Research On Wushu DNA By Songxiquan

The research on the DNA of martial arts is a interdisciplinary study based on the cognition of DNA and gene mapping engineering in life sciences and originated from curiosity for the “intrinsic laws and basis” of the martial arts. By courtesy of the current knowledge reserve of “martial arts and DNA” of the author, the research was conducted when the exploration of the “internal deciding force” in the academic world is ascending and the voice of the public for the “excavation of the cultural genes” is rising increasingly. The purpose and significance of the research lies in the exploration of the “universal grammar’ of Chinese martial arts by proposing the martial arts DNA and in the conduction of the “in-depth research” and “cross research” of the Chinese martial arts by case study to support the “theoretical construction” of the Chinese martial arts. The author is to select Songxiquan(a kind of traditional Chinese boxing) as an example based on his firsthand experience and perception and the knowledge acquired from the Songxiquan boxers in order to answer the three core questions proposed in the research: first, do the martial arts have DNA? Second, what is martial arts DNA? Third, what is the mechanism of martial arts DNA? With the answers to the three questions as the principal line, the research methods such as literature review, interview, observation and firsthand perception will be employed comprehensively. Firstly, based on the Conception Integration Theory in the cognitive linguistics as the principal theory, martial arts DNA will be defined and classified from the angle of meme, cultural genes, metaphor so as to identify the connotation and denotation of the concept; Then, with Songxiquan as the example, from the firsthand experience and close observation of the author in the daily life of the Songxiquan boxers, the logical starting point and duration theory is to be introduced and the functional fragments(genes) in the DNA of Songxiquan are to be extracted. In order to make the gene fragments collude with each other, the logic theories are to be adopted to determine the logical starting and terminal points of the DNA of Songxiquan to seek for the logical principal line through it; Finally, from the angle of the interaction of martial arts DNA and the martial artists, we will make an analysis of the concrete mechanism and decisive factors of DNA of the martial arts. Also, the replication mechanism of DNA of the martial arts will be analyzed to explore the inheritance startup mechanism and the terminal mechanism of the DNA of martial arts in the daily life by referring to “Living wisdom, achievement-dignity motive, capable person-acquainting society, r-K inheritance strategy” and by applying “tacit knowledge, imitation-perception mechanism, and scene suggestion-social cognitive theory”. According to the author:1. Martial Arts DNA is defined as the non-biological hereditary information of technology and culture about the attacking and protecting awareness of the human body with the human body as the carrier and the body of the martial artists, printed media, audio and visual media, weapons, sites and Wushu sect communities as the existence media by means of encoding and decoding. The martial art DNA, as the basic unit in the martial arts heritage and development, has the identical features with the biological DNA such as inheritance, replication, expression, variation and evolution. Its connotation is that “martial art DNA is the non-biological hereditary information of technology and culture about the attacking and protecting awareness of the human body presented by means of encoding and decoding.” Its denotation is “with the human body as the carrier and the body of the martial artists, printed media, audio and visual media, weapons, sites and Wushu sect communities as the existence media”.2. Five key genes as well as the properties of Songxiquan are to be extracted and analyzed respectively as follows:①Gene of “logical starting point”: The boxer should learn how to attack and evade from “Ezi”( the bird medium) and “Yaozi”(the sparrow hawk).(The boxer should observe clearly the movement direction of the enemy and try to avoid it by moving to the either side; the boxer can tempt the enemy to attack him in the way he can evade from and observe the chance to attack back; The Yaozi routine of Songxiquan is divided into two routines, named respectively as Tianpan and Dipan, some actions of them follow the example of Ezi and Yaozi.)②Gene of body and breath: The body should be both capable of stretching and be robust. Softness is achieved when the two are integrated in order to achieve “gang”(vigor).