Characteristics of Chinese Wushu
As the offspring of the history and culture of the Chinese nation, Chinese Wushu holds the special internal features and temperaments of the Chinese nation. Chinese Wushu has its own national characteristics, which differ from foreign combat techniques.
Systematic
Among the historical and cultural heritages of the Chinese nation, Wushu is a large and complete system. Compared to other cultural heritages, it has relative independence.
The Chinese Wushu has many schools. Almost all Wushu schools take the Yin and Yang and Five Element Theory as the common basis of philosophy and regard “harmony between soma and spirit” and “harmony between quan and dao” as the end result of Wushu exercises. In view of the theories on quan techniques, Chinese Wushu develops complementary to Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. The exercises which benefit the internal organs mainly borrow ideas from traditional Chinese medicine and the Taoist practices of maintaining good health. Therefore, Chinese Wushu combines the philosophy, medicine, the art of attack and defense, and practice of maintaining good health, to make up one large and profound theoretical system. This makes the martial art unique around the world.
Other internationally popular combat techniques are characterized by speed and strong movements. But despite their respective theories, such combat techniques lack discussion on connotation; the theories only focus on the external movements of the attack and defense movements. Some combat techniques used in Muay Thai only have simple forms and no set exercises. It has speed and strong movements, but no devotion to deep theories reflecting the psychological features of Southeast Asian peoples. Karate from Japan evolves from the Shaolinquan of China, reflecting the Yamato characteristics of perseverance, emulousness, valor and discipline. Boxing reflects the psychological features of Occidental peoples, including enjoying exercises and pursuing stimulation. By contrast, Chinese Wushu is characterized by the profound connotations, the gentle manners, the harmony of dynamic and static movements and the integration of strong and soft strength. Such characteristics are part of the psychological features of the Chinese nation.
Strict Order
Regardless of the schools, there are strict rules to practicing Wushu. Wushu learners must follow certain orders; there are no shortcuts. Most schools teach the course from the basic techniques; quan and weapon techniques are exercises meant to benefit the internal organs. It first begins with a series of externalinternal exercises, a process of macro-micro level techniques, which are followed by internal-external exercises, a process of micro-macro level techniques, which completes the course. At this stage, learners are able to integrate body and spirit, and obtain internal and external harmony.
The strict orders o f C hine se Wu shu are based on the combination of ancient combat techniques and the Taoist methods of maintaining good health, which is unique in the world. However, there are some similarities among the strengthbased Muay Thai and boxing, which are equivalent to the strong strength of Chinese Wushu. Although Japanese Karate contains exercises which benefit the internal organs, it still gives top priority to strong strength. Because both Muay Thai and Japanese Karate focus on the actual combat, they are inferior to the strict orders of Chinese Wushu.
Principle of Gradualness
The principle of gradualness is another feature of Chinese Wushu. This requires a lot of patience and persistence to learn. The course only can be completed gradually and is impossible to succeed quickly. Because Chinese Wushu places high demand on the basic techniques and attaches great importance to the rudiments, the actual combat techniques are seldom passed to the beginners. And because Chinese Wushu regards the exercises which benefit the internal organs to be the foundation, and pays great attention to the practices of maintaining good health (nurturing qi ) and moral cultivation (setting moral values), the combat techniques have never been put first. Such combat techniques are quite different from those of the foreign combat techniques.