An JianQiu is the 5th generation inheritor of An Family kungfu. He currently resides in Dezhou, ShanDong, where he runs An Family Kung Fu and Traditional Culture Academy, teaching his family's kungfu and culture to both local and international students. An also travels abroad to teach and share his family kungfu.
Name[]
An JianQiu 安剑秋
Biography[]
Family[]
An has a wife and Daughter.
His father An DeSheng, the current Grandmaster of An's family martial arts.
His (deceased) grandfather, An ShuBao was the President of China's Taijiquan Martial Arts Association, prior to the revolution.[1]
An himself is a Buddhist.[2]
Early life[]
An was born in Chinese Mongolia in 1981 and began learning his family’s kung fu aged 6. He spent his first two years learning the foundational skills, before moving on to Shaolin, Liu He and Bajiquan aged 8. This, however, was somewhat short lived as a year later his father, An De Sheng, decided he should focus his studies solely on Bajiquan. An's father was very strict and, even before he left formal education, had him training during the majority of his leisure time[3] He continued training for 8 more years, training for several hours both before and after school, until, aged 16, he left school to pursue kungfu full time.[4]
Having left school, he began to assist his father at the family kungfu school, learning to teach the family system while focusing on An Family Taijiquan, Xingyiquan and Baguazhang in his own training. At age 19, An had completed his education in the family kungfu, and began to focus specifically on combat training, learning Sanda with one of his kungfu brothers.
Beijing and LangFang[]
After several more years learning An Family kungfu, and beginning to develop his own his teaching abilities, An moved to Beijing in 2001. One of Anès students had already began to build a reputation for Bajiquan, after showing it at the prestigious Beijing Sports University, and so An relocated to begin teaching part-time at the University while also learning English. Living in Beijing also granted An easy access to the town of LangFang 廊坊 where one of his father’s close friends and kung fu brothers, the respected kung fu master Shi ShenLin was living.
Having initially studied under An's grandfather, An ShuBao, Shi went on to study with many masters including Qu KuZhang (WuDang) and Gao ZhiYing (Dong HaiChuan Baguazhang). Under Shi's tutelage, An would often be made to spend 5-6 hours completing one movement incredibly slowly, focusing on the movement of his Qi, Yi and Li within his body. In addition to improving his kungfu skills, he also learnt much about meditation and Buddhism from Shi, who, although not a Buddhism master himself, was a very knowledgeable practitioner and eager to share his knowledge. An credits Shi for teaching him to finally be able to combine all he had learnt about utilising kung fu (positioning, tactics, and power generation) into one cohesive theory. [5]
Competition[]
An began showcasing his martial prowess at competitions in 2001, when he became Beijing's first Martial Arts Youth Festival's champion, using his Bajiquan. In 2002, An took part in the men's Championship for BaguaZhang in Beijing and was the National BaguaZhang Invitational Championship runner-up. The following year, he would also participate in the National XingYiQuan champtionship and, in 2004, he won the National Wushu Sanda Competition (Baoding) [6]. After this, An refrained from entering competitions for several years.
Return to LangFang[]
Between 2004 and 2006, An was placed in charge of teaching Sanda and traditional martial arts at Hebei YunFei Wushu School[6].
Return to DeZhou[]
In 2009, An returned to Dezhou to teach at his father's school, where he began publicly accepting foreign students. The following year, An would compete again and win the Bajiquan competition in ShanDong's second Traditional Martial Arts competition[6].
During his time teaching at his father's school, An married and had a daughter.
In 2014, An would enter two more competitions and add two more accolades to his list, winning the Staff category at the 4th Traditional Martial Arts Competition in Shandong, and taking another win at the Fourth International Youth Wushu Festival in Beijing[6].
Founding of An Family Kung Fu and Traditional Culture Academy[]
In 2015, An opened the An Family Kung Fu and Traditional Culture Academy in Dezhou, Shandong Province. The new school initially offered instruction to adult students, both local and international but very quickly began offering children's classes too. He also showcased his skills to win the Bajiquan section at ShanDong's fifth Traditional Martial Arts Competition[6].
International touring[]
Since 2016, An has toured Europe, teaching his family kungfu at workshops in Madrid, Spain; Cologne and Berlin, Germany; and Basel, Switzerland[7]. He continues to be actively promoting An Family KungFu through this medium and, as of May 2017, has began including children's sessions in his workshops.
Martial Arts[]
Bajiquan[]
Drawing on his experience in fighting Sanda, An has made several changes and additions to the way An Family Bajiquan is taught.
While traditionally in An Family Zhuang Fa only teaches 4 stances ( Ma Bu, Gong Bu, Pu Bu and Zuo Bu), An has since added in Si Xiang Bu and Jin Ji Du Li Bu.
Wu Zhong > Wu Ying/Rong > LiuDa JiaZi - Wang JingPo - An JiHai - An ShuBao- An DeSheng - An JianQiu[8]
Taijiquan[]
An ShuBao - An DeSheng - An JianQiu
Baguazhang[]
Cheng TingHua 程廷華 - Gao Yisheng 高義盛 - An ShuBao - Shi SenLen - An JianQiu[5]
Cheng TingHua 程廷華 - Gao Yisheng 高義盛 - An ShuBao - An DeSheng - An JianQiu[9]
Xingyiquan[]
Li CunYi 李存义 - An ShuBao - An DeSheng - An JianQiu
Sanda[]
Shaolinquan[]
An family Shaolinquan stems from An Li Ruii, a constable from the city of Tangshan in Hebei Province, who had learned from a Shaolin monk who had resumed secular life, and passed from father to son over the generations[3].
An Li Rui - An Ji Hai - An ShuBao - An DeSheng - An JianQiu
Awards and recognition[]
- 2002 Beijing Champion – Baguazhang
- 2003 Chinese National Champion – Xingyiquan
- 2004 Chinese National Champion – Baji Quan
- 2003 Shandong silver medalist – Sanda
- 2016 Shandong Champion - Bajiquan
Media []
References[]
- ↑ George Xu China Camp 2010 - SusanAMatthews.com
- ↑ FAQ - An Wushu China
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Boxer marshals art to sustain family legacy
- ↑ "About" page - An Wushu China
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Shifu An Jian Qiu - An Wushu China
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 An Jianqiu - Wuhun Wu Wu
- ↑ Seminas - An Wushu
- ↑ Nihao! I am Shifu An Jian Qiu, 5th-generation inheritor of An Family Kung Fu. AMA! - Reddit
- ↑ Gao Style Of Cheng School Bagua Zhang - Village Kung Fu Martial Arts Academy