<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=“-1”>quote:</font><HR> Could somebody tell a lttle history of Wushu, like when it was created where , why etc?Theres a view it was created to apease the masses as practising kung fu is illegal in china but its a part of the culture so made to replace the fighting arts.
Is it a political art? [/quote]
can of worms! can of worms! hahaha.
imho, you are definitely on to something here.
Here is what I know about it (contemporary wu shu of the prc)
Even before the cultural revolution at the time of communist power rising in China, Martial practice by the common folk was branded Illegal and was punishible by imprisonment and even death.
For one to have martial superiority over another (common man) was viewed as a bad thing and many masters of various systems left the country, went into hiding and in fact, some of them entered the red army and took their skill with them.
Military hand to hand combat extrapolated from ancient Kung Fu was accepted, but man in teh street practice of genuine martial arts was NOT.
in 1911-12, the Kuo Ming Tang (Chinese Nationalist Party) under the command of the leader Sun Yat Sen started the non-communist china in Taiwan and there are still arguments about this today. But a lot of Kung Fu was taken there also.
Hong Kong(british) and Macao(portugese) were also havens for traditional Martial arts as well as many other countries where monks had been dispersing as well as all sorts of other masters for years, even decades and in some cases centuries before hand.
This non-acceptance of martial practice amongst the people of mainland china forced those masters who stayed to train in hiding or to join the army.
between 1928 and 1935 because of the cultural ingranation of martial arts was too strong to withold these practices from the people so the prc decided to take control of it somehow.
tournaments were held to determine who had the best ma and it was determined from these men who would form the founding body for the codification of martial arts in china.
The Wu Shu Manuak of all known arts in china was created during this time and as well has been added to since.
still, masters practiced in secret, more kung fu masters left, some took there skill into teh armed forces (again) and so on. And still public practice of martial arts by the common folk was frowned upon.
with the rise to power of Mao Tze Tung in the late forties and fifties, contemporary wu shu routines were created for consumption by the public. these were built upon until the 1970’s when there was a decision made to codify and systematize these wu shu routines to use as a vehicle of instillation of pride and nationhood. However, martial application was stripped from much of the material so it would be deemed acceptable as a national art.
after the nineteen seventies, ping pong was replaced as the national sport by wu shu and the Kuo Sho (national arts) federation was established and the routines were standardized into what is now contemporary wu shu of the peoples republic of china.
The true Kung Fu styles in the meantime had traveled an utterly different path and instead evolved into the myriad of village systems of kung fu as well as major family systems that were kept alive in regions outside of mainland china.
Some of these arts had wu shu routines built from them and if you see them you will see the marked difference in the way the form is practiced, power is issued and expression is issued.
wu shu based on Hung style looks nothing like Traditional Hung Kuen and the same is true of most wu shu that is drawn from old systems that were kept alive elsewhere.
A very popular style of wu shu is based almost entirely on Northern systems and draws heavily from the northern style created by the late Mater Kyu Yu Cheong.
KYC North Shaolin is really quite flashy and could likely win some forms competitions at a wu shu tournament, the difference is that KYC North Shaolin is martially applicable in each and every motion whereas the wu shu based upon it is not by far.
so, in the rest of the world, this is even more exhascerbating(sp?) because of simply not knowing what is what until one has practiced and learned a system.
Many contemporary wu shu stylists in the west think they are doing the real thing and will offer all sorts of arguments about why’s and wheretofores, about the wu shu they do.
On the other side of the table are the traditional martial artists in the west who adamantly believe that wu shu is in no way shape or form related to the actual real thing that is traditional kung fu training.
in some ways (on a very shallow level) contemporary wu shu is related. On a level of principal and training methodology they are not related.
some have bridged the two and will practice both.
or fighting knowledge and self improvement and health and all the other good stuff, they will practice a full course of Kung Fu including conditioning exercises, health practices, Chi Kung and the rest that goes with trad training. But for performing in forms tournaments should they enjoy doing it, well, contemporary wu shu is gonna win those form because its got the needed flash to entertain the audience.
so, you ask, is it a political art?(cws) Yes it is very much so a political art, it is the national art of China in the here and now.
peace
Kung Lek
). The really big heavy weights are in a league by themselves. But if you put middleweights on down against advanced kung fu practitioners who spar, hands down SOUTHERN kung fu wins and wins quick.