Essentials
of Chinese Wushu
The Essentials of Chinese Wushu gives a simple and clear introduction to the
history and characteristic features of Chinese Wushu; its health-keeping effects
and entertaining value, various schools and styles of Chinese boxing, and
weapons, and Chinese Wushu's morality, etiquette and competition rules. This
book also introduces over 30 different schools of Chinese boxing and almost the
same number of apparatus, including short apparatus, long apparatus, hard
apparatus, soft apparatus and hidden weapons used in ancient China.
Wushu
Chinese term for martial arts is Wu Shu, which denotes military arts,
training for self-defense and bravery. Wu Shu" (also known as kung-fu or martial
arts) is one of the typical demonstrations of traditional Chinese culture.
Perhaps it is one of the earliest and long-lasting sports, which utilizes both
brawn and brain. The theory of wushu is based upon classical Chinese philosophy.
Throughout its long history it has developed characteristically with a unique
combination of healthy push, practical self-defense, self-discipline and art. In
sports such as field and track, ball sports, weight lifting, and boxing, an
athlete typically has to retire from full participation in his 30s, due to
failing physical vigor. He often will have sustained injuries he was not aware
of that effect his health in middle age and older, because of overexertion when
young. In Chinese kung fu, however, a distinction is made between "external" and
"internal" kung fu. It is said that "In external kung fu, you exercise your
tendons, bones, and skin; in internal kung fu, you train your spirit your qi,
and your mind." In addition to training to achieve a strong body and nimble
limbs, there is also an "internal" training to adjust body and mind, strengthen
internal organs, and increase circulation of one's qi, or flow of vital energy.
Progressing from movement to stillness, from firmness to softness, the older one
gets, the more adept one becomes at kung fu. And the higher one's level of
achievement in kung fu, the better one is at maintaining good health and living
a long, active life.
The skills of Chinese wushu consist of various forms of fighting: fist
fights, weapon fights, and other fighting routines (including such offence and
defense acts as kicking, hitting, throwing, holding, chopping and thrusting) and
unarmed combats. According to Statistics, there are over 100 schools of Chinese
boxing alone. Many individual styles within each of these schools.
Yongchun Quan (Eternal Youth Boxing) originated in Fujian Province, later
spreading south to Guangdong, Macao and Hong Kong. Yongchun Quan is just one of
a number of styles under the general term, Nan Quan, the Southern School of
Boxing, a vigorous and aggressive school popular south of the Yangtze River. Of
the many styles of Nan Quan, the most well-known are Hongjia Quan, Liujia Quan,
Caijia Quan, Lijia Quan, and Mojia Quan, "the Five Great Schools." Other schools
of Nan Quan are: Tiger and Crane Boxing, Eternal Youth Boxing, Knight Boxing,
Hakka Boxing, Buddhist Boxing, White-Eyebrow Boxing, Confucian Boxing, Souther
Skills Boxing, Kunlun Boxing, House of Kong Boxing, Han-Exercising Boxing, Diao
School of Teaching, Yue School of Teaching, and Song School of Teaching.
Bei Quan, the Northern School of Boxing is a generic term for those schools
in the provinces north of the Yangtze River. Characterized by speed and
strength, the Northern School emphasizes variations of kicking and footwork,
hence the common saying "Southern fists, Northern legs." The major styles of the
Northern School are: Shaolin Boxing, Wheeling Boxing, Zha School of Boxing,
Essence Boxing, Flower Boxing, Cannon Boxing, Hong School of Boxing, Full-Arm
Boxing, Maze Boxing, Six-Harmony Boxing, Springing Legs, Jabbing Feet, Eigh-Ultimate
Boxing, Great Ancestor Extended Boxing and Silk Floss Boxing.
There also the popular Taiji Quan and Chang Quan, the energetic Xingyi Quan
(Imitation Boxing), the flowing Bagua Quan, the vivid Hou Quan (Monkey Boxing)
and Zui Quan (Drunken Boxing), the acrobatic Ditang Quan (Tumbling Boxing), and
more. Each has its own characteristic skills.
