Wushu is the correct term for all Chinese martial arts, the roots of which date back many thousands of years. Literally translated, wu is “military”, shu is “art”: Wushu is therefore the “art of fighting”, or Martial Art(s). China considers Wushu to be one of its great cultural treasures. Today, it has been organized by the Chinese into a formal branch of study in underperformance arts and is the country’s most popular national sport.

Wushu offers two orientations:

• Contemporary (or Modern) Wushu, which includes the many categories for competition like Chang Quan (Long-range Boxing) and Nan Quan (Southern Boxing) along with several standardized traditional styles: Eagle Claw, Mantis, Bagua, Ditang, etc.
• Traditional Wushu, often designated as Kung Fu, remains a fighting practice. Traditional Wushu preserves all the combative meanings of the original styles.

To understand Wushu, one needs to understand the philosophy of its teaching. Every movement must exhibit both sensible combat application and aesthetics. The richness of the contents of Wushu, the beauty of its movements, the added-difficulty factor, and the scientific training methods are the elements that set Wushu apart from other martial arts. Movement sequences known as routines or forms are performed in solo, in pairs, or in groups, and may be barehanded or using one of the many traditional Chinese weapons: staff, sabre, sword, 9-section whip, 3-section cudgel, etc… All this makes Wushu a highly exciting martial art to watch or better yet, to practice. Much emphasis is placed on speed, difficulty, and presentation-making. Wushu is an athletic and aesthetic performance as well as a competitive sport that entered the Olympic Games of 2008 in Beijing.