I am confused about the art of Wushu. Is it just another form of Kung fu, or if not, what is it?
Hey man, Wushu in Chinese translate directly to “combat art”. Wushu is not another form of kung fu as kung fu means a “skill you own”. It can be combat art, cooking, etc etc…but to western world, kung fu more likely refer to Chinese martial art. While Wushu translate directly to “combat art”, in nowadays it is usally refer to the people wearing kung fu uniform in competition and competes in doing forms with empty hand or with weapon.
Is it like a sport or something?
Umm… I would say “yes” it is a more of a sport nowadays… But a sport that you get not two person physical competition as in sparring.. just whoever can bust out the nicest form is the winner…
Wu Shu (Mandarin), Mo Sut (Cantonese) means war art/martial art which is the proper term. The Wu Shu most people are familiar with is watered down kung fu. When the communists took over China in 1949 Mao didn’t want people to do real kung fu. In fact many martial arts masters were killed or imprisoned. Many escaped to other parts of Asia. The modern day Wu Shu is a performance art.
Phil