Shuai jiao techniques

In shuai jiao a throwing technique is called 跤绊 (jiāobàn) or 绊子 (bànzi). The tradition counts hundreds of them, some with more than one hundred variations, and every one has at least one defence ⁷. Authors classify them differently. One Chinese manual divides them into throws over the back (过背), throws with a body turn (转体) and frontal techniques (正面), with a separate chapter on kicks (踢) and hand techniques ^{1 2}. An article by Lü Jianhui uses three groups instead: frontal techniques, turning techniques and composite techniques ³. The Yin Cheng Gong Fa Association (YCGF) separates "small" and "big" bànzi, and face-to-face from turn-the-back techniques, while noting that the categories overlap ⁷.

Summary

Fundamentals

The jacket and the grips (把位)

Wrestlers wear a short jacket, the 褡裢 (dālian), sewn from several layers of thick cotton and closed by a belt known in the jargon as 中心带 (zhōngxīndài) ¹. The jacket has eight grippable areas, the "eight grips" (八把手) ^{1 4}:

Besides the jacket you can hold the neck, the arm and the wrist ¹. According to the rules described by the YCGF, gripping the wrist, the waist and the legs is allowed, the trousers never ⁵.

The two hands play different roles. The hand that carries the attack is the 上手 (shàngshǒu), the supporting one the 底手 (dǐshǒu). With one hand alone you cannot create the pair of opposite forces (力偶) that brings the opponent down ¹. If you usually step or trip with the right foot, your left hand takes the sleeve and your right takes the collar, one of the gates or the centre belt. Sleeve and gates are the easiest for pulling and making the opponent move; collar and belt for controlling his centre of gravity ⁵.

Grip fighting

A match starts without contact, so the first fight is over the grips. This is 抢把 (qiǎngbǎ), "snatching the grip" ⁵. Changing a grip changes the direction of force. The most common change is 倒把 (dǎobǎ): you pull, switch hands and pull in another direction, always together with the footwork ⁵. To break a grip you use 蹬手 (dēngshǒu), a sharp push of your hand against the gripping hand. It works best just as the opponent makes contact, before his hold is solid, and the angle matters ⁵. The Chinese manual lists other hand actions. 撕 (sī) pulls the jacket flaps sideways so the opponent cannot grip back. 捅 (tǒng) is a push through the sleeve grip that keeps him from closing in. 掸 (dǎn) is a sharp slap that knocks away a hand about to grip ¹. The jargon sums up the importance of the hands as "you may lose the bout, but not the hands" (输跤不输手) ¹. The Baoding style is known for its use of 撕, 崩 and 捅 ²⁰.

Stance (跤架)

In the basic stance the feet are one step apart front to back and slightly wider than the shoulders side to side, with the toes turned slightly in. The knees are bent. About 60% of the weight rests on the rear leg and 40% on the front leg. The hand and foot of the same side lead together, and the hands stay no higher than the nose and no lower than the mouth ¹. Left hand and foot forward is a left stance (左架), right hand and foot forward a right stance (右架) ¹. Tall, strong people who like high grips tend to use a high stance (高架). Shorter people who work on the belt and the skirt prefer a low stance (矮架) ¹.

When both wrestlers use the same lead, for example right against right, the match is 顺架 (shùnjià): both can circle and attack comfortably. With opposite leads it is 顶架 (dǐngjià): the front legs get in each other's way, which makes the full-grip kick, hooks, leg scoops and rakes awkward. A small slide step, however, makes it easier to get the hip in for 别 and 揣 ¹. The YCGF recommends a T- or L-stance, 丁八步, in competition ⁶, whereas the Chinese manual specifies that the feet should form neither a 丁 nor a 八 ¹.

Footwork (步法)

The front leg is the 前腿, the rear leg the 底腿 ¹. The forward step (上步) and the step back (撤步) are used for face-to-face techniques. The step behind your own leg (背步), its lowered version (卧步) and the crossing step in front (盖步) are used for turn-the-back techniques. The 透步 serves the kneeling techniques and the leg scoop, and the arcing step (划步) the cut ¹. The slide step (滑步) is used only with opposite leads ¹.

