Benefits of wu shu

I think you missed my point. Also, I think you'll find a lot of them have done plenty of MA - which makes them trained as well as fitter, stronger, and more economical with their movements.

__________________
Consider Phlebas, who was once handsome and tall as you
High mountains are a feeling
I don't need to sell my soul, he's already in me

well',..as John100 stated, because they aren't focusing on the 'Martial' delivery of the technique! Wu-Shu literally means War-Skill, or 'our' translation; Martial-Art/technique'. It is a extension of Northern long-fist,...but, (of-course'), as most of us know', since 1949 it has become (for the most-part) emphisized as a gymnastic floor-routine display! 'That', is the fault of the Coach who teaches it! My Si-Fu, Nick Gracenin, is one of the very Few who teaches the Martial techniques,applications & functions of (for lack of a better term') Modern Contemperary/Competition Wu-Shu. His students know how to apply the movements in a fight situation and have the strength to pull it off! Now,..as for the common 'wushu performer',...yes, unfortunately most of them have 'no clue' what they are doing in their perspective routines,...you can see it,(or the lack of it) in their eyes! They are just going full out/speed into the next 'gymnastic' display, instead of seeing/knowing, "O.K., here comes a mid-air cartwheel to jump-over my opponant's weapon, land in a split to deliver a punch to the groin!",...instead of, "Gee, I hope I have enough speed to stick my landing-point",...lol'. So, all-in-all, it boils down to the 'Instructor and the Intention of the student', no matter what style of Mind/Body connective movment people go through. And, 'yes', most Chinese people have the same 'modern' opinion of Contemperary/Competition wushu (as much of a new 'slang' term as Kung-Fu is!)as the rest of us,...a gymnastic performance of physical ability, kind-of' like the 'performance' of martial-art in a good Bei-Jing or Guang-Dong Opera. It has turned into it's own 'Animal', so-to-speak,..lol. Coach Li

As I said, I won't argue that Wushu practitioners are exceptional athletes. However, I will argue what they are doing is not martial at all. Some things might translate well. For instance, if a professional dancer decided to move into the fighting realm, he would learn exceptionally quickly as he as already mastered proprioception, multi-limb coordination, and other body controlling techniques. But he would still have to learn the fundamentals of combat such as positioning, timing, and reading. The motor patterns are just not there without actual appropriate training.

__________________
"You must eat bitter before you can taste sweet"- Iron & Silk
"I see no virtue where I smell no sweat"
"Arm yourself because no one else here will save you" - Chris Cornell

Mr. Wraith', did you read my whole post? you can 'argue' all you want,..but, WU-SHU means/translates as WAR-SKILL,..and it 'IS' a physical extension of Northern Long-Fist,(Bei Chang-Chwen),....even if the performer doesn't have the mind-set/Focus of hitting or defending from an opponent,.. wushu performers are 'Still' making Fists and Hard-Palms,...so, I would say even the most Non-martial wushu Coach calls the movement a punch or palm-strike when they are teaching,...unlike most Dance instructors when they are showing their students arm/hand choreography.

I was responding more to John's post Li.

But really, it doesn't matter what you call it or what the translation is. A name is a name, and it is up to the practitioner to give meaning to that name. I can call something the 5-Fingered Katana Death Squad of Armegeddon...but if its a knitting class then the name is misleading.

Have you read Adam Hsu's book, Lone Sword Against the Cold Cold Sky? He has a GREAT description of modern Wushu. =)

__________________
"You must eat bitter before you can taste sweet"- Iron & Silk
"I see no virtue where I smell no sweat"
"Arm yourself because no one else here will save you" - Chris Cornell

uh',...o.k.,....lol'.

“	Originally Posted By: Li Ma-Keh uh',...o.k.,....lol'.	”

"Today the Chinese Government's Wushu program has taken a very unsuitable and harmful turn by singlemindedly promiting its newly created modernized wushu. This new performance style overemphasizes the surface. It totally ignores real training and the meaning contained in the depths of the art. So no matter how shiny the uniform, how flashy and quick the movements, and how loud and exciting the noise made by their special light-weight, limp weapon-props, the real and powerful Wushu is missing and, due to suppression and neglect, is dying."

