Mulan Hua Ja Quan is a martial art that combines tai chi as the foundation, a near extinct wugong, hua kung fu, qigong and Chinese folk dance. During the T’ang Dynasty, Mulan Hua Ja Quan was employed by the Imperial Palace as an exclusive art. After the revival of the rare style in 1949, it absorbed the spirit from tai chi and blended ballet and wushu. In 1995 the Beijing Wushu Institute, a division of the Chinese National Sport Association, officially approved mulan quan as the 130th Chinese martial art. Mulan quan contains hand forms, single and double fan sets, and single and double sword sets.
The grace and elegance of the Mulan art seemingly defies the powerful, defensive applications — kicks, throws, blocks, pressure point strikes with unique footwork and ‘revolving wrists.’ The dynamic foot movements contain sweeps, powerful kicks and locking twist steps. The distinctive hand postures and movements are characteristic of the northern Chinese kung fu, hua quan (hua chia chan) — the flowery hand system.
The style originated as the ‘Hua family fighting system.’ The name Mulan was bestowed in honor of Hua Mulan (Magnolia Flower), the legendary Chinese heroine. The legend states that during the Han Dynasty, China was being attacked from the north. Mulan assumed the identity of her younger brother and, dressed as a soldier, led the troops to victory. During the Cultural Revolution, when the practice of martial arts was prohibited and families dared not make claim of this knowledge, the name was changed to the ‘fighting poses of the Hua Mulan.’
The flowing, dance-like movements focuses on the artistry of form and epitomizes the softest of kung fu styles.
Faye Baker received training in this art under Sifu Zhou Wen Jian.
Mulan Hua Ja Quan is also written as Mulan Hua Ja Chuan, Mulan Quan.