Chinese martial arts

Variety of fighting styles developed in China

中国武术 · 中国武術 · 중국 무술

Type

martial arts

Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms kung fu (; Chinese: 功夫; pinyin: gōngfu; Jyutping: gung1 fu1; Cantonese Yale: gūng fū), kuoshu (Chinese: 國術; pinyin: guóshù; Jyutping: gwok3 seot6) or wushu (Chinese: 武術; pinyin: wǔshù; Jyutping: mou5 seot6), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common traits, identified as "families" of martial arts. Examples of such traits include Shaolinquan (少林拳) physical exercises involving Five Animals (五形) mimicry or training methods inspired by Old Chinese philosophies, religions and legends. Styles that focus on qi manipulation are called internal (内家拳; nèijiāquán), while others that concentrate on improving muscle and cardiovascular fitness are called external (外家拳; wàijiāquán). Geographical associations, as in northern (北拳; běiquán) and southern (南拳; nánquán), are another popular classification method.

Styles and branches of Chinese martial arts

• Changquan
• Chin Na
• Drunken Monkey
• Fujian White Crane
• Kung fu
• Leopard Kung Fu
• Mizongyi
• Monkey Kung Fu
• Nanquan
• Northern Praying Mantis
• Piguaquan
• Wing Chun
• Zui Quan

External links

• Wikipedia
• Wikidata

Facts from Wikidata Q3705105 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.

Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.