-Adam Hsu
Lone Sword Against A Cold Cold Sky, pg 250

__________________
"You must eat bitter before you can taste sweet"- Iron & Silk
"I see no virtue where I smell no sweat"
"Arm yourself because no one else here will save you" - Chris Cornell

yep',...I AGREE!!! ,...I never said 'modern,contemperary,competition,flimsy-sword,wushu,mooshu was GOOD!,....(again, did you read my whole posts?),...I merely stated what it is called, what it translates into, and where it originally came from,..and that it 'kind-of' resembles the 'martial-arts' of the Chinese Operas!,...PERIOD! I joined Si-Fu Hsu's "Traditional Kung-Fu" organization years ago! (it still ain't knitting),..and when anyone looks at it, to them,..it IS recognized (unfortuately,..lol'), as Wu-Shu.

Yes, I read your post. But apparently I did not understand the point you were trying to make.

__________________
"You must eat bitter before you can taste sweet"- Iron & Silk
"I see no virtue where I smell no sweat"
"Arm yourself because no one else here will save you" - Chris Cornell

Just for clarification, because as we all know the martial arts are a confusing place where everyone uses different terminology, when I say Wushu I am refering to:

The largely acrobatic forms competitors who take traditional styles and forms, then butcher them to seem more overtly exciting and dynamic. They wear fancy silk uniforms and are prone to dramatic leaps, falls, and pauses. Their understanding of martial skill is limited at best. Their weapons appear to be constructed of tin foil.

__________________
"You must eat bitter before you can taste sweet"- Iron & Silk
"I see no virtue where I smell no sweat"
"Arm yourself because no one else here will save you" - Chris Cornell

YES',...That's it!!!,...hahaha. I knew we were on the same page in there somewhere,..lol'. The only thing 'good' about the tin-foil(super light-weight)weapons is, it DOES take the correct timing and power release to make them crack/snap/pow correctly,...for what it's worth,...so, (as if') the performer was focusing on an actual strike',....the thrust, sweep or torque of the waist action has to transfer itself correctly through the arm holding the weapon. I've seen MANY wushu-pajama guys' go through their 'power' move, only to have the weapon 'Flap' at best!,...lol'! It 'should' sound like a Hard Whip-Crack!

In Karate, we did the same thing with our Gi's. When the heavy material would "snap" with a punch or kick then that was a sign we were issuing the right type of power. When you just heard fabric brushing against itself or quietness, then you knew people were slacking.

__________________
"You must eat bitter before you can taste sweet"- Iron & Silk
"I see no virtue where I smell no sweat"
"Arm yourself because no one else here will save you" - Chris Cornell

“	This new performance style overemphasizes the surface. It totally ignores real training and the meaning contained in the depths of the art	”

Which is pretty much how a dancer (who has never done any MA) I know described the "shaolin monks" travelling show. Although she was also shocked by the very high injury rate (as reported by the back stage theatre people) - which I thought ironic coming from a dancer.

IMO this is not the fault of choreographed extreme movements with limited direct application. You can see the people who trained at the beijing institute back when it was a real attempt to get the few remaining people with any knowlege together practice very similar routines and it is obvious they are used looking well below the surface and have spent a lot of time working on more practical routines.

__________________
Consider Phlebas, who was once handsome and tall as you
High mountains are a feeling
I don't need to sell my soul, he's already in me

Mr. Wraith, Exactly!!! and John100, I disagree,...IMO the High injury rate in moderncompetitionwushu is Directly due' to the incorrect performance of Martial movement Without Martial intent or Focus! Plus, the fact that Most of the contemperarywushu schools Don't prepare/condition the whole body correctly, ie; holding stances for a Traditional length of time, disecting movements out of the routines and doing the (at least) proverbial 10,000 Reps'.! They are more concerned with the 'routine' as a Whole,...hence' the continuous/annoying shouts of "Jia-Yuo"!,...supposedly to encourage the performer to 'speed-up',...which usually 'feels' like "hurry-up get it over with",...LOL'! So, even though the Excellent 'Performers' from Bei-Jing have 'had' experience 'looking past the surface' possibly in their past training,...when they speed/Rush through the 'floor-routine' to give it that theatrical/opera flair',...the focus on each technique kind-of' goes out the window, and before you know it, Bam- injured knee, or achilles' tendon,(the most common ccws injuries) which you are Right about 'that' point; "just like a Dancer's injury-rate".