Wushu has over time become a formal branch of study in the performancing arts by the Chinese. It is the most popular national sport in the country of China, and is practised by people of all ages. Modern wushu has shifted it's emphasis from combat to performance, and it is practiced for its method of achieving heath, self-defense skills, mental discipline, recreational pursuit and competition. Wushu is characterized by it dynamic and fluid motions along with its arial kicks, rolling techniques and weapons.
Wushu is the Chinese word for all the styles of Chinese Martial Arts. These arts can be Tai Chi, Shaolin Boxing, Wing Chun, and many other martial styles.
The main styles of Wushu are:
Barehands: Changquan (Long fist), Nanquan (Southern Fist), Taijiquan (Taiji Quan)
Short Weapons:
- Dao (single-edged sword)
- Jian (double-edged sword)
- Taijijian (Taiji double-edged sword)
- Nandao (Southern single-edged sword)
Long Weapons:
- Gun (Staff)
- Qiang (Spear)
- Nangun (Southern Staff)
When you look at the Chinese characters for wushu, it is actually two characters or words, Wu meaning 'martial' and Shu meaning 'art'. Upon further examination of the Chinese character for Wu, it too is two characters, Zhi meaning ' do not do' and Ge meaning 'Fight'. Thus the characters translate to 'Do not Fight'.Therefore, the word Wushu really means the 'Art of not fighting'.
List of major international and regional competitions featuring wushu:
- World Wushu Championships
- World Junior Wushu Championships
- Asian Games
- East Asian Games
- Southeast Asian Games
- European Wushu Championships
- National Games of the People's Republic of China
The IWUF placed a bid to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to have wushu included in future Olympic Games, but did not meet with success. However, the IOC allowed China to organize an international wushu event during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, but this event is not one of the 28 official Olympic sports, nor is it a demonstration event. Instead, it was called the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Wushu Tournament.
Asian Games(2010): Wushu player Bimoljit Singh wins bronze, Sandhyarani assures India of silver
India’s Sandhyarani Devi lands a punch on Iran’s defending champion Khadijeh Azadpour
(red) during their women’s Sanshou 60kg wushu final in Guangzhou on Wednesday. Khadijeh won gold, while Devi took the silver. Sandhyarani Devi Wangkhem, a 27-year-old CRPF constable, earned India its first silver in this martial games sport, after losing the 60 kg category final to spirited Iranian Khadijeh Azadpour, earning the sport some rare spotlight on an otherwise lean day.
