There are legends written during Emperor Xuanzong of Tang's reign about a Mount Hua knight named Cai Mao, who was famous for his prowess in combat and swordplay.

[1] Cai Wanzhi had based the book on the traditional philosophy of combining the "three pure essences", or treasures, of Spirit (Shen), Intrinsic Energy (Chi), and Internal force (Jing).

Historically the temples and monasteries on Mount Hua are quite ancient and the monks were renowned masters of Neidan, (Internal Alchemy) and the mountain was a designation for many martial artists, giving up common earthly life.

Allegedly, Zhang Sanfeng, the Taoist sage and patriarch of tai chi studied at the monasteries of Mount Hua after his time at Shaolin in Song Shan and before retiring to the Wudang Mountains.

[5] The lesser-known internal martial-art style of liuhebafa was also developed on Mount Hua by the Taoist sage Chen Tuan (871–989) during the Song dynasty.

A highly developed style, there is an old saying in a form of a poem that basically states "knowing the 48 hand sets of huaquan, one can travel anywhere under the heavens.".

Its techniques are executed "like a fast burst of wind" and its flawless stances are "as rooted as the pine tree"[7] (excerpt from the "12 patterns" of huaquan training).

[8] Eleven basic aspects of practice include use of shoulder, back, hip, knee, leg, foot, arm, elbow, fist, palm and claw.

In the present day, huaquan is one of the main constituents of the modern "Changquan" (longfist) routines in contemporary Wushu taught in Sports Academies throughout China due to the efforts of one of the few remaining huaquan Grandmasters Cai Longyun (aka "the Big Dragon", son of Grandmaster Cai Guigin) when he wrote manuals on the first four roads and two of the sparring sets of the huaquan system (which are considered to be advanced, not beginner, forms), and collaborated with the Chinese Wushu Committee in the 1950s in creating beginner, intermediate, and advanced Wushu basics and curriculums.

Currently, Sigung Joe Maury's primary focus is on preserving huaquan to be as authentic and complete as the original art dating back to the Liu Song dynasty.