Fu Guogang practices snake boxing. PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

The vast and tough wilderness has granted snakes stunning agility, speed and strength. Faced with extreme circumstances, they exhibit killer instincts and survival skills.

Those extraordinary traits were picked up by Chinese martial arts masters and became a source of inspiration in honing their craft. They imitate the movements, strategies and principles of snakes to enhance combat techniques.

By emulating these slithering reptiles, martial arts practitioners have developed similar qualities, learning to adapt to different situations when on the offense or needing to defend themselves.

To date, snakes are among the few fierce animals, such as tigers, cranes, leopards and praying mantis that stand out and have been worshipped in the field of martial arts, as their namesakes in multiple traditional Chinese martial styles emit the attributes, such as flexibility and power, of the animals.

In Fucun town of Jindong district in Jinhua city of East China's Zhejiang province, Fu Guogang has been practicing snake boxing for more than four decades.