一、長拳概說 Brief Introduction of Chang Quan
長拳是在近幾十年發展起來的，以套路運動為主的新拳種。新中國成立後，國家體委把在群眾中廣泛流傳的查、花、炮、洪、華、彈腿、少林等拳種，根據其共同的風格特點，綜合整理創編了長拳。新創拳種既適合基礎武術訓練，又適合於進行競賽和競技技術水平的提高。長拳的特點是：動作舒展大方、快速有力、節奏明顯，並多起伏轉折。長拳內容包括基本功、單練套路、對練套路等。
長拳動作舒展，關節活動範圍較大，對肌肉和韌帶的柔韌性、彈性都有較高要求。同時，由於長拳動作大多是用大肌肉群來進行活動的，要求肌肉活動量大而且迅速，需氧量較大，因此對提高心肺功能也有良好作用。
Chang Quan has been developed in recent decades which is a new sort of Quan with routine movement as the main form.Since the establishment of the People's Republic of China,in accordance with the common styles and characteristics，the State Sports Committee synthetically collated and created Chang Quan from sorts of Quan which are widespread among masses，such as Cha Quan，Hua Quan，Pao Quan，Hong Quan，Hua Quan，Tantui，Shaolin Quan etc..The newly created sort of Quan is not only suitable for basic Wushu training，but also for improvement of competition and competitive skill levels.The characteristics of Chang Quan are that：expansive and decent movements,speediness and power，obvious rhythms，as well as being rich in rising and turning.The contents of Chang Quan comprise basic skills，single-practice forms，and one-on-one forms etc..
Movements of Chang Quan are expanded and stretched with relative wide range of joint activities, which requires high flexibility and elasticity of muscles and ligaments.Meanwhile,because most movements of Chang Quan are fulfilled by big muscle groups which require large and rapid muscle movements and relatively larger oxygen consumption,Chang Quan is beneficial for functional improvements of heart and lungs.