What is Wushu?

Wushu is a modern martial art derived from the many historical Chinese martial arts. In the early 20th century, numerous organizations emerged to provide training and hold competitions in an effort to promote and grow the sport. After the forming of the People’s Republic of China, political figures and sports authorities pushed for the standardization of the sport, implementing rules and teaching methods.

By Photo from Wushu One Family, - http://w1f.net/photo/10th_all_china_games_and_china05/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=951163

When someone mentions Wushu, they could either be talking about Taolu or Sanda. Taolu encompasses all the routines and forms, like in the picture above. These Taolu are meant to be performances which are scored by judges. On the other hand, Sanda is the full contact side of the sport, developed along with the advancement of Taolu. It was formed at a 1979 Beijing convention, where masters of all different forms of Chinese Kung Fu came together to discuss the issue. After years of innovation, Western and Traditional Chinese martial arts were combined to form Sanda. This is an entirely separate division, but many refer to both as under the same umbrella of Wushu. This blog will focus on all things wushu, I hope you enjoy the content!