Wushu martial arts, also known as kung Fu, is one of the common demonstrations of Chinese culture. Yes, Kung Fu and Wushu are one and the same. In China, it is popularly called as Wushu while Chinese Kung Fu was popularized by Jet Li and Jackie Chan in their movies.
Wushu is not just a sporting exercise but an artistic form as well. Over time, it has become a formal branch of study in the performance arts by the Chinese.
Wushu has actually evolved and shifted its emphasis from combat to performance. Nowadays, it is practiced not only for self-defense skills, but mostly for mental discipline, physical health, recreational purposes and competition.
Wushu Benefits
The benefits of having Wushu training are numerous. Such sport greatly improves one's overall flexibility, especially in leg and hip. It also focuses on improving balance and coordination. Each movement in the routine usually involves the entire body, and not just specific body part like arm or leg.
On the aesthetic side, Wushu training helps develop good posture, displaying martial spirit and intent.
Wushu Fighting Techniques
Wushu is mainly characterized by dynamic and graceful motions along with its aerial kicks, rolling techniques and weapons. Strikes in this sport consist of fingers, fists, elbows, forearms, shoulders and more. Practically any part of the body can be used to strike. However, the flowing beauty of Wushu masks its potentially destructive power.
The most common used stances in Wushu are horse stance, cat stance and back stance.
Horse stance is a low sitting and rather stable stance. And as you go lower into your horse stance it becomes even more stable for either attacking or defending.
In cat stance, you place your feet close to one another, while sinking your body slightly. You then bend your front knee so that your weight is slightly more on your back leg. From this stance, you are positioned to launch rapid and short front leg kicks.
The back stance is basically a defensive stance. Almost all of your body weight is given to your back leg in this position. Such posture is excellent for avoiding an attack and then launching a swift counterattack using the front leg.
Moreover, the kicks in wushu are quite basic and direct to the target. Such kicks are characterized by a circular motion that gives added power and velocity, making them harder to block. The simplicity of Wushu kicks actually makes it effective. See Wushu basic block techniques.
Modern Wushu Martial Arts
Today, this sport places great emphasis on forms. The methods in modern Wushu training aim to achieve a high degree of competency, which is different to the traditional martial arts.
but its still no match for JKD
ReplyDelete