At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, in the 14th century, during the early Ming Dynasty, there was a well known person who’s name was Zhang Sanfeng. He A brief introduction to Wudang Martial Arts, helping both the mind and the body healthy.
The traditional Chinese Martial art has been created and developed since a long time. It has a large number of different styles in the country. So far it is classified by three ways meaning the same:
1）the North or the south style
2.）the Internal or the external style
3.）The Shaolin or Wudang style
Generally speaking, the North style, also called Shaolin Martial Arts, is known as the external skill, and is coming from the Shaolin tempel of Songshan Mountains in Henan Province. The South style, also called Wudang Martial Arts and known as the internal skill, came from Wudangshan Mountain in Hubei Province. The two styles existed parallel to each other and evolved trough a long history. People praised the two as “Shaolin respected in the north and Wudang respected in the south”.
created Wudang Martial Arts which was quite different from Shaolin External Martial Arts. It has the characteristics of subduing the hard by the soft. This was the beginning of internal martial arts. He gave a comprehensive expression of Wudang Martial Arts, based on the past heritage and with open mind to the future. He studied intensively and absorbed the acknowledge from other groups, observed the regularity of nature, used the way of keeping fit from Taoism，merged two theories of Chinese philosophy: Yin-Yang and Wuxing. Zhang Sanfeng is respected as the earliest ancestor of the Wudang Martial Arts and is praised highly by people from martial arts circles.
Wudang Martial Arts include Taijiquan, Xingyiquan（Form-and-Will Boxing), Eight-Diagram Boxing, Wudang Health Care Exercising, Wudang Swords Playing and Weapons Exercising.
The general principle of Wudang Martial Arts is to follow the course of nature.
The main point is to balance three things: mind, appearance and breathing.
The function of the Wudang Martial arts is to consider three things: health, fitness and self-defense.
The most important technical characteristics are to deal with motion by motionless, to fight against the hardness by the softness, to cope with quick by slow, to put the few against the many.
The strategic principle is to preserve oneself and avoid any sacrifices.
The moral significance is to gain mastery by striking only after the enemy has struck.
The trick is: when he fixed I did not move, and when he intends to move I have already moved.
The aim is that justice, suffering from oppression and grieving, will win.
The theoretical base of Wudang Martial Arts：Yin and Yang are mutual influenced and opposite to each other. Bagua is evolving，Wuxing (Elements of Health ) is reinforcing the other ones.
For the purpose of health and defense, it has the function and features of longevity, keeping fit from disease and increasing wisdom.
Wudang Martial Arts combine the skills of the martial arts with the method of preserving people’s health. They are based on traditional culture but also coincide with the new scientific principles.
Wudang Martial Arts are part of the Taoism culture. They are deeply rooted in the fertile soil of the thousand years of Chinese culture and containe profound philosophy which put the theories of Taijiquan, Yin and Yang, Wuxing (Five elements), Bagua (Eight- Diagram) into theories of martial arts, through techniques, practice and strategy. A basic character is to search the law of life. The masters of Wudang Martial Arts have made great achievement in the past, belonging to the Wudang Taoism, with long time searching activities. As a bright pearl Wudang Martial Arts will be an important part in getting rid of the disease, prolonging life, keeping fit in the modern society.
