Wu Shu is often the generic name given to the traditional Chinese fighting forms. In a modern context, Wu Shu has taken on more of a flashy, artistic and competitive role, with Wu Shu competitions among the most popular forms of live martial arts demonstrations in the world today.
Wu Shu is a modern extension of ancient Chinese Kung Fu. There is no particular style of Wu Shu, but rather many styles which today have been adapted into flasy, aesthetically pleasing martial routines. While no history of Wu Shu can be traced (as, once again, it is not a particular style), the name Wu Shu was first used in written form in the Nan dynasty by Prince Liang Chau Min. In his writings, he used the term Wu Shi to mean 'war arts' used in the context of people protected the country.
In the Ming Guo era (before communism) martial arts was also referred to as Guo Shu, but the advent of communism saw a return to the term Wu Shu (though in some places, such as Taiwan, the term Guo Shu is still used). If there was a golden era of Wu Shu it was during the Qing and Ming dynasty which saw a flowering of the Chinese martial arts. This era saw a perfection of forms in the combination of songs and skills. During this Wu Shu renaissance, three famous styles of Wu Shu came to the fore, those being: 32 Long Fist Form, 6 Stance Boxing Style Form and Monkey Form. The Ming Dynasty also saw a separation of the internal and external styles, with such famous styles asTai Chi, Bagua Zhang and Hsing-I invented and refined during this time.
Wu Shu saw a major change in the 20th century with the advent of communism. Gymnastics was introduced into Wu Shu forms, paving the foundation for what would become modern Wu Shu competition. In 1909 the Jin Wu Sports Assocation was founded in Shanghai and included gymnastic training as part of their curriculum. This led to the establishment of several other sports associations that included gymnastics training as part of their curriculum.
In 1927 the government in Nan Jing founded the Jung Yung (government Wu Shu school). Twenty-four provinces followed in this idea and soon nearly 300 schools were operational. In 1936 the Chinese martial arts team went to Berlin for the 11th Olympic Games to do a demonstration. In 1958 the Chinese became very careless and competitive and the forms became generally the same in appearance. The Southern styles, Tai Chi Chuan and Long fist became standardized. In 1983 full contact fighting and Tai Chi pushing hands became single divisions in competitions. By now China had properly come to the West and started to form a strong relationship with the Western people to give the Chinese culture a better understanding in the West.
The first international Wu Shu competition was held in 1985 in Shi-an. During the same year the Wu Shu Federation was founded and set up branches across the world. In 1991 the first World Wu Shu competition was held in Beijing and marked the beginning of the Wu Shu world championships, which is held every two years. The second World championship was held in Malaysia and the third in America. By now Wu Shu had been properly introduced to the world. KFS
