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 Wushu
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Wushu and QInggong
Wushu (Kongfu)
Chinese
martial arts, known in the West as Kungfu, is a cultural heritage
of the Chinese people, which has been enriched through the ages.
With
its graceful movements and salubrious effects on health, it
has a strong appeal to a vast multitude of people.
Wushu has been practiced in China for thousands of years. The original
of Wushu may be traced back to prehistoric times when our ancestors
used stones and wooden clubs in hunting. The most well known Wushu
classifications include: Shaolin Wushu, Wudang Wushu, Emei Wushu,
Northern Styles, and Southern Styles. There are hundreds of Wushu
styles belonging to these classifications, with over one thousand
bare hand
and weapon training routines.
The primary technical training includes Kicking Methods (over one
hundred ways to kick using the feet, legs, knees, and hips), Striking
Methods
(several hundred striking methods using fists, palms, hand
hooks, elbows, head, and shoulders), Wrestling Methods (several
hundred wrestling
methods to take down your opponent), Controlling
(Qin Na) Methods (including misplacing the bone, cavity press, sealing
the breath, and ground
control methods), and Weapon applications.
Chinese Wushu is more than Kungfu. It embodies a profound philosophy
and a sense of human life and social values. It is the summation
of the
code of conduct for the adjustment of the relationships between
man and man and between man and nature.
Wushu is not only a way to enhance one's health and skills. Its
long association with dance has lent an enriching artistic quality.
At the same time,
its emphasis on posture, composure, self-control,
spirit, and lively exercise imbues it with a beautiful effect on
the physic, and a positive effect on
the character. These quality
turn Wushu into Wuyi-martial artistry.
Qigong
In ancient items, qigong was called tuna (exhaling and inhaling),
or lianqi (training of vital energy), or daoyin (guiding and inducing),
or neigong
(internal self-exertion training), an exercise of sitting
quietly, meditating, and breathing. It is one of the legacies in
the treasure house of traditional
Chinese medicine. It has been
shown to have particularly outstanding effects in treating chronic
and difficult disease.
According to traditional Chinese medical theory, the qi in qigong
is not only the air people breathe, but also all types of energy.
It is the intrinsic
substance or the "vital force" behind
all things in the universe. Gong refers to the power to produce
an effect, an attainment of, or accomplishment
that is achieved
with steady practice. Loosely, Qigong (chi kung) can be translated
as the study of Qi.
Qigong has a long history of more than 3,000 years. Historically,
there were numerous kinds of Qigong exercise, including those of
the Taoists,
Buddhists and Confucians. Up to now, 396 kinds of Qigong
exercises have appeared in book form in China. They can be classified
into health-
protecting qigong, therapeutic qigong and martial-art
qigong, or classified into hard (or tough) qigong and soft qigong.
Hard qigong is also called
kungfu qigong. Soft qigong included health-protecting
qigong and therapeutic qigong.
Today, Qigong most often refers to the art and science of using
breath, posture, movement, and/or sound to cleanse, refine, accumulate
and
circulate Qi in the body. This leads to improved health, transformation
of consciousness, and greater power for martial arts. Through the
cultivation
and regulation of body, mind, breathing, and vocalization,
our resistance to disease, adaptability to the external environment,
and immunity to
pathogenic influences is strengthened. With a strong
immune system, diseases are prevented, creating a state of super
health, vitality, and
youthfulness for the practitioner.
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