The Dirty "W" Word

[Infrazael]

Wushu is a disgrace to SOME hardcore Kung Fu people (me included). However, some of my advanced CLF friends take comtemporary Wushu tho.

 

As a fighting art. . . . . . ballet is prolly better.

[Hudson]

I assume, now, you're talking about contemporary sport wushu.

 

But wouldn't a wushu set, like any other set or form, be able to be broken down into segments and individual moves for practicality?

[mantisboxer]

wushu is just dance everything is overextended joints flash its based in tradional gung fu sure but when the wushu guys try to say tradional or modern wushu they are just trying to jusify and market theyre dance wushu is dance thats it.

 

Im not takeing away from wushu those guys have to be in tremendous shape to do what they do.

[Infrazael]

In Wushu, everything is done for LOOKS instead of power, stability, etc.

 

Their stances are overtly wide, their footwork is wrong, their techniques just PLAIN SUCK. All the power and destructiveness of real Kung Fu is taken away in Wushu, leaving only the artistic side.

[Hudson]

Ok, so shorten the stances, bring the arms in a little tighter, what do you have? The same hipwork, the same principals, the same stances, same techniques, in an artistic form.

 

I mean, the first thing I learned about wushu is that it means "war/martial art", which is the term applied to all CMAs.

 

And it makes sense - you have the martial side, and you have an art side. Or is having an art side too uneffective and not hardcore enough?

[Infrazael]

Wrong. Alot of times, the real applications are taken and changed for aesthetic purposes. Wushu has overextended kicks, useless rotations, stances that are too high, low, wide, or short, extended to extremes for artistic purposes.

 

Jumps are flashy and does no good in a street fight. Hyperextended stances and stance transitions DO NOT provide for maximum stability. Sure, they may LOOK similar to real Kung Fu, by the end result is vastly different.

 

Hip movements are often also distorted, with footwork also bent for aesthetic purposes. Overtly showy blocks, strikes, and jumps are easily countered.

 

Wu Shu, while in Mandarin may MEAN "martial arts" (I speak mandarin), but when people refer to Wu Shu they are talking about the gymnastic, artsy style that the Chinese Government put in place, becasue they were fearful of real kung fu.

 

Also, the weapon forms are completely horrible for real life fighting. Yes, I would know. I grew up in Northern China, I have seen TONs of Wu Shu, I have researched into this subject and spoken with practitioners who do both styles.

 

Now, Wu Shu looks awesome and is great for movies, but sorry, it doesn't work in a real street fight.

[Infrazael]

Wrong. Alot of times, the real applications are taken and changed for aesthetic purposes. Wushu has overextended kicks, useless rotations, stances that are too high, low, wide, or short, extended to extremes for artistic purposes.

 

Jumps are flashy and does no good in a street fight. Hyperextended stances and stance transitions DO NOT provide for maximum stability. Sure, they may LOOK similar to real Kung Fu, by the end result is vastly different.

 

Hip movements are often also distorted, with footwork also bent for aesthetic purposes. Overtly showy blocks, strikes, and jumps are easily countered.

 

Wu Shu, while in Mandarin may MEAN "martial arts" (I speak mandarin), but when people refer to Wu Shu they are talking about the gymnastic, artsy style that the Chinese Government put in place, becasue they were fearful of real kung fu.

 

Also, the weapon forms are completely horrible for real life fighting. Yes, I would know. I grew up in Northern China, I have seen TONs of Wu Shu, I have researched into this subject and spoken with practitioners who do both styles.

 

Now, Wu Shu looks awesome and is great for movies, but sorry, it doesn't work in a real street fight.

[Hudson]

Oi, street fight this street fight that - I guess I just feel that there is something to be learned even from Wushu.

[siufeifei]

Wushu has overextended kicks, useless rotations, stances that are too high, low, wide, or short, extended to extremes for artistic purposes.

 

Jumps are flashy and does no good in a street fight. Hyperextended stances and stance transitions DO NOT provide for maximum stability. Sure, they may LOOK similar to real Kung Fu, by the end result is vastly different.

 

Here's something I don't understand. Yes it is true that the things you mention are often seen in wushu demonstrations and performances but why do you insist that because they PERFORM in this manner, they will fight in this manner?

 

I have seen time and time again, the Chinese Martial Arts student, or even any Traditional Martial Arts student say that they don't fight like how they train in the forms so why do you insist that the wushu guys WILL fight like how they perform?

 

IF there was a fight between an average sport wushu practioner and an average kung fu practitioner I think I would put my money on the wushu guy because in general, wushu people train much harder then the average kung fu guy.

 

Wushu gives you better overall strength, agility, speed, flexibility and to an extent better endurance and higher pain tolerance.

 

The only thing lacking in modern wushu training is the emphasis on workable fighting techniques but I would argue that this is a lot easier to teach and learn than it is to achieve the other aspects I associated with wushu above.

[SevenStar]

Here's something I don't understand. Yes it is true that the things you mention are often seen in wushu demonstrations and performances but why do you insist that because they PERFORM in this manner, they will fight in this manner?

 

I have seen time and time again, the Chinese Martial Arts student, or even any Traditional Martial Arts student say that they don't fight like how they train in the forms so why do you insist that the wushu guys WILL fight like how they perform?

 

because the ones who said they don't fight how they train probably lied. When you train, you are TRAINING yourself - repeatedly drilling these motions into your muscle memory. they become second nature. It's not so easy to just instantly re-program yourself - especially in a high adrenaline situation like a streetfight.

IF there was a fight between an average sport wushu practioner and an average kung fu practitioner I think I would put my money on the wushu guy because in general, wushu people train much harder then the average kung fu guy.

 

Wushu gives you better overall strength, agility, speed, flexibility and to an extent better endurance and higher pain tolerance.

 

The only thing lacking in modern wushu training is the emphasis on workable fighting techniques but I would argue that this is a lot easier to teach and learn than it is to achieve the other aspects I associated with wushu above.

 

actually, I agree with that statement.