does anyone else know anything about Wu shu? is it a serious martial art or just a performance thing?

Answer 1

martial arts of course,

what you see on TV is all to do with money and show off.

Answer 2

Wushu has two meanings. First, in Chinese it means Martial art. But when referring to a style it means Wushu Kung Fu, the national style of communist China. Quick history lesson of Wushu, for the full version do an Internet search or check out this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wushu_%28sport%29

Once upon a time martial arts came to China from an Indian monk. He taught the Shaolin monks how to meditate properly and how to defend themselves using martial arts. Thus was born Shaolin Kung Fu (kung fu means with skill or great skill btw, it's not actually the name of the art the proper name of the art is Shaolin Kung Fu). When the communists took over power in China they slowly banned all things religious since Marxist communism fears religion as a power source that threatens government sovereignty (it's a long story, read the Marxist papers sometime if you want to know more). This includes training at the Buddhist temples and monasteries including Shaolin. As historical buildings however they didn't want them destroyed or to fall apart. So they made a compromise. Existing monks could stay at the monastery and continue to train as long as they trained no new monks. However this meant that the art of Shaolin Kung Fu started to die. With no new students and little hope for any in the future the art started to seem useless and doomed. Many monks left the temple to try and save the art by moving to Mongolia, Tibet, Korea, Vietnam and India. Recently the Chinese government realized that they were killing part of their national heritage and soon there would be no more Shaolin. So they changed the law allowing new monks to be trained but only at Shaolin. They then took the basics of the Shaolin ways and made there own martial art from it. This new art is Wushu Kung Fu, the only art allowed to be taught in mainland China and still be called Kung Fu with the exception of at the Shaolin temple. It has since spread to other regions of the world and is considered a balance between the new arts and the old arts. The Chinese government set up a governing council over Wushu and they decide what changes are allowed and which schools may use the name.

So yes, it's a serious martial art.

Answer 3

wu-shu is an artform originally an active martial art but was banned by invaders, knowadays it is decorated in acrobatic arts wu-shu has many different forms ranging from old style to new. Wu-shu tong bei Quan for instance is the most accurate and deadly martial art i have ever seen or practiced. Look up Liu Yaochin at UCC website.

Answer 4

Wushu is a very serious Martial Art; this discipline is China's "Superbowl" in their Martial Arts because they have annual competitons (Jet Li being a 4 time champion), and is also a highly effective Martial Art, but it also has a performance based side that goes back to the days of the Chinese theater so it is a mix of both.

You shouldn't think of what you see in the movies as fact on what Wushu (or Martial Arts in general) is because it is choreographed to make the fight look better on film.

But Wushu does have some acrobatics or gymnastics in it, much like the XMA (Extreme Martial Arts) competitions that're held throughout the world and in the U.S., but in a real fight, it wouldn't be necessary.

Answer 5

Wu Shu is a general term meaning military art ,so obviously it is a very serious thing . It contains all the elements of any Kungfu system,Snake,Monkey,Preying Mantis and should not be treated with disrespect. It has been corrupted into a sport but there are very skilled people out there training with genuine skills. good luck .

Answer 6

Wu Shu Is dance oriented performance kata. Many people who do wu shu will claim it is a real effective thing but they dont fight

Answer 7

Wushu literally means "art of combat." There are many different ways wushu is taught; in China, it's bigger than American football. For the most part, it's become a performance-type art, but you'll still find many instructors who teach styles of wushu that were meant for combat.

Answer 8

It is a big as the Olympic games in China; I would say it a combination of both, but throwing stones balls and spears, running and jumping all appear in the Olympics too. Serious for the participants, nice to watch

Answer 9

wushu is very serious and increases high balance and flexiblility, though, I would only recommend it to help increase some other style of kung fu because wushu is mostly forms which are a big part in your martial arts. its mostly used to perform because it looks the coolest.

Answer 10

wu shu, I think is a nother name for martial arts.I dont think it is a certain kind of art