Wushu
Wushu is an important component of the cultural heritage of
China, with a rich content that has remained untamished over
the centuries. Literally translated, "wu" is military, "shu" is
art. Wushu therefore means the art of fighting, or martial arts.
Previously, wushu figured significantly in the simple matter
of survival through China's many wars and political upheaval.
Today, wushu has been organized and systematized into a formal
branch of study in the performance arts by the Chinese. It reigns
as the most popular national sport in the country of 1.2 billion
people, practiced by the young and old alike. It's emphasis has
shifted from combat to performance, and it is practiced for its
method of achieving health, self-defense skills, mental discipline,
recreational pursuit and competition. There are professional
wushu teams in every province, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shanxi,
Guangdong etc. All the major sports universities have a wushu
department, for example Beijing Sports University and the Sports
University of Shanghai, etc. There are professors and students
doing wushu research and studies and thousands of students graduate
each year.
To describe wushu, it is best to understand the philosophy of
its teaching. Every movement must exhibit sensible combat application
and aestheticism. The wealth of wushu's content, the beauty of
wushu movements, the difficulty factor, and the scientific training
methods are the song of the elements that set wushu apart from
martial arts. Routines are performed solo, paired or in groups,
either barehanded or armed with traditional Chinese weaponry.
In short, wushu is the most exciting martial art to be seen,
felt, and ultimately practiced.
How is wushu related to kung fu and taijiquan? "Wushu" is
the correct term for all Chinese martial arts therefore kung
fu and wushu were originally the same. During the last thirty
years, wushu in Mainland China was modernized so that there could
be a universal standard for training and competing. In essence,
much emphasis has been placed on speed, difficulty, and presentation.
Consequently, wushu has become an athletic and aesthetic performance
and competitive sport, while "kung fu" or traditional
wushu remains the traditional fighting practice. Taijiquan is
a major division of wushu, utilizing the bodies internal energy
or "qi" and following the simple principle of "subduing
the vigorous by the soft".
Although still in budding stages in many countries, wushu is
an established international sport. In 1990, wushu was inducted
as an official medal event in the Asian Games. From 1991 the
World Wushu Championships have been held once in every two years.
The Finnish Wushu Federation was founded in 1991. Since then
the Finnish wushu team has participated all the major world and
European wushu championships.
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