The fighting monks of the famous Shaolin Monastery claim that the skill cannot be taught, because it is invisible and can only be practiced. Diligent study, patience in hardships and hard training will allow you to gain knowledge, strengthen the body, educate the will and character - this is the world's largest martial arts school, located next to the Shaolin Monastery at the foot of the sacred Songshan Mountain in Henan Province.
The Shaolin Tagou School of Traditional Chinese Wushu was founded almost 40 years ago by a seventh-generation master, a lay student of the Shaolin Monastery, Liu Baoshan. An ordinary school has turned into a real empire: thousands of square meters of territory with gyms and training facilities, 35 thousand students and 900 coaches. It is important that today in Shaolin Tagou they teach not only traditional wushu, but also boxing, taekwondo, MMA, Shaolin football and even fight choreography for movies. Graduates of Shaolin Tagou annually join the ranks of the Chinese army, police and special services.
We tell you how the Shaolin Tagou school lives.
A melting pot with army discipline
The main feature of the school is Wushu, and the basis, according to the leaders, is education. In "Tago" from primary to senior classes are taught general education subjects; at the same time, children are accepted from the age of five or six, but there is no upper threshold - people over thirty can also “enter”. The main criterion is that schooling is paid. 1 month of full-fledged training here costs a thousand dollars, a year - 10 thousand [ information from the official website of the school].
Feng Weifeng, director of the school's propaganda department, says the following:
Feng Weifeng: Some come to us because of the popularity of the school, for some, wushu is a hobby, some are brought by their parents, some children are sent here because they are naughty and uncontrollable. There are those who come to our school under the influence of kungfu films. They also want to become famous martial arts actors.
The discipline at the school is "army": getting up at 5:30 to the sounds of a real military march, exercises and breakfast, after the first training session and lessons in general subjects, lunch and training again, lessons, dinner and another training session, lights out. There are no mobile phones and computer games here, and communication with parents is allowed only on a landline phone intended for this. Schoolchildren usually go home once a year.
Of course, Tagou students wear the dress code: black sweatpants, red trowels and the famous Feiyue sneakers. Schoolchildren live in rooms in dormitories without heating for 10-20 people. Clothes are washed independently in ordinary basins. The smallest ones are helped by teachers and older friends at first.
Mr. Feng Weifeng compares the school to a melting pot.
Feng Weifeng: This school is like a melting furnace, like a crucible, disobedience is only a temporary phenomenon. There are so many obedient children, such an atmosphere here, and they become infected with it. There are those who really can not stand it and leave.
According to Weifeng, every year about a hundred students do not maintain a rigid schedule and discipline. Some even dare to escape. Therefore, security guards are on duty at all exits, the role of which is performed by the schoolchildren themselves. The fact is that students under the age of 18 can leave Tagou only by the decision of their parents.
Feng Weifeng: It cannot be said that once you enter our school, you will not be able to leave it. There are those who run away. Having returned them back, we educate them with conviction, explain to them the difficulties of human life, admonish, help, show care and love.
Well, schoolchildren who have been studying at Tagou for many years already know that it is difficult only at the beginning, then comes the habit, patience. The main thing is not to stop halfway.
Demand: no corporal punishment of students
Feng Weifeng, director of the school's propaganda department, responding to a question about whether schoolchildren are beaten for violating discipline, assured that such methods are strictly prohibited. However, Weifeng immediately added that earlier in China, martial arts schools practiced corporal punishment - this was the norm.
Feng Weifeng: We have a strict requirement not to use corporal punishment against students. Modern parents have a completely different attitude to this. Yes, a child can learn poorly, but you can’t beat him for it. In past years in wushu schools - you know, we have so many here in Dengfeng - corporal punishment was commonplace. And in general, there was such a traditional way of education in Chinese schools, so sometimes get a stick a couple of times in a soft spot and everyone is able to endure. But now you can't just hit a kid and get away with it. If this happens, his parents will sue you. Now the law is very strong.
Interestingly, even fights between students are extremely rare. Coaches and representatives of the school are ready to arrange a duel between conflicting schoolchildren - with mutual consent and under referee control. In this context, it is important that, according to the rules of the school, coaches live with their students in a hostel, eat with them, and in most cases are aware of all frictions and disagreements. Each coach is assigned 40-50 schoolchildren.
Girls and boys study in different groups and rarely overlap
There are 35,000 students in Shaolin Tagou, and only about 3,000 of them are girls. Education at school is divided by gender: boys and girls study in different groups and rarely overlap.
Schoolgirls say that martial arts make them bolder, more courageous and they are not afraid of any difficulties.
School spokesman Feng Weifeng said boys and girls are rarely together at the school, and open "love stories" are not allowed at the school.
Feng Weifeng: We have boys and girls in separate groups. There are separate male and female dorms. Of course, maybe they have a secret love, but there is no such phenomenon openly.
Answering the question about whether their former pupils, who, in addition, master martial arts, become criminals, Feng Weifeng says that this is also possible, but this should not be associated with the school.
Feng Weifeng: What, from Tsinghua University [the most prestigious university in China] only good people graduate? It doesn't matter what kind of moral education the school gives - after they enter society, we are no longer able to control them. Therefore, one should objectively look at martial arts schools. We are the same as other schools, only we have one discipline more. No need to look at us extremely subjectively.
