Learn Drunken Style Wushu

Learn Drunken Style Wushu

In this section you will learn a few basic Drunken Style techniques. The drunken style is one of the most famous, traditional wushu (kung fu) styles. In Chinese, the drunken style is called "Zui Quan" 醉拳 (Zui = Drunken = 醉) (Quan = Fist = 拳). The drunken style is a traditional style, but there are also modern drunken style forms. That's what you will see in kung fu shows such as the Shaolin shows. The difference between modern drunken style forms for shows and traditional drunken style forms is that show-forms are often shortened and in shows you will see more acrobatic jumps. However, traditionally, most of the moves are the same. Young wushu athletes always start with acrobatic drunken style forms because they just look cooler and are more fun for young people. The meaning of the movements is often lost in modern forms. Real drunken style masters who know dozens of different traditional standardized forms and all the applications are very hard to find, even in China. Find more wushu styles on the main page for wushu.

Style description

  • The drunken style is a very smooth and relaxed wushu style. Make sure you keep your hips and your shoulders relaxed. Sudden speed changes are very typical. Swaying, drinking, and falling techniques are used to throw off the opponent's timing.
  • You imitate a drunkard's movements (drinking wine from glasses, bottles and pots), but you don't jump around with glasses and bottles in your hands. The drunken style is a free-hand style!
  • Good Balance is very important for the drunken style.
  • The drunken style involves a lot of falls and acrobatic jumps. Falls are often combined with attacks. So it looks like you lose balance, but in reality you have total control over your movements and attack your opponent.

Advice

  • Learn the wushu basics before you start learning drunken style or any other traditional wushu style.
  • Practice the jumps and falls on mats first.
  • The drunken style got popular outside of China after Jackie Chan's movie Drunken Master in 1978.