On the history of Xingyiquan

Xingyi is the oldest of the three traditional Chinese internal martial arts (Xingyi, Bagua, Taiji). There is no accurate information about its origins, the first reliable historical records date back to the Ming dynasty in early 17th century. Back then Xingyi was called Liuhe, six coordinations, referring to the three internal (mind-intention, intention-qi and qi-power) and the three external (shoulder-hip, elbow-knee and hand-foot) coordinations. Xingyi is often called the mother of internal martial arts because of these features.

Xingyiquan lineage

Zhang Xuchu

Zhang Xuchu was born in Beijing. He started his martial arts training at a young age with his grandfather. He was taught by six different masters and developed into an expert of several martial arts. He was especially known for his free fighting skills.

He won the Chinese national championship competitions open for all martial arts in the years 1953, 1957, 1959 and 1979.