Wushu
From traditional ‘martial art’ forms to an international sport
As a traditional art form sport, Wushu has been actively promoted and practiced by millions of people all over the world for various benefits. It is suitable for people of all ages from pre-school to senior citizens.
Today, some people practise Wushu for self-defence, but many practise it as a form of exercise. Wushu, whether in a slow or rigorous form, is practised mainly for good health and general well-being. Regular practice of Wushu is known to develop and improve one’s health, fitness and physical well-being. It’s also beneficial for the muscles, bones, nervous system, respiratory system and cardiovascular system, to name a few.
Over the last 20 years, Wushu has grown into an internationally recognised competitive sport, thanks to the International Wushu Federation (IWUF), the Chinese Wushu Association (CWF) and the Chinese Wushu Research Institute. All three were set up in 1986 as a standard body for conducting academic technical researches on Wushu. IWUF and the CWA standardised international Wushu competitions and judging rules and regulations.
These standards now from the basis for Wushu as a competitive sport at national, regional and international competitions. At international level competitions, a standard network computerized scoring system is adopted. Scoring is based on judges’ assessment on the athletes’ overall performance within a set time limit. Equal emphasis is also placed on styles, flow, rhythm, levels of difficulty and others. The penalties are awarded for omission and mistakes, if any, for the various routines (‘taolu’) in order to minimize and eliminate the occasional bias that may arise in all international subjective sports that do not have clear ‘goal scoring’ and ‘finishing line’ systems.
The different aspects of Wushu as a competitive sport, in learning and coaching at practical and theoretical levels, are being constantly promoted and reviewed. These have culminated into a standardized system for Wushu as an international sport comprising of two disciplines, namely, ‘Taolu’ (routine styles) and ‘Sanshou’ (free sparring or hand combat) for both the Men’s and Women’s Categories.
Wushu (Chinese: 武术/武術; pinyin: wǔshù; literally "martial arts"), also known as modern wushu or contemporary wushu, is both an exhibition and a full-contact sport derived from traditional Chinese martial arts. Created in the People's Republic of China after 1949, wushu has spread globally through the International Wushu Federation (IWUF), which holds the World Wushu Championships every two years; the first World Championships were held in 1991 in Beijing.
Wushu is composed of two disciplines: taolu (套路; forms) and sanda (散打; sparring) [1]. Taolu forms are similar to gymnastics and involve martial art patterns and maneuvers for which competitors are judged and given points according to specific rules. The forms comprise basic movements (stances, kicks, punches, balances, jumps and sweeps) based on aggregate categories traditional Chinese martial art style and can be changed for competitions to highlight one's strengths. Competitive forms have time limits that can range from 1 minute, 20 seconds for the some external styles to over five minutes for internal styles.
Wushu Taolu 
10 Events including:
Chang Quan, Nan Quan, Taiji Quan (Hand Routines)
DaoShu, JianShu, Taiji Jian, Nan Dao (Short Weapory)
GunShu, QiangShu, Nan Gun (Long Weaponry)
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Wushu Sanshou 
Both Male and Female Events separated into various weight classes |
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