The costliest mistake is the 落步, a step that crosses the legs: whoever sees it must attack at once, usually with a kick ². The YCGF singles out the moment the foot first touches the ground after a step, carrying less than half the weight, as the most dangerous ⁶.

Technique families

Kicks (踢)

The 踢 (tī), also called 泼脚, is one of the most characteristic techniques of shuai jiao and one of the hardest to learn. Its formula is 冲、挣、踢、亮, four phases that in the 大拿踢 mean entering between the legs, twisting with both grips, kicking, and turning grips and torso to finish. The leg strikes the outside of the opponent's lower shin, the upper hand pulls sideways and down and the bottom hand pushes. The kicker sinks the hips and turns, and the opponent falls onto his side ². In the 大拿踢, with collar and sleeve grips, the attacker presses down on the opponent's neck and steps in between his legs. He then twists him until he moves a foot, and kicks the ankle while that foot is "about to land but not yet down" ². The crossed-step kick (落步踢) hits the front foot when the opponent crosses his legs ¹⁰. In the 倒脚 the hand grips the soft gate and the foot hooks the heel, and the opponent falls backward ¹⁰. If the kick fails, the attacker switches to a hook, a 别, a cut or a 入 ².

Counters: "the kick fears 欺 (qī)": lower your weight, press against the kicker's chest and scoop his kicking leg. You can also pull back the kicked leg and kick back (补踢). If he kicks your rear leg, you can kick his rear leg with your front one (踢底桩) ¹⁰.

Body turn: 别, 勾, 切

The 别子 (biézi) means turning your back to the opponent and blocking his leg with the back of yours while pulling him the other way ⁹. The 大别子 is done with sleeve and collar. You pull the opponent to your right, then push him left using his resistance. You turn with two steps in front of his feet, raise your leg in front of his to knee height, and whip it back while turning your face ⁹. The block lands on the shin just above the ankle, and the opponent falls forward and sideways ³. Chinese encyclopedias distinguish 杠别, 撩别 and 抽别 ¹¹. Counters include 憋, which hugs the waist, rests the head on the belly and turns over backward, as well as 刮摟, 掏腿 and 叉扦 ¹¹. Against a 别 done with the arm under the armpit, you can lower your centre, wrap the attacker's arm and answer with a hand block (圈臂手别) ¹⁸.

The 勾子 (gōuzi) is done with the back turned: your leg hooks the opponent's leg from behind and straightens upward, so he flips forward ¹. It has three forms: 立勾, 撩勾 and 挑勾 ^{1 12}. The thrower stands on one leg, so the technique is big and spectacular but easy to counter ¹⁷. The 挑勾子 works only if the opponent's weight is forward ¹³. Counters: 骑勾, 摟, 驳裆棍, 掏裆, 胯崩 and 离, which pushes the attacker's hip away to break contact ^{12 13}.

The 切 (qiē), or 脑切子, cuts the outside of the opponent's same-side leg with your front leg, while the bottom hand pulls and the upper hand drives down on his shoulder ¹⁵. First you unbalance him sideways with an arcing step, then you take him down onto his back ³. Counters: 叉扦, cutting back (倒背) and kicking his supporting leg ¹⁵.

Throws over the back: 揣, 披, 入

The 揣 (chuāi), nicknamed "emptying the sack" (倒口袋), is done with your back turned squarely to the opponent. The buttocks drive into his lower abdomen, the bottom hand pulls and the thrower bends forward, so the opponent goes over the shoulder ³. The back is the fulcrum. The bottom hand pulls down while the hips push up, the legs straighten and the feet slide back, and the two forces lift the opponent off the ground. The same source says it suits shorter wrestlers ¹⁴. One entry is the 捅揣: you push through the sleeve, the opponent reacts by pushing forward, and you turn in under him ¹⁴. The counter depends on the moment. As the attacker turns, you free your arm and answer with a 崴. As he loads you, you arch back, push on his forehead and hook his heel. If you are already lifted, you slide off and answer with a 入 ¹⁴.

