Type INGO Purpose Martial arts | Legal status Federation | |
Motto 爱国、修身、正义、助人(Love One's Country, Cultivate One's Character, Righteousness, Helping Others) Formation July 7, 1910; 106 years ago (1910-07-07) Headquarters Number 30, Lane 1702, North Sichuan Road, Hongkou District, Shanghai | ||
Jing Wu is an international martial arts organisation founded in Shanghai, China, on July 7, 1910, but some sources cite dates in 1909. Its name is also spelled in many other ways throughout the world - Ching Mo, Chin Woo, Ching Mou, Ching Wu, Jing Mo, Jing Wo, Jing Wu - but all of them are based on the same two Chinese characters - jing wu (Chinese: 精武; pinyin: Jīng Wǔ; Wade–Giles: Ching Wu; Jyutping: Zing1 Mou5). It has at least 59 branches based in 22 or more countries worldwide, where it is usually known as an "athletic association" or "federation".
Contents
History
Jing Wu was founded as the Jing Wu Athletic Association (simplified Chinese: 精武体育会; traditional Chinese: 精武體育會; pinyin: Jīngwǔ Tǐyùhuì) in Shanghai, China in the early 20th century. Many sources, including the official websites of its branches in various countries, claim that Jing Wu was founded by the martial artist Huo Yuanjia, who died not long after its establishment. Jing Wu was actually founded by a committee of persons, including members of the Tongmenghui, such as Chen Qimei, Nong Zhu, and Chen Tiesheng. Due to Huo's popularity and recent death, the committee had decided that he should be the "face" of Jing Wu, resulting in his strong association with it.
After Jing Wu was founded, a number of prominent martial artists in China at that time were invited to teach there. They include: Chen Zizheng (陳子正), Eagle Claw master; Luo Guangyu (羅光玉), Seven Star Praying Mantis master; Geng Jishan (耿繼善), Xingyi master; Wu Jianquan, founder of Wu-style taijiquan, and Zhao Lianhe (趙連和), a master of the Northern Shaolin, became Chief Instructor after Huo Yuanjia's death.
As one of the first public martial arts institutes in China, Jing Wu was intended to create a structured environment for teaching and learning martial arts as opposed to the secretive training that had been common in the past. The founders of Jing Wu felt that the association would keep alive traditions that secrecy and social change would otherwise doom. The basic curriculum drew from several styles of martial arts, giving practitioners a well-rounded martial background in addition to whatever they wished to specialise in. Jing Wu inspired the ecumenism seen in the Chinese martial arts community during the Republican era, giving rise to such efforts as the National Martial Arts Institutes. Sun Yat-sen, founder of the Republic of China, attended the third annual event held by Jing Wu in 1915, giving a speech of encouragement to the attendees. When Sun Yat-sen attended again at the 10th annual event in 1920, he also wrote for a special Jing Wu newsletter and made a plaque with the engraving "martial spirit".
Jing Wu was closed by the People's Republic of China government in 1966 and was allowed to reopen after the Cultural Revolution.
Curriculum
During the early days of Jing Wu in Shanghai, the chief instructor, Zhao Lianhe, developed a curriculum that became the standard Jing Wu sets (Fundamental Routines).
Other styles were taught to students as well, but they varied from school to school and depended on the background of the master teaching that style. The standard curriculum, however, was taught in all Jing Wu schools.