Style Breakdown
by Sifu Krohn

Drunken Boxing is a practical, difficult and very artistic form of Chinese Gong Fu. There is no set system of Chinese Zui Quan (drunken Fist), many styles have Drunken sets and these drunken sets have seen both northern and southern Chinese Gong Fu influence. The most common, mainstream form of drunken boxing is the Eight Immortals Drunken Gong Fu. Eight Gods represent different sets of techniques, principles and exercises that make up the different drunken boxing personas. In a nut shell, each God has a certain fighting principle and certain techniques that are uniquely theirs; for a Martial Arts stand point.

Modern Practitioners of Drunken boxing tend to learn/mix both northern and southern applications and combine them into a unique set of application, Every Zui Quan practitioner is different. Zui Quan has such a broad range of techniques and applications from easy to difficult, which makes it a great art for practitioners of all kinds.

Zui Quan practitioners, every one of them, will argue that the style is the most practical in the world due to its unpredictable nature. People who don’t practice usually enjoy the look of practice and techniques from a artistic stand point, but question practicality.

Zui Quan form and application are two completely different things. Forms practice is about mastery of technique as well as self. Application is about mastery of self defense, and Zui Quan requires a great deal of repetitive application training for a practitioner to become truly effective and implementing the wide varieties of techniques within the split second it takes for an opponent to strike.

As I have previously stated, almost all styles of Gong Fu contain some for of Drunken boxing, whether in form of technique, but there is not full system of Drunken Boxing. Practitioners must first have a strong understanding in basic Gong Fu in order to truly master the techniques. I was asked a question at one point and I continue to use it as an example because it really helps explain the style.

Questions – “Can someone who knows no martial arts whatsoever start in Drunken boxing and learn just Drunken Boxing like you would if you joined a Karate or Tae Kwan Do Scholl?”

My Answer – “With enough determination and practice, one can do anything! Zui Quan is a very difficult art and learning could take much more time with out proper basic martial knowledge of some kind.”

While one could learn Zui Quan from the ground up with no other previous Martial training, the odds are unlikely that one would progress very far.