中国武术与斗牛技巧融合形成中国式斗牛

Chinese Bullfighters Bring Martial¹ Arts to Their Sport

Several times a week, Ren Ruzhi battles an opponent that is five times his weight and strong enough to kill him. He is skilled in fighting bulls, animals known for their aggressive behavior.

Ren teaches the Chinese martial art of kung fu. The 24-year-old’s mixing of martial arts and bullfighting worries his mother. But Ren has never been hurt. And, he says, battling the bull makes him feel energized².

“It symbolizes³ the bravery of a man,” Ren told the Reuters news agency in the city of Jiaxing, China.

Bullfighting may be more famous in Spain, where it is usually very bloody⁴. But the Chinese form of bullfighting is less violent. Instead it combines moves from the sport of wrestling with the skill and speed of kung fu to bring down animals weighing up to 400 kilograms.

“Spanish bullfighting is more like a performance or a show,” said 41-year-old Hua Yang. Hua watched a bullfight during a visit to Spain.

The Chinese form is truly a contest pitting a human’s strength against a bull. “There are a lot of skills involved and it can be dangerous,” he added.

Han Haihua, a former wrestler⁶, teaches bullfighters at his Haihua Kung fu School in Jiaxing. Han said the physically⁷ demanding sport requires fighters to train intensively and they usually have short careers.

Han described the form of bullfighting he teaches as the explosive power of hard ‘qigong’, saying it combines the skill and speed of martial arts with traditional wrestling moves.

Usually, a fighter faces the bull directly, seizes its horns and turns its head until the bull falls over.

If the first fighter gets tired, another one can take his place fighting the bull. But they have just three minutes in which to wrestle⁵ the animal to the ground or they lose the event.

The bulls, too, are trained before they go into battle, Han said. They learn how to spread their legs or find a place to stand against being taken down.

A bull can also think like a human, they are intelligent, Han added. He said that his bulls get better treatment than the animals involved in the Spanish sport. But animal rights activists⁸ believe Chinese bullfighting is still painful for the animals.

Layli Li is with the group People for the Ethical⁹ Treatment of Animals. She says it is undeniable that the bulls experience pain in Chinese bullfighting.

“As long as it exists, that means there is suffering,” she added.

I’m Pete Musto.

Words in This Story

aggressive – adj. ready and willing to fight or argue

martial art – n. any one of several forms of fighting and self-defense, such as karate¹⁰ and judo¹¹, that are widely practiced as sports

symbolize(s) – v. to be an action, object or event that expresses or represents a particular idea or quality

wrestling – n. a sport in which two people try to throw, force, or pin each other to the ground

pit(ting) (a human’s strength) against – p.v. to cause someone or something to fight or compete against another person or thing)

horn(s) – n. one of the hard pointed parts that grows on the head of some animals

1 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

2 energized   

v.给予…精力，能量( energize的过去式和过去分词 )；使通电

参考例句：

• We are energized by love if we put our energy into loving. 如果我们付出能量去表现爱意，爱就会使我们充满活力。 来自辞典例句
• I am completely energized and feeling terrific. 我充满了活力，感觉非常好。 来自辞典例句

3 symbolizes   

v.象征，作为…的象征( symbolize的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The use of light and dark symbolizes good and evil. 用光明与黑暗来象征善与恶。
• She likes olive because It'symbolizes peace. 她喜欢橄榄色因为它象征着和平。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

5 wrestle   

vi.摔跤，角力；搏斗；全力对付

参考例句：

• He taught his little brother how to wrestle.他教他小弟弟如何摔跤。
• We have to wrestle with difficulties.我们必须同困难作斗争。

6 wrestler   

n.摔角选手，扭

参考例句：

• The wrestler tripped up his opponent.那个摔跤运动员把对手绊倒在地。
• The stronger wrestler won the first throw.较壮的那个摔跤手第一跤就赢了。

7 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

8 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

10 karate   

n.空手道(日本的一种徒手武术)

参考例句：

• Alice's boyfriend knew a little karate.艾丽斯的男朋友懂一点儿空手道。
• The black belt is the highest level in karate.黑腰带级是空手道的最高级别。

11 judo   

n.柔道

参考例句：

• The judo is a kind of fighting sport.柔道是一种对抗性体育活动。
• Which is more important in judo, strength or techniques?柔道运动中，力量和技术哪个更重要？