Nan Quan is a fist fighting technique which originated south of the Yangtze River of China and is popular in provinces like Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi and Zhejiang, hence its name Nan Quan, which literally means a fist fighting technique practiced in the south. Nan Quan was existent in the Qing Dynasty according to the record of Xiao Zhi Lu, a book on a wide range of topics written by Lu Fengzao in the Qing Dynasty, and became mature then and spread overseas henceforth.

As southerners are generally short but strong, which enables them to be extremely swift and flexible with great explosive strength of muscle, they stress short range and quick fight. The overall style of Nan Quan is characterized by stable stances, quick and extensive punches, vigorous movements, few jumps, more short-range fist fighting and a vocal articulation that helps to generate power and boosts the explosive strength.

Nan Quan is also famous for its compact and fast movements, flexible and meticulous hand techniques, as well as changing forms of hands and upper limbs. With all those features, Nan Quan manifests small, clever, frequent and fast moves in fighting. It boasts diversified hand techniques, sometimes different hand techniques for only one posture, and often uses short-range punches, the advantage of which is reflected in the Chinese saying that “Shortened distance is doubled danger.” In terms of its moving upper limbs, Nan Quan puts together strength in the chest, back, shoulders and elbows, coupled with the breath sunk to Dan Tian (the lower belly), and concentrates all the strength in the legs, which is later passed on to the arms through waist movements to generate vigorous punches. Nan Quan practitioners move within a relatively small range and are required to have low stances as stable as rooted trees, erect towers and unshakable mountains.

Nan Quan rarely uses legs but abounds in punches. This stands in stark contrast with the martial arts practiced in northern China where tall northerners prefer to kick and jump. Therefore, people usually distinguish northern and southern martial arts with the phrase “Nan Quan Bei Tui” (southern fist and northern leg).

Nan Quan falls into many categories, with the most famous being the five family styles of Hong Jia Quan, Liu Jia Quan, Cai Jia Quan, Li Jia Quan and Mo Jia Quan in Guangdong Province, Wing Chun, Wu Zu Quan (Five-ancestors Fist), He Quan (Crane Fist) and Luo Han Quan (Arhat Fist) in Fujian Province, and Wu Jia Quan in Hunan, Hubei and Jiangxi Provinces.

Hong Jia Quan, also known as Hong Quan, comes first among the five Guangdong family styles. Legend has it that it was founded by Hong Xiguan, a martial arts master from Zhangzhou, Fujian Province. This punching technique is popular in Guangdong and influential in some Southeast Asian countries and regions. Hong Quan routines are complicated with fists in a single form of dragon, tiger, lion, leopard, snake, crane, elephant, horse or monkey, and fists in mixed forms of Hu He Shuang Xing Quan (double animals of tiger and crane), Wu Xing Quan (five animals of dragon, tiger, leopard, snake and crane) or Shi Xing Quan (ten animals of dragon, tiger, lion, leopard, snake, crane, horse, eagle, bear and monkey). Hong Quan is featured by its simple yet forceful movements, few kicks, diversified hand techniques, stable and extensive steps. The practitioners usually first conserve power for a later outburst and natural vocal articulation for enhancement is used.

In their development, the five Guangdong Province family styles integrate with one another, thus giving birth to contemporary martial arts variants like Choi Lei Fut, a combination of Cai (Choi) Jia Quan, Li (Lei) Jia Quan and Fo Jia Quan. Choi Lei Fut is widely practiced in Guangzhou, Foshan, Hong Kong, Macao and Southeast Asia. Its characteristics lie in its flexible, swift and extended movements, with softness and toughness complementing each other to deliver bold and wise techniques. Its hand techniques are dominated by fists, palms and forearms, with a focus on coordination between attacks and defense with agile steps and a stable stance.

Wing Chun is one of the most famous fist techniques of Nan Quan that prevailed in Guangdong and Fujian in its early days. Named after its founder, the young woman Yim Wing-chun (also known as Wing Chun San Niang) from Fujian, Wing Chun has the following characteristics: It is applicable to actual combat with changing moves, simple movements, agile and changing handwork, use of legs and hands in unison and inconspicuous leg attacks, and elbows are kept close to the body for protection of the centerline. Bruce Lee, a famous contemporary martial arts film actor, was a Wing Chun practitioner from an early age and founder of the Jeet Kune Do (the way of the intercepting fist) based on Wing Chun in his later life.