The 披 (pī) is described as a recent innovation, halfway between 揣 and 入. You pull on the sleeve and the same-side lapel until the opponent straightens up, then turn, drive your shoulder in under him and raise your elbow ^{1 3}. Counter: when the attacker extends into his lunge, scrape his leg backward with yours ¹.

The 入 (rù) loads the opponent diagonally across your back, with your hip going in. It has a high success rate, but the large turn exposes you to counters, so keep your weight slightly forward ¹. The version that clamps the neck under the arm (夹脖入) suits a wrestler bigger than the opponent; the version that grips the back of the belt (抠后带入) suits a smaller one ¹⁴. Counters: beat him to the hip position, wrap his arm and answer with your own 入 (套胯圈臂入), or slide off his back and attack his leg from a kneel (滑腰跪腿) ¹⁴.

Frontal techniques

In the 搓窝 (cuōwō), or 撮, your foot hooks the outside of the opponent's ankle and lifts it diagonally while your hands push the opposite way, and he falls onto his side ². Counters: pull the leg back, hook his heel in return (倒咬), kneel to slip the leg out, or answer with a 入 or a leg grab ¹⁵.

In the 耙 (pá), the "rake", your foot goes in between the opponent's legs, hooks the inside of his same-side heel and pulls it sideways, and he falls onto his back ². It works when the opponent stiffens after a push ³. Counter: bend the raked leg away and kick the raking foot ².

In the 大得合 (dà déhé), also called 涮葫芦, you slide a leg between the opponent's legs and rotate your shin outward to hook his opposite leg while your hand pushes forward ²; he falls backward ⁸. It suits tall, strong wrestlers ². The Chinese manual gives 得合勒 as a Manchu word ², while the YCGF calls it Mongolian, meaning "outside hook" ⁸. The YCGF describes a version with a centre-belt grip in which, if the belt hand lets go at the last moment, the opponent hits the back of his head. For this reason it calls the technique dangerous and says it has been illegal in national competition since the 1960s ⁸. The old form with the forearm across the throat (掖脖得合勒) is no longer allowed by the rules either ². Counter: coil the hooked leg and turn (盘腿) ².

In the 小得合 (xiǎo déhé) your front knee goes down to the ground, and the fold between thigh and calf scissors the opponent's opposite leg. Your head presses into his belly and your hand scoops the leg ².

In the 里刀勾 (lǐ dāogōu) your heel hooks the back of the opponent's same-side knee and sweeps in an arc backward, and he falls onto his back ². First you pull him in to straighten his back, then you attack as he tries to sit back ³. The jargon says "the blade hook fears the block" ². Counters: hooking back (正咬), kicking the supporting leg and scooping the leg ¹⁵.

Hand techniques and leg grabs

The 掏腿 (tāotuǐ) is done face to face: one hand scoops behind the knee of the front leg while the other pushes, and the opponent falls onto his back. It is simple but rarely works against skilled opponents ¹⁶.

The 抱腿 (bàotuǐ) is typical of shuai jiao and has a high success rate. At the end of the Qing dynasty a wrestler of the imperial 善扑营, nicknamed 搬腿陆, was famous throughout the capital for his leg grabs ¹⁵. The attacker enters suddenly with one or two hands and throws the opponent forward or sideways ³. Counters: counter-grabbing the legs, or a 搓窝, a kick, a cut, a 别 or a hook ¹⁵. A variant is the 抗口袋, in which an arm goes between the legs and the opponent is loaded onto the shoulder ¹⁹.

The 崴 (wǎi) uses as a lever the opponent's arm that grips your jacket or holds your waist. You bring your hip in, turn, and drop him in front of you ³. It is also one of the answers to the 揣 ¹⁴.

Safety and rules

The Chinese manual calls the 捶桩 (chuízhuāng) "the ancestor of the techniques that break bànzi" and urges students to practise it diligently ². Some old techniques have been dropped from modern competition, either because the thrower touches the ground first or because they attack the joints ¹⁵.