How much do you know about Chinese martial arts?

Chinese martial arts have distinctive national characteristics and a long historical and cultural background, however, the understanding of the concept of wushu is constantly evolving, and the martial arts community is always chattering about the controversy.

Its complexity and limitations, to the construction of wushu theory and teaching has brought a lot of trouble, wushu textbooks, wushu seminars or, had defined it in a sports category, is it due to the wushu to the sports sector to manage, it only with sports attributes? It is true that it can not.

This article attempts to trace its origin and evolution objectively from the perspectives of history, sociology and culture, to explore its cultural background and cultural characteristics, to analyze its social functions and values, and to compare the laws and principles of sports.

(A) martial arts and military skills can not be the same day

The concept of anything is not static. Wushu from the warm long long years to come, today's concept and the concept of yesteryear covered by the content and form, there are many differences, but the essential attributes should be the same. In history, there have been different terms attributed to the concept of martial arts. Such as the Spring and Autumn and Warring States, there is a "skill"; Han Dynasty, there is a "martial arts" term; early Qing Dynasty, people took the "Selected Writings" in the "laying down closed martial arts, expounding the text of the order" in the "martial arts". The term "martial arts"; Republic of China called "national arts"; after the founding of new China, and renamed "martial arts" According to written records, the ancient martial arts in the form of confrontation fighting sports are "Jiao Li", "Jiao Dai", "hand-to-hand combat", "sumo wrestling", " Fencing", "more stick", "stabbing gun" and so on; dance practice form of routine sports are "Go dance", "spear dance", "sword dance", "sword dance" and so on. ", knife dance ", sword dance "," double sword dance "," halberd dance "," double halberd dance ", "Walking Halberd", "Making Guns", "Making Fists", "Playing Fists", etc. Single and group drills, "Gun to Card", "Sword to Card" and other duo drills.

Historically, human beings in order to survive competition or the need for security, hunting, war skills in the form of the early stage of the martial arts and the technical form of the same source of the same structure, and even in a certain period of time convergence and intertwining, but the cultural connotation and value of the function of the essence of the difference, the important thing in the war is the group of the formations, synergies, and so on. In war, the important thing is the group formation, synergy and so on. The technical role of the individual is extremely secondary. Wushu is an individual behavior-based, spontaneous in the folk of a cultural form, the performance of self-defense, fitness, entertainment, performance and other social values and functions. Throughout the process, ancient Chinese Confucianism, Taoism, Daoism, Buddhism, folk religion, and various folk cultures have all influenced and penetrated it to varying degrees. It may be said that martial arts in their primitive form were almost indistinguishable from martial arts in various regions of the world during the same period, while they developed very differently in modern times. Important lies in the pre-Qin since, the feudal society of ji Jing and culture of the long-term accumulation, make it gradually away from the hunting and military skills of the form, become and military skills of the form, become a kind of independent form of human movement and cultural carrier. For this reason, the martial arts can not be mixed with military skills, we should have a clear understanding. As early as in the Ming Dynasty, the war general Qi Jiguang although he had advocated soldiers practicing guns and sticks, its purpose is to improve physical fitness, he believes that the war skills are "embracing together", "on the poke will hack", how can we tolerate "lively jumping "and" body posture techniques "are not tolerated?

(2) "Wushu sports" can not replace "martial arts"

Wushu development so far, the function of sports is increasingly prominent, under the sports sector to develop it, but also to make its content, form and means of sports characteristics stronger. In recent years, its definition has been summarized as follows: Wushu is a traditional Chinese sport that focuses on both internal and external training, with technical combat as its main content, and sets and combat as its forms of movement.

However, in a broad sense, the definition of wushu is not something that can be covered by sports; in terms of its function, it is not limited to sports either, and the definition of wushu can be dissected from three sides.

1) Wushu is a traditional Chinese martial art

The earliest it originated from the practical techniques in hunting and war. With the continuous summary of the development and adapt to the needs, from the form to the content of a great deal of change, but the essence of this essence of the technical combat but never change. "Wushu to technical combat as the main content", expressed its essential attributes, whether it is sets or fighting, are inseparable from the attack and defense techniques. This characteristic makes it different from both dance, acrobatics and other forms of human movement, as well as gymnastics and other sports.

Of course, boxing is not unique to China, it is a human being from the instinctive needs of civilization to the need to inevitably appear skills and culture, around the world, such as jousting, boxing, fencing, Muay Thai, karate, Taekwondo, Sambo, wrestling and so on, but also has the attributes of the attack and defense of the skills. The important thing is that the Chinese nation, the yellow children for a long time, in their own land, with their own practice, according to their own needs, summed up their own traditional techniques, such as kicking method of stomping, kicking, shoveling, intercepting, bouncing, entangling, sweeping, hanging, swinging, pointing, bouncing, stepping, pouting, etc., and fighting method of punching, hitting, squeezing, leaning, collapsing, picking, splitting, smashing, slamming, ruffling, covering, whipping, throwing, coping, nailing, chopping, inserting, piercing and marking, etc.: Kick, beat, wrestle, strike and stab the six methods have many rich techniques, each region, each type of boxing is not the same. In addition, wushu in the capture method, fast wrestling method, bridge method, eighteen kinds of weapon striking method, etc., all have unique characteristics. The technical attributes of wushu reflect the connotation of the concept of wushu.

