| "Wu" = Military or Martial, "Shu"= Art | Categories of Wushu: Taolu: Contemporary Competiive Routine Sport Sanda: Competitive Combative Sport Tai Chi: Traditional, Recreational and Competitive Tai Chi Traditional Wushu-Kung Fu: Traditional Styles and Forms |
"WUSHU IS MARTIAL ARTS" adapted from Story Written by: Linda White, Toronto Sun
Dynamic, jaw-dropping demonstrations of physical strength and endurance best describe the abilities of wushu athletes. The sport of wushu as we know it today is a first-class display of ferocious combat combined with arthistic athleticism.
Translated literally, "wu" is military and "shu" is art, so wushu means martial arts. The combative and non-combative elements of wushu are known as “sanda” and “taolu” respectively.
Sanda features full contact fighting defined by kicks, strikes and throws fought on a raised ‘leitai’ platform. Taolu, the performance element, consists of highly artistic and precise routines both with and without the use of weaponry.
Wushu – and particularly the full-contact sanda style – is one of the most exciting and appealing of the marital arts, believes Alan Tang, WushuOntario Director of Management & Operations. It has a truly Chinese flavour that differentiates it from other martial arts.
“The main difference between martial arts is the culture. Taekwondo is from Korea, karate is from Japan and wushu is Chinese,” Tang explains. “Like music, they’re differentiated by rhythm, tempo, style, energy level and feel. Movements are martial arts based – strikes, punches, kicks and throws – but it’s how each uses these movements that differentiate one from another.”
Wushu is gaining international popularity and breaking into the mainstream Canadian market but is still new to many. Tang is eager to draw comparisons that will help those curious about the sport to better understand its appeal, and what better comparison than hockey and skating.
“What hockey means to Canada is what wushu means to a lot of Asians,” he says. “Like figure skating, taolu is routine based while sanshou – which translates as ‘free fighting’ – is more like speed skating.”
Both forms of wushu were showcased at the Ricoh Coliseum at Exhibition Place, where the 10th World Wushu Championships were held for the first time in Canada. Furthermore, wushu was introduced in a tournament held alongside the 2008 Beijing Olympic Summer Games, and will return to Beijing during the first ever SportAccord Combat Games in October 2010. “It’s something everyone can enjoy,” says Tang.
“It’s not limited to combat- or sport-oriented people; it’s not limited to adults or children … There is a combative aspect to it, so for combat fans, this is an opportunity to see the world’s best athletes going head to head to win an official world title.”
Performances underscore the dedication and effort needed to execute the precise movements that define wushu. Athletes have endured grueling physical training and pushed their bodies and minds to their limits. The end result is speed, athleticism and grace that most martial artists would envy as athletes achieve stunning height, air time, number of revolutions, rock solid lands and more.
The IWuF sanctions a world championship that is held bi-annually and is a qualified national team-based event where participants belong to national teams that make up the 121-nation strong International Wushu Federation.
“Each country goes through their own qualifiers to set their national team. Some athletes are members of a country’s professional team – they train day in and day out,” says Tang.
“In Asia, many go to a wushu school and eat, sleep and train wushu. When Canada is able to compete head to head with that caliber, it tells you a lot about the dedication of our athletes.”