whats wu-tang style ?

[masterintraining]

i was jus watchin shaolin & wu- tang starring gordon lui and even though i have not finish watchin the movie i am a little confused though. i have always thought that wu-tang was a sword style of kung-fu( aside from being 1 of the rawest rap groups ever besides bone thugs in harmony,& dipset, and the original rap groups like suger hill, but thats of topic ) while shaolin was both hand and weapons. but i have heard many different explanations for what it is. can some1 else please tell me what wu-tang style really is. it was sword style in shaolin & wu-tang but i am not sure if thats it.

[Purple Cloud]

There are three well known basic kung fu families in China (that I know of):

1) the shaolin style, which had three temples,north, south and don't remember where was the third. Shaolin styles were influenced by Buddhism. (Most Asian martial arts, like Okinawan/Japanese karate for example, have come from the shaolin family)

2) the Wudang style or styles (not wu-tang which I guess means something else) were influenced by Taoism. This family of styles was developed at the Wudang mountainous region of China.Tai Chi Chuan is said to have come from Wudang.I think Wudang is somehow antagonistic(but not hostile) to shaolin.

3) And last, is Emei style (or styles) coming also from a mountainous region called Emei in China.That is also Taoist I think.

[mantis.style]

Wudang is the name of a school. As a school, it has fist sets as well as weapons, most notably being the chinese straight sword and other basic training tools/techniques. According to popular myth and story telling, The originator of Wudang school was an ex-shaolin disciple who was kicked out unfairly. In the same popular stories, this guy maintains a view that the shaolin guys are all old, stuffy, rule following, unbending and unforgiving farts.

[Bajifan]

Wutang is just another way of writing Wudang in English letters. Though Wutang can also refer to a martial arts organization from Taiwan also called "Wutan". In Chinese though, the characters are different.

Wudang is a general term for a number of different schools and styles from the Wudang mountain region. You have variations (Wudang interpretations) on several generally non-Wudang styles (like taiji, bagua, and baji for example) and some more unique to Wudang systems like Wudang Taiyi Quan (Great Spirit Boxing), Xiao Yao Quan (not sure of a proper translation of this), 8 Drunken Immortals, and a number of others. And of course Wudang is famous for the sword work too.

All this Shaolin vs. Wudang rivalry stuff though is myth born mostly of kungfu movies

Emei has a mix of Taoist and Buddhist styles, and there was even an "Emei-Shaolin" system. It also has its own unique systems (like Fire Dragon Boxing) and it's own takes on more well known styles.

Example: Emei Bagua Zhang (from 100+yo master Lu Zijian):

He was in his 90's when he performed, and I think he's still alive and kicking today.

[bushido_man96]

Wow. His movements were very smooth.

Thanks for the link.