2) Wushu is a traditional Chinese sport

This has been clearly stated in the definition, expressing its sporting attributes. This is not only because for thousands of years people from the perspective of cultural needs and social functions, it is regarded as fitness and strong body, improve the quality of the means to play its fitness and education; but also due to the modern times, it to the military training in the role of the reduction of the function of the sports function to enhance the modern civilization of the rise of sports in the era of the sports, and even more to the sports on the project change. Especially after the founding of new China, the government made it clear that wushu is a sports program, popularization and competitive games, competition law and rules make wushu routines and sparring more clearly show the nature of sports.

From the technical combat, it is a way for human beings to carry out fighting, which can include the two natures of you and me and the competitive contest. Then, wushu as a traditional Chinese martial arts does not lack of containing the other side of the death or incapacitation method, which is contrary to the nature of the sport, then the generality of the people in the abandonment of those who cause injuries, disabilities, death in the wushu outside the sport, or evolved into a personal training or tacit cooperation in the form of routines. This also reflects the concept of wushu as a traditional martial arts, containing elements beyond sports. Such martial arts skills are still retained and utilized in the public security, judicial and military reconnaissance sectors, where the sporting attributes of wushu are predominant for the general public.

Definition of the proposed to technical combat as the main content, that is not entirely all technical content, such as sets of sports in the connection of transitional movements, "debut shaping", etc., but also the whole set of technical meaning is not prominent, and fitness, ornamental function is more obvious, in the loose hand sports on the harmful to health, endangering the life of the action, and not allowed to use. It is regarded as a foul and is not allowed to be adopted, or restricted.

From the logical understanding, Chinese traditional sports is the concept of martial arts of the upper genus, wushu sets of sports and fighting sports is the concept of the extension. A more precise reference to the sports program of martial arts should be referred to as martial arts sports.

3) Wushu is one of China's traditional cultures

When we recognize the concept of wushu, we must not only regard it as a technical skill or human movement, but also recognize its rich cultural connotation. In the process of human civilization, the emergence of technical skills is a kind of inevitable, its initial stage can be said to be similar, the development so far but there is a big difference, the uniqueness of the martial arts and its cultural atmosphere is inseparable. During its long course, it has been constantly and profoundly influenced by traditional Chinese philosophy, political ethics, religious rituals, military thought, literature and art, medical theory, and social customs in all their forms and shapes. The Chinese nation's unique way of thinking, moral concepts, aesthetic sensibilities, mode of mentality, values, as well as its outlook on life and the universe are all centrally reflected in the martial arts.

The "internal and external cultivation" mentioned in the definition is a succinct reflection of their cultural attributes, which makes wushu transcend the general technical level of skills and the physical form of Western competitive sports. It is based on philosophy, with "active" and "main static" and mediocrity as the support, and embodies profound and rich cultural connotations, such as the concept of overall movement, the concept of yin and yang changes, the theory of form and spirit, the theory of qi, the theory of static and motion, the theory of rigidity and flexibility, and the theory of emptiness and realism, etc., which form a unique style of wushu culture. The unique style of martial arts cultural system, which not only has the same characteristics of human sports to strengthen the body, but also has the unique philosophical, scientific and artistic oriental culture. It is the expression and carrier of Chinese culture in the human body movement, from one side to reflect the glory of the Oriental national culture.

"Internal and external cultivation" can be summarized in four aspects: Wushu pursues the external form and internal charm, so as to achieve both form and spirit; Wushu training emphasizes the practice of "internal" and "external", which is the most important part of Wushu training. Wushu training emphasizes both "internal" and "external" training, the so-called "external training of sinews and bones, internal training of a breath"; Wushu's "internal triad" and "external triad", in which the internal and the external are in harmony, and the upper and lower follow each other. Wushu's "inner three harmonies" and "outer three harmonies", internal and external harmonies, up and down, the pursuit of a high degree of municipalities and unity, reflecting the concept of holistic movement; Wushu's pursuit of internal and external cultivation of the work of the combination of martial arts virtue and boxing theory, technology and cultivation, the highest level of Wushu cultivation. Admittedly, the phrase "both internal and external cultivation" represents the traditional cultural attributes of wushu in a more graphic way.

(3) Conclusion

Wushu and military skills have the same origin, but cannot be confused.

The sport of wushu is a sports concept and cannot cover the concept of wushu.

Wushu is a form of social existence, one of the national cultural carriers, but does not exclude the important aspect that it has sporting properties.