Changquan

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Changquan
長拳

A man doing cekongfan (侧空翻; "side somersault"), a common move in changquan.
Also known as	Long Fist
Focus	Striking, weapons training
Country of origin	China
Creator	Zhao Kuangyin
Famous practitioners	(see notable practitioners)
Parenthood	San Huang Pao Chui Fanziquan Huaquan Taizu changquan Hongquan
Descendant arts	Sanshou, Northern Praying Mantis
Olympic sport	Wushu (sport)

Changquan (/tʃɑːŋ.tʃuən/) (simplified Chinese: 长拳; traditional Chinese: 長拳; pinyin: chángquán; lit. 'Long Fist') refers to a family of external (as opposed to internal) martial arts (kung fu) styles from northern China.

The forms of the Long Fist style emphasize fully extended kicks and striking techniques, and by appearance would be considered a long-range fighting system. In some Long Fist styles the motto is that "the best defense is a strong offense," in which case the practitioner launches a preemptive attack so aggressive that it deprives the opponent of the opportunity to attack. Others emphasize defense over offense, noting that nearly all techniques in Long Fist forms are counters to attacks. Long Fist uses large, extended, circular movements to improve overall body mobility in the muscles, tendons, and joints. Advanced Long Fist techniques include qin na joint-locking techniques and shuai jiao throws and takedowns.^[1]

The Long Fist style is considered to contain a good balance of hand and foot techniques, but in particular it is renowned for its impressive acrobatic kicks.^[2] In demonstration events, Long Fist techniques are most popular and memorable for their whirling, running, leaping, and acrobatics. Contemporary changquan moves are difficult to perform, requiring great flexibility and athleticism comparable to that of gymnastics.

Long Fist's arsenal of kicks covers everything from a basic front snap-kick to a jumping back-kick, from a low sweep to a whirlwind-kick. Specifically, typical difficulty movements in modern changquan include the whirlwind kick, the butterfly kick, the cekongfan (侧空翻; 'side somersault'), and the lotus kick.