According to the representative of the educational institution, it is important that in the school of martial arts students can be educated with a will that will be very useful to them in an independent life in society.
Location: Dengfeng
Opened in 1978, the Shaolin Tagou School of Martial Arts Institute develops the knowledge of Shaolin Kung fu. Its purpose is to spread the core style of Shaolin wushu.
2. Shaolin Epo Wushu College
Location: Dengfeng
Henan Dengfeng Shaolin Epo Wushu College was founded in 1977 and it is also one of the earliest professional martial arts schools after the founding of the People's Republic of China. The college has excellent conditions and convenient transport access. It is a school style modernization garden that pays attention to culture like wushu teaching and learning.
3. Longwu Kungfu Center
Location: Shanghai
Longwu Kung Fu is one of the most famous and popular martial arts centers in Shanghai. Equipped with spacious training, safety mats, wooden dummies and a wide range of weapons, this is the perfect place to train students in the martial arts - of all ages and standards.
4. Martial Arts School - Shaolin Xiaolong Temple
Location: Dengfeng
Shaolin Xiaolong Temple martial arts. The school was established in 1980, which is not only the first comprehensive martial arts school to assemble personnel training in science, martial arts and cinema, but also one of the Kungfu training institutions approved by the Ministry of Education to employ foreign students.
5. Martial Arts Academy - Siping Shaolin
Location: Henan
Siping Shaolin City is a martial arts academy established in 1995 by Shi Xingkuo who was the 32nd disciple of Shao Lin Monk. It is the only martial arts school in Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning Province that is open to foreigners. In total, about 2,000 foreigners from 50 countries study here.
6. Zhonghua School of Martial Arts Shandong Laizhou
Location: Laizhou
The Zhonghua Martial Arts School of Shandong Laizhou was established in 1992 and has graduated over 2,900 students. It is currently the largest international school integrating education and teaching Kungfu.
7. Wushu School at Shaolin Temple Harbin
Location: Harbin
Established in 1994, Harbin Shaolin Temple Wushu School is located in National Scenic Spot, a popular tourist area with beautiful surroundings.
8. Jiading School of Martial Arts Shanghai
Location: Shanghai
Shanghai Jiading School of Martial Arts invested Shanghai Feng Jia house real estate company to design and build according to the Ming and Qing Dynasites style, offering both basic education but also martial arts programs.
9. Chenjiagou College of Martial Arts
Location: Henan
Chenjiagou Martial Arts College is the largest school that provides not only academic education but also martial education based on Taijiquan. Chenjiagou Martial Arts College was founded by Grandmaster Wang Xian who is the 19th generation successor of Chen Shi Taiji and an international level wushu master.
10 Shaolin Wushu School in Beijing
Location: Beijing
Beijing Shaolin and Wushu School has excellent wushu trainers who have produced famous wushu style people and have rich experience in theoretical and practical training.
martial art wushu
The term "wushu" in Chinese means "combat (or military) technique (or art)". This term has existed since the beginning of the 20th century, earlier the terms “jiji”, “ji-qiao”, “jiyong”, “quanshu”, “quanyong” were used (which are translated, respectively, as “impact technique”, “technical art”, “ hero of technology, "fist technique", "fist heroes". The last of these names (quanyong) is the most ancient, it is mentioned in the "Book of Songs" - "Shijing", dating back to the 11th-12th centuries BC).
Martial art of Wushu (China)
Martial art of Wushu (China)
The main tasks of WUSHU
The main tasks of wushu are: health promotion, life extension, self-defense (the latter is not in all styles). Includes work without weapons (tushou) and work with weapons (daise). Both exist in the form of separate exercises, technical complexes (taolu) and arbitrary exercises.
Martial art of Wushu (China)
They train alone, in pairs, in groups. Self-defense without weapons (fangshen) and sports contact fights "sanda" (which means "scattered blows", that is, not combined into sets of formal exercises), strictly speaking, are not included in wushu.
Wushu styles and schools
Wushu has a huge number of styles and schools. Almost every county in China, often every village, has its own style, or at least a variant of wushu style. The most famous are, according to some sources, 130 styles, according to others - 80.
Each of them has its own name. As a rule, it includes the word "fist" (quan), as well as a number of signs: the place of creation (southern, northern, Shaolin); resemblance to the movements of animals (monkey fists, claws of an eagle, praying mantis, crane); feature of movements (long, slippery, soft); the name of the founder of the school (style Yang, Chen, Cha, Mo, Hong). But there are also figurative names of styles characteristic of the Chinese (“Plum Blossom”, “Red Fist”).
Legends about the founders of WUSHU schools
From generation to generation, legends about the creators of various wushu schools were passed down. For example, it was believed that the king of monkeys himself was the ancestor of the “Monkey” (Hou-quan) style. The emergence of the Directed Will (Xin Yi Quan) style is associated with the legendary commander Yue Fei. According to legend, the famous “Drunkard” style was developed by the monk Lu Zhisheng, according to another, by the famous poet Li Bo, and the “Lost Trail” or “Labyrinth” style was developed by the monk Yan Qing, a former pupil of the Shaolin Monastery.
