One of the older martial arts of China is known as Ba Fan Men (also referred to as Fan zi quan, Ba Fan Zi Men, Ba Shan Fan and Duan Da). Originally from Shandong, but disseminated through Hebei province. Nowadays, the most common known Fanziquan is from Dongbei and is known for its speed and has often been combined with other martial arts to enhance their effectiveness.
Bafanquan is also known as Ba Shan Fan, Ba Fan Shou and Fanzi or collectively as a branch Bafanmen. The Bafan Quanpu (Boxing Manual) states " When entering the style the changes are the direct Ba Fan, within the heart is in the 8 sequences of boxing". This refers to the BaShi or Zhanzhuang Fan (basic changes) and the Ba Shanfan routines. Bafanquan is said to have one hand divided into 8 hands, then 8x8 are 64 hands.
The origins of Bafanquan trace back to the Song dynasty, however the boxing manuals and theories date back only to the Ming Dynasty (1368 AD to 1644 AD). During the Ming period there was book "Jixiao Xinshu" thought to be around 1560 AD by General Qi Jiguang, which already included in Chapter 14, Bashanfan as boxing style of the time.
In accordance to the Bafanquan manuals, during the Ming dynasty a Master Wang Zhiquan had been taught the boxing by a mountainous wanderer. It is said that Master Wang was an accomplished warrior but had become injured in battle in a remote part of the area in what is currently Shandong province. It was here that the wanderer had assisted with Master Wang's injuries and was taught the methods of Bafanquan to improve his already good martial skills. The style then passed to down various generations in the Northern provinces such as Henan, Hebei and Shandong. During the Qing dynasty one of the most famous exponents of the style was Master Li Gongran from Xiong county in Hebei province. During the time he became a famed boxer and it was claimed that from Nanjing to Beijing, "All Fanzi under heaven belongs to Li Gong" (Grandmaster Li). This indicated how key he was to the spread and development of the style. His Son Li Erlou and disciple Sunning county's Feng Zhenyuan taught the style in Sunning county and their students setup many Security Logistics Bureaus.
After that period the style was spread in the counties of Hebei such as Hejian County, Li County, Gaoyang County, Raoyang County and Cangzhou areas. Each county has some variations to the style and unique features however they were all part of the same parent Bafanquan style. Even later branches spread to other parts of China and have since developed into their own variations of the Bafan approach. Since the full set of Bafanquan is intricate, yet its basic principles are so practical the style evolved into key methods such as: Lao Bafan (Old 8 fan), Changshou Fan (Long handed) and Duanshou Fan (Short handed). These are characterised also by their areas of practice. So Sunning and Gaoyang mainly practice Laobafan and Duanshou Fan, Raoyang and Lixian, practice Changshou Fan. Additionally, the methods and principles have been combined with other styles in the past as well, as examples:
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Gaoyang Duanquan was combined with Changshou Fan resulting in Mianzhang Fanzi
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Cangzhou Liuhe was combined with Duanshou Fan resulting in Lianquan or sometimes known as Bafanshou
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Lianquan was then combined with Yingshou or Yueshisanshou locks resulting inYingzhao Fanziquan (Eagle's Claw)
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In Dongbei Chuojiao was combined with Changshou Fan resulting in Dongbei Fanzi
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Yanqingquan was combined with Changshou Fanzi resulting in Yanqing Fanziquan
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Tongbeiquan was combined with Changshou Fan resulting in Tongbei Fanzi
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and more.....
In terms of 'Fan' it refers to both changes and rotations/turns. Basically as strikes are released they have the ability to turn or rotate to either change the attack or defend in the process of a modified attack. This principle though simple to consider has difficulties in practice and requires the type specialist development as found in Bafanquan. Lao Bafan and Duanshou Fan share commonalities and in fact there is no concern of short or long in as much as the key principles of change or rotation. Additionally other branches refer to the alternate names of Bafanquan such as Bashanfan or Bafanshou.
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