature. They are found in many variations in both northern and southern styles. Northern fist as a style can only be traced back to the early 20th century; however, the forms go back several hundreds of years.

Northern Shaolin was formed in 1928 by the Central Guo Shu Institute to create a standardized national martial arts program. The institute classified all external martial arts from north of the Yangtze river as Northern Shaolin. This is a broad classification and includes hundreds of styles. Northern Shaolin styles are known for using long range attacks and their kicking abilities.

Praying Mantis was created during the 16th century by the Shaolin monk Wang Lang. The mantis style is a complete system with long, medium and short range techniques. Close door mantis is a branch of the plum blossom praying mantis style. It specializes in short range attacks and elbow strikes.

Tan tui is known by several names. It was developed from Cha Quan which dates to the Tang dynasty (618 -901).  Since the 1920’s, many other styles have adopted tan tui into their system. This system teaches proper movement, power generation and body mechanics. Tan tui will strengthen the arms, legs and back.

Chin na can be traced back to one of the earliest Shaolin styles, black crane. Black crane stylist specialized in joint locks, manipulations, take downs, counters and pressure point strikes. There are over 500 techniques in this style. Chin na is the foundation of aki jujitsu, ju jitsu, akido, hypkido and judo.