All these legends, where history was intertwined with fiction, gave rise to a sense of community among wushu masters with national heroes, spiritualized the path they had chosen.
Three Major Wushu Centers
Historically, in ancient China, at the same time, there were three major wushu centers, each of which had special, unique features. These centers became the founders of the three main directions of traditional (or folk) wushu: Shao-Lin, Wudang and Emei.
Udan direction
It was formed on the basis of the religious and philosophical teachings of Taoism, associated with the comprehension of a person by his “give”, that is, the Way. Taoism, based on the doctrine of the two principles of yin-yang, the five primary elements, sought to achieve their balance, which gave a person the path to immortality. For two millennia, Taoist monks, based on the "Book of Changes", created a complex system of occult sciences, geomancy and palmistry. Throughout China, there was a rumor about the miracles performed by the ascetics of the Tao, about their ability to fly, cause earthquakes, command thunder.
For Taoist hermits, the external was inseparable from the internal, that is, an unprepared body could not become the abode of higher wisdom and spiritual perfection. That is why they developed various psycho-regulatory systems that combined breathing exercises, health-improving and applied military gymnastics, as well as the strictest diet.
Creating gymnastic complexes, the Taoists sought to strengthen the internal organs, achieve muscle elasticity, joint mobility, tendon strength, sensitivity of nerve endings and good blood circulation. Physical exercise was inextricably linked with breathing. Wanting to comprehend the secret of longevity, the monks tried to adopt breathing methods from animals and birds that lived longer than humans. To recreate their breathing rhythm, it was necessary to take complex postures, which, having turned from static to mobile, formed the basis of the so-called "animal" styles, characteristic of all wushu styles.
Dr. Hua Tuo's system
The first of the wushu treatises of the Udan direction that have come down to us was written in the 3rd century BC. Taoist doctor Hua Tuo, he called it "The Games of the Five Animals". Its author became a legend during his lifetime, and after his death he was deified. Hua Tuo wrote: “I have my own system of exercises ... It uses the movements of a tiger, a deer, a bear, a monkey and a bird. This system cures diseases, strengthens the legs and maintains health for a long time. It consists in jumping, bending, swinging, crawling, rotating and contracting muscles through tension.
This system was further developed in the Taoist sect of "Higher Purity". In a large Taoist center in the mountains of Wudang-shan in the province of Hubei, the formation of the Wudang direction took place as a method of achieving health and longevity through the psycho-meditative conduction of "chi" energy through 12 channels inside the body; respiratory, psychophysical exercises based on animal gymnastics; sexual practice; dietology.
It is believed that the soft styles that distinguish the Udan direction originated in the 3rd-5th centuries, and their formation took place in the 9th-13th centuries. - a brilliant period of Chinese history.
soft style
Why is wudan wushu style called soft? All of his schools (Tai Chi Chuan, Bagua Chuan, Xin Yi Quan, etc.) sought to bring a person into a state of naturalness, unity with the outside world. And the one who committed or provoked an attack violated this unity and balance and, as an alien element, was doomed to death. Hence the priority of defense, but even it is almost devoid of elements of aggression.
Basic principles of all soft styles
Udan-sky directions are reduced to the following.
Continuity and interconnectedness of successive movements.
Smoothness and roundness of movements.
Timely relaxation, allowing "to move being at rest and being at rest to remain alert." The whole body should be like a soft hose filled with energy.
Harmony of external and internal movement. The work of the arms, legs, hips is an external movement, and the control of breath, mind and will is an internal one.
A combination of softness and hardness. External softness and relaxation give rise to extreme rigidity at the moment of impact or block. “The root of the secret spring grows from the heart” - such a phrase is repeatedly found in Wudang wushu. You should learn to eliminate all distracting thoughts by focusing on the essence of the movements.
These movements, grouped in a strict sequence according to their increasing complexity, are known as "tao". In ancient China, it was believed that the first tao were developed by some civilization of prehistoric times, which, “before disappearing”, passed them on to people as a way of physical and spiritual improvement.
The "tao" of all schools is characterized by the alternation of softness and hardness, relaxation and concentration, speed and stops, as well as a clear rhythm, a sense of distance and time, proper breathing and distribution of energy! A mandatory requirement is to return to the starting point from which the movement began. As a rule, when performing tao, improvisation was not allowed, it had to be reproduced with accuracy to the smallest detail. This was explained by the fact that their developers - the founders of schools or glorified masters - were the bearers of a single Knowledge, messengers of the gods, and the Tao themselves were a means to unite with the Cosmos, to awaken and concentrate vital energy.
Schemes of movements in tao
Schemes of movements in Tao reproduce the sacred geometric figures-symbols: square, circle, spiral. Even the number of movements corresponds to the "magic" numbers. All tao of different schools of wudang wushu are directly connected with the theory of 8 trigrams and 64 hexagrams of the Book of Changes. Each movement in them carries a philosophical meaning and magical symbolism. For example, the tao of animal styles are designed to bestow power, swiftness, fearlessness, and invulnerability. And the one who performs them is under the auspices of that divine animal whose movements he reproduces.
