北宋时期,北宋与西夏在边境地区长期处于武装对峙状态,北宋政权由于军制的僵化、落后导致军事上的劣势。为了扭转这一状况,以范仲淹、韩琦、种世衡为代表的一些北宋朝廷有识之士对宋夏边境地区的蕃汉民间武装力量加以利用,使其成为抵御西夏入侵的重要力量之一,很大程度上增强了北宋防御西夏的能力,并逐步扭转了长期对西夏战争的不利局面也由此促进了民间习武风气的增长。 During the Northern Song Dynasty, the Northern Song Dynasty and Xixia were confronted with armed confrontation in the border areas for a long time. Due to the rigidity of the military system, the regime of the Northern Song Dynasty lagged behind the military disadvantage. In order to reverse this situation, some people of insight in the Northern Song Dynasty, represented by Fan Zhongyan, Han Qi and Shi Zhongheng, used the civil-defense armed forces of the Han and Song Dynasties in the border areas of Song and Xia as one of the important forces to resist the invasion of Western Xia , Greatly strengthened the ability of the Northern Song Dynasty to defend Xixia, and gradually reversed the unfavorable situation of the long-term war against Xixia, thereby promoting the growth of folk martial arts.