Miao Martial Arts

Project Introduction of Miao Martial Arts

Xiangxi Miao Martial Arts, anciently known as “Pouyou Goudong” (Chiyou Boxing), originated from the humanistic ancestor Chiyou. It is a profound traditional sport and intangible cultural heritage skill of the Miao ethnicity. The Miao people have long respected martial arts and defended their homeland. Tempered by thousands of years of history and wars, the exquisite and powerful martial arts achieved outstanding feats in the campaigns against Japanese pirates, Miao uprisings and the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, embodying the nation’s tough and courageous spirit.

Boasting a complete system, Miao Martial Arts consists of three major categories: bare-handed boxing, hard weapons, and soft weapons. With diverse routines and unique techniques, most of its weapons are evolved from daily labor tools of the Miao villages. Plain, fierce, practical and well-balanced in offense and defense, each movement has an exclusive Miao name and is demonstrated with traditional costumes, featuring distinct ethnic characteristics.

Integrating Miao philosophy, military strategies and health preservation theories, it is equipped with complete practice formulas and martial ethics norms. Inherited and innovated by intangible cultural heritage inheritors and professional martial arts schools, Miao Martial Arts carries forward the spirit of advocating martial arts and morality, and stands as a precious and distinctive treasure of traditional Chinese martial arts culture.