In Wudang wushu, the image of the Soft and the Weak, conquering the Hard and the Strong, is often found. On the battlefield, agility and dodge overcome brute physical strength. Compliance turns the onslaught of the enemy against him, using his strength to destroy him. More than two millennia ago, Lezi wrote: “In the Celestial Empire there is a path to permanent victories and a path to permanent defeats. The way to constant victories is called weakness, the way to constant defeats is called strength. Both of these paths are easy to know, but people do not know them ...
Going ahead of those who; weaker than he is in danger from his equal; he who goes ahead of those who are stronger than him is not in danger ... if you want to be hard, keep hardness with the help of softness; if you want to be strong, guard your strength with weakness."
Shaolin direction
Another major trend in Wushu is Shaolin (Shaolin Pai), which includes about 400 varieties of basic styles. The legend of how the Shaolin fighting style appeared to this day has come down to us.
Story
In 520, a small group of Buddhist adherents sailed from India to the shores of China to guide the rulers of the Celestial Empire on the path of truth. Among them was the twenty-eighth Buddhist patriarch Bodhidharma, the founder of the Dhyana sect, widely known in the East.
Bodhidharma was the third oldest son of the Indian Raja Sugandha, who belonged to the Brahmin caste. The education he received corresponded to his high position: he studied traditional martial arts, ancient Vedas, Buddhist sutras. He was especially attracted by theosophy, the doctrine of the unity of the human soul with the deity. In order to learn the innermost truths of Buddhism, Bodhidharma joined the Yogacara sect, and then founded his own. Once, having learned about the difficulties of the adherents of Buddhism in China, he decided to go to this country.
However, by the time Bodhidharma and his companions arrived, Buddhism in China was going through far from the worst of times. About 50 monasteries and 30,000 Buddhist temples spread the foreign religion through their novices. Immediately upon his arrival, Bodhidharma obtained an audience with the ruler of the Northern Wei kingdom. What they talked about is unknown, but it was only after this conversation that Bodhidharma abandoned his plans to change the religious life of China and retired to a small Shaolin monastery located on the outskirts of this kingdom in the province of Henan.
Here, in order to learn the truth, he spent nine years all alone in a mountain grotto, praying and meditating. After that, he began to diligently preach Chan ("Chan" in Chinese is the same as "dhyana" in Sanskrit - "meditation"). This teaching, being a kind of Buddhism, prioritized the strengthening of the body and spirit in the name of comprehending eternal truths. That is why Bodhidharma began to preach Ch'an by teaching wushu, the hard physical training of the body as the "receptacle of the spirit."
Treatises of fisticuffs
From Bodhidharma originate numerous Chan military applied disciplines, which eventually amounted to 72 martial arts. An ancient treatise says: “There are 72 precious arts in a brocade bag. Eighteen of them are a treatise on boxing, the other eighteen describe the methods of handling weapons. The rest are devoted to the mastery of Qi, exercises for hardness and softness, gripping techniques ... " Shaolin exercises, developing bones and joints, helped to strengthen the whole body. A person who mastered them could strike with any part of the body.
Bodhidharma's legacy was developed by his followers. Master Jue Yuan, who lived in the second half of the 14th century, occupies a special place among them. He was a brilliant and versatile man. Passion for philosophy overcame all other attachments, and he retired to the Shaolin Monastery to devote himself entirely to studying the problem of the unity of spirit and body.
Being a skilled swordsman, he not only mastered the basic school of Shaolin wushu, but also improved it. Jue Yuan developed a combination of types of defense - "72 Shaolin capture and release techniques." Later they entered the arsenal of almost all wushu schools, but under different names. Here are just a few of them: "Secrets of Shaolin Grips", "The Art of Combat Castles", "72 Secret Grips", "The Art of Tearing Ligaments and Tendons", "Insidious or Devilish Hand".
Accurate knowledge of anatomy
These 72 techniques were based on precise knowledge of anatomy, on the laws of biomechanics and focused on pain points. Even earlier, wushu masters discovered that out of several hundred acupuncture points that a person has, 108 can strengthen or weaken a blow or grip when pressure is applied to them. They include 36 points, hitting which at the appropriate time and with a certain force can kill a person. In addition, there are points, by influencing which the wushu master can easily cause an influx or a sharp outflow of energy, up to fainting, shock, suffocation, seizure. From China, the art of 72 grips came to Japan and was transformed into the martial art of aiki-jutsu.
Jue Yuan's followers developed a complex of 170 techniques based on the styles of "Tiger", "Dragon", "Leopard", "Snake", "Crane".
Tiger Style
as the most rigid and forceful, it uses mainly the energy of tearing. In the "Dragon" style, strength does not play a major role, it is dominated by the flow of energy in the form of a wave from the head to the legs, the ability to simultaneously act with all parts of the body, which implies that a person has an impeccable vestibular apparatus.
Style "Leopard"
"is based on the ability to accumulate elastic force and splash it out in throws and jumps. During training, special attention is paid to
lower limbs and lower back. The instantaneous reaction makes it the most dangerous. Snake style
low flowing movements are inherent, a change in state from the most intense during a strike to complete relaxation. The principle of operation of this style is, as it were, to wrap around the enemy, choke him, squeezing him with a ring, or hit him with an accurate blow to a weak spot.
Style "Crane"
characterized by exceptional endurance, balance, excellent stretching. In preparation, special attention is paid to the work of the legs in various stances, as well as the ability to balance, standing on one leg.
