Xujia Boxing
01 · Historical Records
Xujia Boxing originated in the Yongzheng reign of the Qing dynasty, when it was created by Xu Shengcai, the eminent ancestor of the Xu family. Xujia Boxing originated in the Yongzheng reign of the Qing dynasty, when it was created by Xu Shengcai, the eminent ancestor of the Xu family. Taking "defending the family and the country and serving society" as its guiding purpose, it was continuously enriched through exchange with local martial arts, eventually forming a complete system comprising six major categories: fist techniques, fist sparring, weapons, weapon sparring, disassembly techniques, internal training, and auxiliary exercises.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Xujia Boxing is a traditional martial arts project founded by the Xu family of Shandong, distributed in Tongji Village, Xintai City, Shandong Province. According to the county gazetteer and the Xu family genealogy, Xu Huating, courtesy name Dianjia, was of imposing appearance and extraordinary strength, and passed the examination for military student (wu xiangsheng) during the Xianfeng reign of the Qing dynasty. Xujia Boxing takes Confucian thought as its theoretical basis and "defending the family and the country and serving society" as its code of conduct. Its content system comprises six major categories: fist techniques, fist sparring, weapons, weapon sparring, disassembly techniques, internal training, and auxiliary exercises. Xujia Boxing has a 37-move solo fist routine; its fist sparring routines include Zhuang Bang Hammer Fist, Cross Press Fist, Cutting Hand Fist, Small Cleaving Wind Fist, and Erlang Fist. The weapons include staff techniques, the Spring-and-Autumn broadsword, the single saber, the seven-section whip, the three-section staff, the long spear, and the goat-horn crutch. The disassembly techniques include pinching the nose bridge, striking the floating ribs, striking the heart, covering the crown, striking the ears, striking the groin, and cutting the throat. In internal training, stance standing (zhan zhuang) is the core method for developing power in Xujia Boxing, divided into combat stances and health-cultivation stances. The auxiliary exercises are centered on strengthening exercises, which also serve to relieve fatigue and build physical fitness. The fist techniques and weapons of Xujia Boxing have formed the basic characteristics of steadiness, precision, and fierceness: punches are fast and power is heavy, while the style is also light and swift, with a wide variety of hand techniques that are quick and practical, displaying distinct artistic, practical, and ornamental qualities. From its founding and formation to its development to the present day, Xujia Boxing has passed through more than ten generations of inheritors.
Thirty-seven solo fist forms
The thirty-seven solo hand forms of the Xu family art, first of its six content categories.
The five paired fist routines
The paired routines of the style, two practitioners trading fixed attacks to test power and timing.
The seven breaking-hand targets
The seven targets of the style's breaking-hand work, from nose and ribs to throat, showing its practical focus.
Combat and health stakes
The core of the family's internal work, standing practice split into combat and health stakes, with strengthening drills alongside.
Xu Huating, the martial licentiate
The sixth-generation inheritor, a licentiate of the martial examinations in the Xianfeng era who enriched and systematised the art.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Xujia Boxing originated in Tongji Village, Xintai City, Shandong Province, was founded by the Xu family, and has been passed down from generation to generation. According to the county gazetteer and the Xu family genealogy, the sixth-generation inheritor Xu Huating (courtesy name Dianjia) was of imposing appearance and extraordinary strength, and passed the examination for military student during the Xianfeng reign of the Qing dynasty; highly skilled in martial arts and fond of study, he organized and systematized the fist techniques and the use of various weapons, bringing Xujia Boxing to a complete system by the sixth generation. Thereafter, Xujia Boxing was transmitted not only among members of the Xu clan but also widely taught to the local community, its scope spreading from Tongji Village to the surrounding areas of Xintai, and it has passed through more than ten generations of inheritors.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
For more than a hundred years, Xujia Boxing has been passed down from generation to generation without interruption, and it had formed a complete system by the time of the sixth-generation inheritor Xu Huating. Highly skilled in martial arts and fond of study, he enriched the content of Xujia Boxing and carried forward its fist techniques and the use of various weapons. In addition, Xujia Boxing has been transmitted not only among members of the Xu clan but also widely taught to the local community, so that its scope of transmission has gradually expanded. Xujia Boxing is an important school of Chinese martial arts and serves as a reference for the study of northern-style kung fu and the martial arts history of the Shandong region. In addition, the style has health value for physical cultivation and fitness; the martial arts thought it embodies carries socio-cultural value and an educational role, helping to enrich the cultural life of the people.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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