Chu Guiting
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Chu Guiting was born in in Danzhou town, Renqiu County, Hebei Province on 26th July, 1892. Developing a love of martial arts from an early age, he began studying under famous local masters Jiang Yuhe, Yu Bingzhong and Chen Delu.
In 1912, Chu Guiting began to study Xingyi Quan (Shape and Mind Boxing) and Bagua Zhan (Eight Trigram Boxing) under Grandmaster Li Cunyi, who recognized him as his official disciple.
In 1921, Chu Guiting studied Yang Shi Tai Ji Quan (Yang Style Grand Ultimate Fist) in Hangzhou from Yang Cheng Fu - a direct descendent of the style’s progenitor. In doing so he became one of the “Five Tiger Generals”.
At the age of twenty, Chu Guiting left his hometown and traveled extensively throughout China, visiting Beijing, Tianjin, Liaoning in the North, and Wuhan, Changsha and Nanchang in the South.
Between 1916 and 1940, Chu Guiting was heavily involved in martial arts in both Jiangsu and Shanghai. During this time he worked with the East China Five Province General’s Bodyguards, the Central Chinese Boxing Association, the Zhejiang Province Chinese Boxing Association, the Central Police Officers Association, the Presidential Palace Bodyguards, the National Government’s Military Department and the Jiangsu Public Security Headquarters. He also taught Chinese martial arts privately.
During the 1950s Chu Guiting settled in Shanghai and began to teach classes in Waitan Park, Fuxing Park and the Peoples’ Park. He also taught classes for a wide range of companies including the Bank of China, the Communications Bank, the Government’s Public Security Department, the Shanghai Electric Cable Factory, the Poplar Tree Beach Power Plant and the Eternal Peace Company.
In 1958 Chu Guiting was invited to become the Chinese National Martial Arts Committee’s Assistant Director. Following on from this he was invited with Wang Ziping and Lu Zhenduo to choreograph a sword dance for the Shanghai Song and Dance Institution, which won a silver medal at the World Youth Festival.
In 1956, Chu Guiting, Cai Longyun, Fu Zhongwen and Zhang Yu were commissioned by the Shanghai branch of the Chinese Education Union to condense and simplify Yang Shi Tai Ji Quan (Yang Style Grand Ultimate Fist) into a general system that could be conveniently studied by the masses. Shortly afterwards, Chu Guiting, Gu Liuxin and Fu Zhongwen were invited to Beijing to formulate the famous Simplified 24 And 28 Step Yang Shi Tai Ji Quan (Yang Style Grand Ultimate Fist) Forms that are still practiced throughout China to this very day.
Chu Guiting’s erudite martial skills were a wonder to behold. No matter whether he performed weapon or empty-handed sequences, his movements were always rich in poise and subtlety. Having mastered his body both internally and externally, he crouched like a tiger and glided like a dragon. Graceful and elegant, his movements were impossible to pre-empt. He was simultaneously soft and hard, solid and hollow, gentle and strong.
Chu Guiting was also a wonderful teacher, instilling knowledge in his students slowly but surely in accordance with their individual needs. It was his belief that in order to learn martial arts one must harmonize the body, the breath and the mind.
In passing his knowledge on as a teacher, Chu Guiting paid particular attention to the moral philosophy of Chinese martial arts, and would often say: “With morals much can be achieved, without them nothing can be achieved. Consider, for example, somebody who studies a martial art but does not recognize its moral and philosophical depth. They will soon give it up because they have only ever tasted the skin of the grape and not the fruit that it contains.”
Chu Guiting died on 16th February, 1977. He was a great martial artist, and because he refused to be dragged into petty rivalries between different boxing cliques, he managed to influence many different Chinese martial arts schools. He will always be fondly remembered by his students.