(the breath should follow specific rules and under control; When the internal air fulfills the entire body, the muscles and vessels would be unblocked; the tension means self-restraint, comfort can only be achieved when you relax yourself; You should allow your body to follow the changes from concreteness to vacancy as freely as it wants; Strength can be obtained from the physical practice; If you practice regularly, the tough steel can be changed to the soft thread; you should run your breath slowly but apply it rapidly; When the breaths gather, “gang” is achieved which comes from the softness of the body.)③Gene of “technical style”: The strength should be applied cleverly instead of brutely. Statically, people should learn how to be adaptable.(All the seven parts of the human body can be applied to attacking the enemy. The attack should follow the weak points of the enemy; The tumbling technique is to be adopted skillfully to make the enemy fall upon your attack; Each step should be flexible. Your legs should be spinning as a millfan; Pay attention to attack the vacancy of the enemy, at the same time, you must keep steady with your steps; The body should be upright. You can take advantage of the strength of the enemy and shift to side to avoid the enemy’s attack; The best state is making yourself move like wind and shadow; Technically speaking, the statues of Yin and Yang of your body, as well as the attacking way of Big and Small gate of your enemy’s body should be differentiated; You should set a standard with your hand, making the distance of one chi away from the body of your enemy, front or back to guide the movements of the enemy to follow your own rhythm.④Gene of morality and discipline: the martial artist must meet the requirement of social morality, personal virtues and professional morality.(The traditions of the martial arts should be inherited; the artists should be patriotic and heroic; the martial artists should have the traits of the scholars; People without virtues should not practice boxing; There are ways to rank the martial artists in the Wushu sects like the family tree to present the relations similar to the family members; All the Wushu sects share the same origin and should respect the styles of the others; The schools and clinics should be opened to maintain the health of the public; When the country is in crisis, the martial artists should put themselves forward without fear and adhere to what the five characters—“jing, jin, jing, qin, qie”—advocate; the martial artists should behave elegantly rather than rashly; Kungfu should only be used in jeopardy; people should dare to preserve the public interest and hesitate to offend others for their personal interest.)⑤Gene of ‘logical terminal point”: when the sophistication of the skills is achieved, there is a way to victory.(With the integration of the body, mind and the outside world, the heaven and the human body will be a unity; the person will have a grand profile which can not be degraded by the outside world; when the skills of boxing are adept, the essence of the boxing can be fully comprehended; The real bravery is the transcendence from the skills to the real “way” to victory.) Enlightened by the view of literature translation proposed by Mr. Qian Zhongshu based on “Ezi”(a kind of bird medium), it is concluded that Songxiquan originally has close relations with “Ezi”. Thus, it can be proved that “Ezi” is the logical principal line throughout the five key genes from the logical starting to terminal point.3. The promoter of the martial arts DNA, as a kind of living wisdom includes the following main factors: achievement-dignity motivation, capable and acquaintance society, selection of r-K-A hereditary countermeasures. “the tacit of life” is the “replicon” of the martial arts DNA. And the tacit replication mode of “the skills of the master” is the “comprehensive imitation”. “The martial art style and cultivation of the master” would be duplicated by means of “situational infection”. Besides, the functions of the martial arts DNA would be terminated at the “omission of life” which is manifested specifically in the following ways: firstly, the obliteration of the consciousness of the “recovering the courage and uprightness of the martial artists” and elimination of the tradition of the martial artists of the “family-country sentiment”; the abandoning of the pursuit of “the intellectual look of a martial artist” and loss of the benchmark of the “self-cultivation” of the martial artists; isolation of the communication with the “mundane world” and disconnection of the source of the “life pleasures” of the martial artists.Based on the research results, “gene mapping” and “gene table”of Songxiquan is to be drawn.At last, we will return to the perspective of “interaction between the martial arts DNA and the martial artists” to draw a conclusion: the martial artists devote their entire life to the martial arts which have been integrated into the blood of the artists in order to achieve the integration of the “martial arts DNA” and the “human DNA”. The distinction of DNA would eventually disappear and the Chinese traditions of the martial arts will be inherited.