| Shuai Jiao is probably the world's oldest martial art. In | | | | jacket you wear if you're learning Shuai Jiao has |
| modern Chinese, its name is used to refer to any | | | | another use, too. It helps you control and throw your |
| wrestling sport. Outside of China, though, it means the | | | | opponent by being close fitting and having short |
| ancient Chinese and Mongolian wrestling styles. Legend | | | | sleeves. You generally wear Chinese martial arts |
| has it that Shuai Jiao is descended from a sport called | | | | pants when learning how to do Shuai Jiao. You can |
| Jiao Di, where the contestants wore helmets with | | | | practice barefoot, but a lot of people wear wrestling |
| horns on them and tried to head butt each other. I don't | | | | boots. Although Shuai Jiao is the oldest martial art, it's |
| know about you, but I bet getting hit by one of those | | | | split up into a bunch of different styles. In different |
| hurt! In 2687 BC, the Yellow Emperor's army even | | | | regions of China, they practice Shuai Jiao with a little bit |
| used Jiao Di to gore rebel soldiers. Jiao Di didn't keep | | | | of a different flavor. So Beijing has its own style. Other |
| its horns, though. In the Qin Dynasty, it combined with | | | | major kinds of Shuai Jiao are Tian Jin, Mongolian or |
| the grappling sport called Jiao Li turned into a public | | | | Boke, and Bao Ding, as well as a lot of minor variations |
| sport for amusing the Imperial Court, and recruiting the | | | | in different provinces. You've got to expect that a |
| best fighters for the Emperor's bodyguards in the | | | | martial art that's been around for thousands of years |
| process. I bet you didn't know that some contests | | | | would have a few different ways of doing things. |
| could last a while week and have over a thousand | | | | Since Shuai Jiao developed from combat techniques |
| wrestlers involved. Wrestling in some form or another | | | | on the battlefield, it doesn't beat around the bush. The |
| was taught to soldiers for all of China's history, but it | | | | grappling techniques it uses are no nonsense and |
| wasn't called Shuai Jiao until 1928 when the rules got | | | | practical, and they get your opponent on the ground as |
| standardized for competition. Now it's popular among | | | | fast as possible. However, almost every martial art |
| the Mongols, and is taught to police and soldiers in | | | | has some philosophy thrown in, and Shuai Jiao isn't an |
| China and Taiwan. Now, when the Emperors were | | | | exception. The advanced fighter uses the principles of |
| using Shuai Jiao to pick out the best bodyguards, | | | | Yin and Yang to balance and complement each other. |
| fighters did their competitions bare-chested. Now | | | | Shuai Jiao has been around for a long time as a |
| training is done in a heavy cotton jacket for better | | | | fighting discipline, and it looks like it's here to stay. |
| protection. However, it's important to know that in | | | | Yoshi I Kundagawa is a freelance journalist. He covers |
| Shuai Jiao, you don't try to get a hold on your | | | | the mixed martial arts industry. For a free report on |
| opponent's clothes. Instead, you grab his muscles | | | | Shuai Jiao visit his blog. |
| through the clothing and use that to throw him. The | | | | |