Chaquan falls under the classification Changquan, a type of Northern Chinese martial arts known for their extended, long movements.

In the legend, a Turkic warrior named "Zha Mi-Er" (maybe Sameer [name of Arabic origin] or Dämir [meaning "iron" in Turkic]); Chinese: 查密爾) from current Xinjiang or Central Asia passed down this martial art to the Chinese locals in the current Xandong province during the late Ming dynasty.

[1] Other modern day masters include Zhang Wenguang, Ma Jinbiao,[2] and Liu Hongchi.

Chaquan is a system that has six main weapons (staff, saber, sword, spear, kwandao, hookswords).

It emphasizes long range movements and stances combined with speed and power.