For many years, Chinese martial arts have been known as "kung fu" in the U.S.,
whereas in China they are referred to as "wushu." "Wushu," means "martial arts" in Mandarin Chinese, while "kung fu"
(pronounced gungfu) means to have proficient skill at something. Therefore, "wushu" is obviously a
more suitable name. Wushu is comprised of over 300 traditional martial arts such as Shaolinquan,
Baguazhang, Taijiquan, etc, and the various weapons of ancient China. It also has more modern
components. Wushu was modernized 30 years ago for the sake of
standardizing training and routines (forms) for competition.
With so many martial arts in China, this was essential.
The main styles of modern wushu that are practiced internationally are changquan
(long fist), and nanquan (southern boxing).
Changquan is comprised of movements from the wushu styles of northern China, while nanquan is made up of
movements from southern Chinese wushu styles. In addition to these empty hand forms, contemporary
wushu also contains many standardized weapons routines. These weapons include:
Straight sword
Broadsword
Spear
Staff
Contemporary wushu also features a 42 step taijiquan competition routine. Combat, of course, has not
been left out. The full-contact fighting event known as sanshou
can be seen at wushu tournaments around the world.
For more info, follow these links...
This website is designed to give brief overview information on modern wushu. If you'd like more, follow the Webring links below or try the wushu links on my link page here.
Click here to go to my homepage.
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