As a rule, Shaolin monks studied the basics of all animal styles. Having mastered them, they began to specialize in one of them, in the one that most corresponded to their psychophysical characteristics.
The Art of Energy Management
Shaolin monks attached special importance to the art of energy management and carefully guarded its secrets. They have learned to turn their energy into a kind of armor that can protect the body from blows, injections, cutting with a sword or saber ...
On the basis of Shaolin wushu, a variety of styles took shape and developed. For example, the "Monkey" school synthesized the movements of monkeys, macaques, chimpanzees. The abundance of acrobatic elements, the special position of the hands, special training for the eyes and head, numerous antics made the masters of this direction one of the most skillful in wushu. Complex acrobatics are filled with the styles of "Drunkard", "Rolling on the ground", "Mizun". They are based on a quick change of movements (going forward, jumping back), instant transitions from one movement to another, rolls, falls, blows from unexpected positions, as well as a sharp change in psychophysical states.
For centuries, the monastery managed to peacefully coexist with secular authorities. During the war with the Manchus, Shaolin served as a shelter and a place of assistance to the rebels, but the monks did not directly participate in hostilities. And yet, under Emperor Kangxi (1662-1722), a merciless war was declared against Shaolin. The monastery was completely destroyed, most of the monks died. Legend has it that only five of them managed to escape to the cities of southern China. It is these monks who are considered the founders of the southern version of wushu.
Five large southern schools of wushu are named after the Shao-lin master monks who founded them.
The third direction in folk wushu is Emei
It got its name from the Emei Mountains in Sichuan Province. There were many Buddhist and Taoist monasteries here, in which the Emei-pai direction was formed, which includes over 60 different styles based on Wudang psycho-training and Shaolin fisticuffs.
The most famous are 8 main Emei styles (4 large and 4 small), which combined both northern and southern wushu schools.
The four major styles are Yue-men, Zhao-men, Du-men and Seng-men. Numerous legends are also associated with each of them, from which the creators of modern films about wushu masters draw inspiration.
The history of the master "Magic Leg"
The history of the master Ma Heizi, nicknamed the “Magic Leg”, is connected with the Zhao-men style. The founder of one of the three famous "Red Fist" styles took a man named Zhang Tanfu as his disciple. After completing the entire course of study, he settled in Sichuan and took Ma Heizi as his student. Together they opened the Red Fist School in 1875. After the death of his teacher, Ma Heizi lived as a hermit for several years, perfecting his style. He introduced the technique of kicks and blocks into the "Red Fist", developed and improved the technique of withdrawals and movements. Having finished with hermitage, Ma Heizi opened a wushu school in the city of Chengdu. His skill was so skillful that he received an invitation to teach wushu in the army. After the death of Ma Heizi, his style was called Zhao-men in memory of the then-famous commander Zhao Kuanyin, although he had nothing to do with the creation of this style.
Du-men style
is associated with the name of Du Guanyin from Jiangxi province, who settled in Sichuan in the 40s of the 18th century. The basis of his style was to follow "naturalness to find balance and balance." For this, ten methods of approaching the enemy and the technique of "8 grips and painful locks" were used.
The close distance characteristic of the Du-men style required a special hand technique, which combined the techniques of grabbing the wrist, twisting the joints, stretching the limbs, stretching the joints to break them, hitting and pressing at certain points. To do this, Du Guanyin and his followers created a special system for working out the grip of the hand and training the strength of the fingers. It included juggling exercises of various sizes with balls, weights, raw eggs, as well as catching arrows fired from a bow, thrown knives, etc.
Throwing system in Du-men
different from other styles. Using the power of twisting and rotation, at first it was carried out by a hall or pressing on a painful point, then the enemy was thrown to the ground, and not lifted up. A similar principle is used in aikido. To avoid throws, a system of releases was developed, similar to the tao "72 Shaolin captures and releases."
The principle of using several parallel actions at the same time, characteristic of Du-men - gripping, leg work, pressing on a painful point - required a perfect psychophysical apparatus.
Today, many people, with the word Wushu, often represent completely different content. For some, these are movements from old films of the 80s and 90s, when at the peak of popularity there were such films as Hong Gil Dong, various epics about the confrontation between ninja and Shaolin, and it’s impossible to list everything! And for some, these are wellness movements, so beautifully and slowly performed by older people in parks. Many see this as a system of sports combat, effective and dangerous, but there are those who practice highly acrobatic elements, training somersaults and jumps with 360 and 720 degrees ...
We even conducted a special survey where we asked the question: “What is WUSHU???” The broadcast with this survey can be viewed on our YouTube channel right here:
In fact, everything is simple. If you want to practice this art, or, perhaps, want to send your child to Wushu, then you definitely need to understand what you can learn in one or another section.
For example, a person, having seen enough of the well-trained fighter Zabit Magometsharipov, a native of WUSHU, one of the best UFC fighters, goes to train in the WUSHU section. But by chance, he ends up in a place where they are engaged in a completely different direction. At the very least, this person will be disappointed after a while... Or if someone is looking for healing methods, but ends up in a section where they train a sports duel, the result will obviously be negative. And perhaps, completely disappointed, people will no longer return to this beautiful art.