Chinese wushu involves practice with weapons as well as the standard
bare-hand skills. "Weaponry" includes nine kinds of long weapons and nine short,
such as knives, spears, swords, and clubs, which together constitute what is
called the "Eighteen Types of Martial Arts." The majority of these weapons have
been adapted from traditional weapons, hence the use of the term the "eighteen
military weapons." This term was already widely used during the Song Dynasty
(960-1279). The Ming novel,
Outlaws of the Marsh mentioned it frequently. One version of the book
records the "eighteen military weapons" as the lance, mallet, long bow,
crossbow, jingal, jointed bludgeon, truncheon, sword, chain, hooks, hatchet,
dagger-axe, battle-axe, halberd, shield, staff, spear and rake. Today, the term
generally refers to the broad-sword, lance, rapier, halberd, hatchet,
battle-axe, shovel, fork, jointed bludgeon, truncheon, hammer, harrow, trident,
staff, long-blade spear, cudgel, dagger-axe and wave-bladed spear. This is only
a general term, since military weapons were never restricted to just eighteen
forms. Other weapons frequently used include the rope-dart, Emei dagger named
after the Emei Mountain in Sichuan Province from which the style originated, as
well as the bent-handled club and hook. Today, the wide variety of weapons used
in wushu practice fall into four groups: 1. Long Weapons: Longer than the height
of a person and wielded with both hands during practice. They include the lance,
staff, great broad-sword, spear, halberd, fork, trident and spade. 2. Short
Weapons: Shorter than the height of a person and wielded with one hand. These
include the broad-sword, rapier, hatchet, hammer, truncheon, jointed bludgeon,
dagger and shield. 3. Soft weapons: Rope, chains, or rings are used to create
linked weapons which are able to strike close or far and are wielded with one or
both hands. They include the nine-sectioned chain, three-sectioned flail, flying
hammers which is tow iron balls linked by a long iron chain, the rope dart,
flying claw and the ordinary flail. 4. Twin weapons: Here a pair of weapons are
wielded, one in each hand. These include twin broad-swords, handled clubs, twin
lances, twin hatchets, twin daggers, double-bladed daggers, Panguanbi (Twin rods
with fist-shaped heads) and duck and drake battle-axes.
中国武术 中国功夫
武术是特指中国武术。从历史上看，有不少归属武术类的名称，春秋战国时称“技击”兵技巧一类；汉代出现了“武艺”一词，并延用至明末：清初又借用南朝《文选》中“偃闭武术”（当时泛指军事）的“武术”一词；民国时称“国术”：新中国成立后仍沿用“武术”一词。
随着历史的变迁，冷兵器的逐步消亡，专用武术器械的生产及拳械套路的大量出现，对抗性项目、武术竞赛规则的、制定，武术已演化成为体育运动项目之一。武术的体育化使其内容、形式及训练手段等都发生了很大变化，反映事物本质属性的概念也在不断变化。发展到今天，武术的基本定义可概括为：武术是以技击为主要内容，以套路和捕斗的运动形式注重内外兼修的中国传统体育项目。
从这一定义出发来认识武术。武术属于中国传统的技击术。它是以踢、打、摔、拿。击、刺等技击动作为主要内容，通过徒手或借助于器械的身体运动表现攻防格斗的能力。无论是对抗性的捕斗运动，还是势势相承的套路运动，都是以中国传统的技击方法为其技术核心的。
就人类的社会生活来说，技击术不可能是中国独有的。比较世界各地的技击术，武术不仅在技击方法上更为丰富（诸如快摔法、擒拿法等）。在运动形式上，既有套路的，也有散手的，既是结合的，又是分离的，这种发展模式，也迥然有别于世界上其他技击术。在演练方法上注重内外兼修，演练风格上要求神形兼备，无不反映了中国传统的技击术的运动特点。
从广义上讲中国武术就和中国功夫是一个意思，是指中国流传的独特的格斗体系。功夫是各种搏斗技巧的统称，像跆拳道也可以叫做功夫。中国功夫则是指中国流传的独特的格斗体系，这不仅包括传统的武术套路、散手等，还有摔跤和现在流行的散打等。
从狭义上讲，中国武术只是指中国传统的武术套路及散手，包括太极、少林等，而不包含摔跤和目前流行的散打。有句俗话说：“武术加掼跤，神仙也不怕。”（掼跤就是摔跤）这里面说的武术就是狭义的武术，很明显同摔跤区别开了。
所以，中国武术在广义上和中国功夫是一个意思，但是在狭义上却不一样，中国功夫包括中国武术。
少林功夫是一种人文文化现象，其中“禅”字是提高功夫的重要依据，因为禅”是“外不着想，内不动心”
少林六祖惠能在《坛经》上说：禅乃梵文音译“禅那”，其意译为“弃恶”、“功德丛林”、“思维修”、“静虑”。它的基本含义就是息心静寂地参悟。所以少林功夫和其他派别不同，讲究的是
“禅武合一”。在少林寺众多的禅武修炼者当中，潘国静法号释延武就是其中具有杰出代表性的人物。少林武功又是中国武功最具代表性，最具文化内涵，最具宗教文化底蕴，最具完整的体系，最具权威性，又最具神秘感的中国武功流派，它无疑已成为中国武功的主流学派。
相传著名的达摩祖师在
“少林寺”面壁修炼十年的漫长岁月中，言传身教创造了少林武功流派，而且使少林武功一开始就具备了深厚的人文文化内涵，具有修身养性，善化人性，清净无为的武德。使佛教文化哲理的“禅”等武功相辅相成，达到二者你中有我，人中有你的至高境界。
