The Dirty "W" Word

[Hudson]

Wushu.

 

You know, that stuff that most of those "hardcore" guys call dancing?

 

What are your thoughts on the practicality of the practice of proper wushu?

 

(Ignore the word "proper", I was just sort of rolling with the p's)

[Drunken Monkey]

depends on what you mean by wushu.

 

wushu as in the national sport of china and related forms that are recognised by the competition authorities to be wushu?

 

wushu formally known as quo-shu?

 

i wouldn't give it much credit as a fighting system.

 

but then again, not many ambassadors of that wushu will say it is a traditional fighting art.

 

on the other hand, in mandarin, wushu refers to ALL (chinese) martial arts.

 

there's also some schools that teach under recognition of the national art wushu authorities that do have a combat edge.

 

the chin woo schools and the lee gar school are known for effective combat forms/teachings and they are both recognised by the wushu governing bodies.

 

so as i said, it all depends on what you are talking about when you say wushu.

[Hudson]

Where does the sport come from?

 

Is there any combat worth to it at all?

 

Please expand on what you posted as I am very ignorant about wushu myself.

 

I will be back after work to check out your response so please be as long and boring as you need.

[Drunken Monkey]

by sport you mean the chinese government organised national event thing right?

 

best explain in two articles i've dug up.

 

http://www.monashwushu.com/~nuke/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=16

 

http://cclib.nsu.ru/projects/satbi/satbi-e/martart/wushu/wsstory.html

 

(isn't it scary when you type something into google and the first on the list is something that you've written?

 

man, i think i've got to spend less time on the internet...)

[SevenStar]

the combat sport side of wushu is san shou...

[Hudson]

Ah I see... so truly traditional wushu refers to all martial arts (Shaolin Wushu was mentioned in that second page) and it is now a sport with two sides, Talou and Sanshou - am I correct or did I read that too quickly?

[SevenStar]

not really - as DM said, it has multiple meanings. it's both the national sport of china and also means "martial art" generically.

 

the same thing exixsts in the japanese culture. taijutsu has come to be known as the hand to hand art of the ninja, however, taijutsu literally translates to "body arts" and was used synonymously with jujutsu - it was a generic term.

[dippedappe]

The "modern wushu" styles teach exactly the same movements as any other classic gung fu style. Maybe a little powerless, I dont know, but its what you put into it that determines the power.

 

It isnt the movements thats bad for combat, but the way you are taught.

 

.

 

So I dont think you can say that modern wushu is bad for selfdefence.

 

Thats how I look at it anyway.

[SevenStar]

that's not true. not all of the movements are taught the same way. for example, a tornado kick where you land on the same leg you kicked with - that is wushu. Also, the focus of them is different.

[dippedappe]

There are different versions of tornado kick. Some where you kick with both feet. some where you parry with the first and kick with the second. The one you mentioned. One where you hit from above like a hammer with the last foot, and one where you do a more roundhouse like kick.

 

You cant say that theres a wushu way and classic way.

 

"the focus of them is different".

 

Like I said "its what you put into it that determines the power.

 

It isnt the movements thats bad for combat, but the way you are taught"