The concept of qi or ch’i (氣) is encountered in a number of Chinese martial arts. Meditation can be used to develop focus, mental clarity and can act as a basis for qigong training. In many Chinese martial arts, meditation is considered to be an important component of basic training. A complete training system should also provide insight into Chinese attitudes and culture. TrainingĬhinese martial arts training consists of the following components: basics, forms, applications and weapons different styles place varying emphasis on each component. In addition, philosophy, ethics and even medical practice are highly regarded by most Chinese martial arts. It means “fist method” or “the law of the fist” ( quan means “boxing” or “fist”, and fa means “law”, “way” or “method”), although as a compound term it usually translates as “boxing” or “fighting technique.” The name of the Japanese martial art kempō is represented by the same hanzi characters. Quanfa (拳法) is another Chinese term for Chinese martial arts. The term wushu has also become the name for the modern sport of wushu, an exhibition and full-contact sport of bare-handed and weapon forms (套路), adapted and judged to a set of aesthetic criteria for points developed since 1949 in the People’s Republic of China. It is formed from the two Chinese characters 武術: 武 ( wǔ), meaning “martial” or “military” and 術 or 术 ( shù), which translates into “art”, “discipline”, “skill” or “method”.