Chinese martial arts are an important part of Chinese traditional culture and they include arm wrestling, attack and defense, and the use of arms. It is divided into "theory" and "practice." "Theory" means the predecessors' martial arts experience and records of sequences. "Practice" refers to physical education, physical exercise, and Qigong to keep up with the health. Thus, martial arts demonstrate the Chinese's comprehension of the strategies of attack and defense. In addition, martial arts tend to show cultural characteristics of refined thoughts and human philosophy. It significantly influences public culture of modern China.

Types and schools of Chinese martial arts are diverse. Now there are more than 300 kinds of martial arts with "specific history, vivid context, unique style and special system." They can be classified according to region, succession, origin and skill. In early times, martial arts were divided into northern and southern or internal and external schools. The internal school is represented by Tai Chi, Xingyi and Bagua and the external school is represented by Shaolin which included southern and northern schools.

Historical materials of China rarely systematically record the development of martial arts. Nevertheless, martial arts, as an important form of subculture, tend to appear in different historical materials. They were valued in the late period of the Qing Dynasty and the time of the Republic of China. Afterwards, development of Chinese martial arts changed with time and situations, and the masters of martial arts in China were scattered. This resulted in different schools of martial arts in modern China. Now, there is an international martial arts association to promote martial arts globally. In addition, martial arts center is founded in China which not only promotes martial arts, but also intends to transform martial arts into competitive sports.

When Cloud Gate dancers learned martial arts and Tai Chi Tao Yin at the beginning, it was painful. It was long and they had to practice squatting down which was dull and it took time. Afterwards, Lin Hwai-min transformed the practice into dances and asked the dancers to regulate their inner force. Physical induction successively became the motivation for dancing and shapes human bodies into fluent lines like water. In addition, Mr. Lin argued that learning Tai Chi Tao Yin is not simply a form of physical training, but also an education of personality. It includes interpersonal interaction, life and individuals' positions in the world.

Image Source: http://cloudgate.e-lib.nctu.edu.tw/home.asp

Image Source: http://cloudgate.e-lib.nctu.edu.tw/home.asp

From ancient time to the present, the ultimate objective to learn martial arts is consistent: "physical defense, physical exercise and personal cultivation." In "martial arts" courses of Cloud Gate Dancing School, there are more "training" involved. With internal training, personal intention and positive learning attitude, it cultivates the students' steadiness and reinforces their concentration, persistence, endurance and autonomy. Through promotion of martial arts, Cloud Gate expects that the children will be steady as a mountain and they will learn to control their life with freedom, courage and responsibility.

Cloud Gate dancers have approached martial arts for nearly 20 years. In recent years, the works of Cloud Gate, such as Water Moon, Cursive and Water Stains on the Wall are based on martial arts. Standing practice is transformed into physical simulation of rooted trees; seemingly simple movement implies "meditation" on land, physical spinning and thoughts. Using Cursive as an example, the dancer Chou Chang-ning, by long-term training of martial arts, included Wang Xizhi's Eight Major Strokes of Calligraphy in physical movement. Physical writing of the word "Yong" is the impressive part in the piece. The work was praised by The New York Times as "the best witness of splendor".