Xingyiquan is an art which uses the five elements as its basis. Only having a very basic introduction to xingyiquan, I don't have deep insight into how the five element theory works in the actual practice of fighting. Looking up info on Xingyiquan (Hsing I Chuan) would be a place to start in finding the link between martial arts and five element theory. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xingyiquan http://www.chiflow.com/Xingyiquan.htm