To prevent this from happening, you must initially understand both your goals and the directions that Wushu offers. And in this case, you will not be disappointed! For everything you want, you will definitely find in this art! The main thing is to come to the right place!
Let's finally get to the bottom of this issue.
And the truth is that today Wushu is not a single space. As already mentioned, in an evolutionary way, it was divided into 3 large areas.
Let's start in order.
Remember the old films that flooded the cinema, where monks met ninjas in battle, flying warriors fought off thousands of arrows, and disappearing and teleporting fighters generally amazed our imagination!? If you don’t remember, then watch the films “Hong Gil Dong”, “Ninja vs. Shaolin”, etc…
And modern cinema does not stand still. To be an actor in a film as a kung fu fighter or any other style requires some preparation. How colorfully the moments of fights are filmed, what cool tricks the heroes do ...
But this is the first direction - sports taolu. This is the direction that in China in recent times they tried to replace all Wushu. What are the reasons for these iterations? Now we will not consider. The fact remains that during the so-called cultural revolution, everything related to traditions and real military training was practically uprooted; everything that was connected with wushu as an integral system of training a person capable of making decisions independently, based on the concepts of military morality.
But the love for Wushu could not be removed from people, and the wise leadership of the Central Committee of the Party of China resolved the issue radically - Wushu was created for the people, it was even called GOSHU, which meant State Art!
Special styles were created, a feature of which was artistry and the ability to move beautifully. To date, this direction has developed so much in its specialization that athletes are gaining incredible dizzying acrobatic elements. The level of body control has grown to colossal heights. Somersaults and jumps, speed and artistry are at their best here. What else do you need for a movie?
But this system itself has become really self-sufficient in order to improve in it. Professionals in this direction really amaze with their coordination, jumping ability and acrobatics.
This is where we have sports taolu. This is a training system, where the main goal of training is to learn how to come to the racks, develop beautiful readable movements, and form beautiful clear shapes of the arms and legs. However, in combat terms, everything is not so beautiful. And you need to clearly understand: this is not training to fight - this is training to show beautifully.
And here we smoothly move on to the second direction - these are diametrically opposed goals and training. The name of this Wushu branch is .
Sanda is just a system of sports combat, where the basis of training is timing training, the ability to strike, move and work against a live opponent in the ring or on a special platform. Here, efficiency in 1v1 combat is the basis of the training process. It is efficiency that is put above artistry and beauty of movements. This is the training of a fighter.
Compared to the sports section of Taolu, there are completely different movements, different movements, different work of the body. It's like 2 ends of one very long stick.
The more professional you are in any of these areas, the farther from the middle of the stick you move to the edge. You can never hold on to 2 ends at the same time.
And often people who are engaged, for example, in sports taolu, looking at sandaists simply say: “Yes, this is not wushu at all!” And vice versa. Those who practice sanda often do not understand at all what athletes are doing in the sports taolu section ...
But in fact, these are just 2 different areas in which you can improve for a very long time. And in each of them you can achieve amazing results! You just need to clearly understand your goals and what goals the chosen direction pursues.
And here we come to the third section, the one from which the first two emerged. This is the root, or, so to speak, the link.
This is traditional wushu or, better said, traditional wushu styles. This is the knowledge that was accumulated by the Masters and passed down from generation to generation, selecting the most effective and best techniques. The basis of training in this direction is, no doubt, efficiency. And here we see the similarity of Sanda's direction, which took efficiency as the basis of the training process.
However, speaking of efficiency, it should be said that efficiency in traditional areas is far from being associated only with the ability to fight with one or more opponents. Efficiency also applies to health practices. Techniques for bringing consciousness into a calm and balanced state also occupy a significant place in the transmission of traditions.
All these techniques are aimed at self-development and education in a person of the necessary moral, ethical and, of course, physical qualities.
For a person who has knowledge of martial arts, but has not absorbed the moral values of Ude, can be very dangerous for society.
Therefore, tradition is the place where the Teacher-Student relationship is still preserved, initiation into followers and keepers of style traditions takes place. And everything is exactly the same as in the books about the ancient heroes-Masters, which all the guys read in childhood.
Fortunately, the Chinese government has recently changed its mind and began to revive the traditional Wushu. However, a lot has been lost. But all the same, there were Masters who were able to create both sports Wushu Sanda and preserve traditional knowledge. Today they, like decades ago, carefully pass them on to those who are ready to receive them.
Not without problems, of course. The popularity of low-grade films in the 80s spawned many schools where outright fake was presented as craftsmanship. What happened all over the world and in the post-Soviet space as well. We had a huge number of schools called "family" or "clan" or something like that. However, in the best case, the creator of such schools had little training in karate, sports wushu taolu, perhaps boxing ... Since it was not possible to check where his knowledge came from, everything was very simply closed with words like: “the Master himself gave it to me” .... And the “Masters” themselves, even if they were of Asian appearance, were often, so to speak, self-named “keepers of clan and family traditions” ... Followers spent years, decades studying such secret practices. The result is simple. It just doesn't exist. And, unfortunately, today there are still a lot of such schools and masters who pass off their self-made as real kungfu. But this is a separate issue.
