Introduction to Shuai Jiao (Chinese Wrestling) Seminar

                                                   September 4-5, 2004 in Pittsburgh

Location: 

Dance Alloy

5530 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15206

(Direction: Penn and Stratford Ave, in the Friendship neighborhood of Pittsburgh, 1 block from Babyland at Penn and Negley)

Time:  September 4 (Saturday): 1:00pm  6:00pm

  September 5 (Sunday): 9:00am  4:00pm

Cost:   Both days: $150; Saturday only: $70; Sunday only: $80.

Contact:  Strider Clark at (412) 361-4030, or striderclark@yahoo.com

Shuai Jiao  is one of the oldest of Chinese martial arts.  Like any other field, history and cultural attitudes of the people play major parts in its development.  Whereas wrestling arts from other cultures focus attention on getting on the ground with your opponent to subdue him, or trying to regain control after being thrown, in Shuai Jiao the primary focus has always been on how to throw your opponent to the ground.

Over the millennia, this skill has been developed to a very high and refined level in China.  It received special attention during the last dynasty, Qing, where each emperor had his own special wrestling team.  This team competed and performed on a regular basis against visiting teams from Mongolia and other parts of the empire. 

Many Chinese martial art systems incorporate Shuai Jiao as part of its system, as throwing has always been considered a vital component of one's overall martial art skill.  The nature of the contest, involving two opponents of any weight and size in extremely close proximity, being able to apply full body power to unbalance and put the other down to the ground, is thought of as extremely beneficial for understanding martial art. 

International Baiyuan Tongbei Quan Assiciation (www.tongbei.homestead.com) will be hosting this seminar.  Shifu Zhang Yun will cover background knowledge, basic training methods and skills, including gongfu training, grabs relating to various parts of the uniform, solo and partner practice, and major categories of skills like face-to-face, back-to-the-opponent type skills, large and small tripping skills, etc.

Shifu Zhang Yun is an internal martial arts master from China, with over 30 years of experience in researching and teaching martial arts in China and the United States.  He is indoor student of Grandmaster Wang Pei Sheng, head of the Northern Wu Style Taiji Quan group, renowned for his real fighting skills in all of China. For more information about him and his group, please check his website www.geocities.com/ycgf/.

Although not required, it is recommended that participants wear either Shuai Jiao unform, a judo gi top, or some kind of heavy jacket with soft belt for the seminar.  Loose workout pants that allow complete freedom of movements are also highly recommended. Soft sole shoes are required.  Shuai Jiao uniforms are available from: http://www.chikung.com/uniforms.html.