All this had a very negative impact and still affects the truly great art of Wushu. Ignorance and misunderstanding of the basics and base of styles leads to changes in the training process itself. A lack of understanding of goals and objectives generally leads to the most deplorable results.
That is why the traditional direction is the most difficult. In fact, it is here that the seemingly impossible merge - beauty and efficiency. After all, beauty is also one of the attributes of Wushu. Just how much this beauty differs from what is familiar to us - we will learn about this from another article.
Let's get back to styles. In fact, there is not an infinite number of them. And not even thousands and thousands, but only 129 styles, the traditional character of which has been confirmed in the course of many years of research in China itself. This was done specifically in order to try to protect the truly traditional direction from charlatanism.
In fact, there are not many real experts in traditional styles all over the world. However, they all honor and preserve traditions, and just like many centuries ago, they pass on knowledge to their students. So it is really much more difficult to find a real Master in the traditional direction than a coach in sports areas. And to become a dedicated disciple or custodian of traditions is a very difficult task. The requirements for candidates are too high.
So what do we end up with?
And the fact that before you go to engage in wushu, you need to clearly understand what goals you are pursuing. Then you need to understand which of the directions are taught in the school where you applied. Don't be afraid to ask the coach questions. It is important to understand what direction is practiced in a given place.
And only the following can be practiced:
- sports taolu, where the specially created styles of Changquan and Nanquan belong. Also sports complexes with weapons, long or short. All these are performances specially selected for the competition, distinguished by ultra-clean movements, colorful and high acrobatics at a serious level of training.
- The art of sports combat. This is a technique of free fighting on a special platform or in the ring according to certain rules, which in fact in many ways distinguish this direction from other related types of martial arts. This direction is characterized by high efficiency and a fairly wide variety of combat techniques.
- Traditional wushu styles, where you have to study the real style of martial art, which came from the depths of centuries and retained all the elements of effectiveness with regards to combat, healing and practices for the development of consciousness. Here you have to work hard on the base, the study of complexes of different directions - both combat and recreational. This is perhaps the most difficult direction. And here are the most pitfalls. Either way, get ready for some hard work.
It should be noted that the time of the competition left its mark on traditional styles. Almost every style has specific complexes that are studied specifically for competitions. They are already more like a sports taola. Because, in most cases, for the convenience of evaluation, they are formed so that they look like sports ones. Of course, in combat terms, not all movements can be applied here. This is also something to keep in mind as you embark on the study of a tradition.
There is also a very difficult question about how effective the methodology for studying taolu complexes is in general. But this is also a topic for a separate article!
As you can see, Wushu today allows EVERYONE of us to find the right direction! So do not hesitate and come to the training! For no matter how much we read, no matter how much we think… nothing can replace real practice!
A video with an answer to the question - what is Wushu for a modern person can be viewed here:
Over the past six months, several championships in the martial arts of Wushu and Kung Fu have been held in St. Petersburg (by the way, in European usage, these names, being different definitions of the same phenomenon, are often separated).
Eminent wushu wrestlers, among whom were multiple champions of Russia, Europe and the World, showed the audience colorful Taolu (a set of formal exercises), an “iron shirt” (practice of “hard qigong”), full-contact combat sparring, causing an approving hum of the hall, possibly making them spin in the coffin are more than a dozen classics of the once most powerful martial art of the planet.
Probably, the ironic saying “Do not confuse Wushu with the sport of the same name widespread in our country” perfectly reflects the situation in which the martial arts of the East find themselves today. Modern ideas about Wushu, Karate, Taekwondo sometimes seem to be just the apotheosis of delusions: on the websites of even eminent traditional schools, they seriously talk about the "ten deadly sins in Buddhism", that Wushu is Chinese health-improving gymnastics, and Kung Fu is wrestling that all martial arts were invented by the Shaolin monks, and other equally curious anecdotes that confuse anyone who was interested in this topic a little deeper than the level of modern cinema.
With a few exceptions, things are no better in practice. Often demonstrating the mastery of own body wushu wrestler in sparring, it is easy to "endure" any novice Muay Thai fighter and a street "bull" who does not have any special skills. In the sports ring, Wushu has turned either into a meaningless “saber dance” or into kickboxing, which has nothing to do with the unique system of psychophysical training that once endowed the body of a fighter with supernatural abilities for an ordinary person.
About why a powerful martial art has turned into an emasculated sports discipline, the correspondent of Our Version on the Neva spoke with a well-known master of traditional Wushu in China and Europe, Mr. Zhong Lianbao, who was visiting St. Petersburg at the end of August and met with representatives of the traditional schools of the Northern capital .
- Shifu (teacher - Ed.), you travel a lot around the world, have you ever seen how, under the auspices of Wushu, an ignorant public is shown at best a good hand-to-hand fight?
– This phenomenon is everywhere, it occurs not only in Russia, but also in European countries, and in China. Everything is quite understandable: the organizers of the competition demand a spectacle, therefore any performance must meet three conditions: high, fast, difficult. But this has nothing to do with true martial art. In traditional styles, you need to know why you are doing this or that Taola. Indeed, in fact, this is the same “shadow boxing”. The student must know that every move she makes has a practical use, whether it be a punch, a grab or a throw. The athlete simply theatrically copies the movements. Sport knows no application, it does not respect traditions, therefore it turns into complete nonsense.
He who knows the competition does not know the application of those movements that he does so beautifully. And who knows the application, will not participate in such a competition. Therefore, what you see is nothing more than acrobatics. A person who knows the martial art simply cannot jump so high and difficult, bend like that, land like that, he doesn’t need it, it doesn’t make any practical sense.
- Why, in your opinion, Wushu has become a sport discipline?
- It is connected with political events. The process began after the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949. From about 1953, our government began to say that traditional wushu should not be distributed, it is not useful for rallying the people. Sports began to advance in the country. It was decided to show all the best that is in China. A splash of Wushu began: the world watched, wondered. However, there was a clear gradation of what could and could not be shown. Sports Wushu developed, and traditional masters remained among the people. Then the cultural revolution began, it lasted 10 years. There was a great lull, all the masters went underground. Today, our leadership says that it is necessary to restore traditions. But does nothing for it. They respect only beautiful things, they do not promote the present.
Your President is Vladimir Putin, he is a good fellow, I like his respectful attitude towards Wushu. He came to China, he was shown our famous Shaolin Monastery, fighters who demonstrated their technique. But what did your President see there? Do these fighters know the martial application of those beautiful moves they perform? No, I tell you, they no longer know, military equipment is almost emasculated.
My hometown is Yantai - there are many masters of Tanlan-Tsuan (Wushu style - Ed.), This is the birthplace of the style. Accordingly, there are many masters. Foreigners can come to learn from any master, but not all of them know the practice of applying the movements that they do. The practice is gone. The same story in Hong Kong: there are many schools that teach Wushu, but not all of them know how to apply their style. We have very few good masters left, not all of them are ready to transfer their skills. After all, Wushu is based on a tradition that is passed from student to teacher. The teacher is looking for worthy among his students, and if he does not find, he may not pass on his skill.
For example, my sifu, the master of traditional art Ling Jinshan, had three sons. He did not convey real skill to any of them. Even among my students, not everyone knows the application of technology. The other side of the coin lies in the fact that not everyone is able to take the mastery. This is a long, painstaking work, nothing will come in a short period. Out of 10 thousand students, 1-2 people can do it, no more, that's why it is called art. The fighter also teaches traditional Wushu. But that doesn't mean he's top notch. He can go into battle and not be able to use it.
– Western civilization was introduced to Wushu by Bruce Lee, but an unbiased analysis of his biography shows that his image is greatly inflated. Do you think Li was a good fighter or did China just need a national hero?
There are many who talk about him, but few who really know him. He was a young man, he did not have time to take real skill, but Li accomplished a real feat by spreading Wushu all over the world.
– Is it true that the Chinese themselves killed him because he allegedly betrayed some secrets of the martial art to the Europeans?
– He did not know any special secrets of Wushu. But he did a lot for its development.
– Have you ever seen real masters in modern Europe?
- During my travels, I met some famous masters, but since we did not compete, I do not know their professional level. Strong masters do not want to show their skills. In addition, there is an unspoken rule in this structure - do not criticize each other, therefore, they cannot say anything about those who are not so strong.
- Today, a lot of videos have been posted on the Internet, showing the masters of "non-contact combat" who can lay down a person who is several meters away with energy strikes. It is clear that this idea has acquired many fans, they say that the contactless combat system was used not only by the masters of Zen arts, but also by the Russian Cossacks, and even the GRU special forces. Have you ever met such masters?
- No, I haven't seen them. In China, by the way, they talk a lot about it. There are opinions for and against. But in my opinion - a person who has been practicing wushu for 50 years, non-contact combat is not realistic.
- You said that you yourself began to practice Wushu in 1953. That is, in time it coincided with the beginning of the “athletization” of martial arts. Have you had to "disguise" in class? For example, during the period of the ban on karate in the USSR, our karatekas pretended to be doing "Tai Tzu health-improving gymnastics."
- No, I was lucky, I did not disguise myself. Everything was still legal then, and my brothers and I got to the master of traditional art, from whom I took the style of Seven Star Praying Mantis Fist. My Sifu Ling Jinshan was a good-natured person, we started our studies when he was almost 70 years old. He passed away at the age of 87, after which I headed the school and still lead it.
- What is the training system of your students?
“I make them exercise for at least 45 minutes every day. To master Wushu, you need to practice every day, do a lot of repetitions, constantly remember about the application. Such a training system will be very effective. I myself train for an hour a day and teach for a few more hours.
- At the last Olympics in London, the Chinese team surprised the whole world by taking second place in the number of gold medals. Many media, including Our Version on the Neva, wondered: did the Chinese really invent gene doping, and literally learned how to grow ideal athletes?
– We don’t have such a level of genetic engineering (laughs). Just imagine the population of China. They say that 1.3 billion people live there, but in fact we have practically crossed the mark of one and a half billion. Among such a huge population, there is simply more opportunity to find potentially strong athletes. If we compare the world's 7 billion people, the odds go up. In addition, a new basis for the development of sports has been laid in our country. Previously, sports were not developed in our country, and no one knew how much it was possible to compete with other countries. By the Beijing Olympics, we began to develop, respectively, those successes that were then laid down were improved at the last Olympics in London.