Wushu - Chinese Martial Arts

Wushu is a synonym for martial arts (wu = 武 = martial + shu = 术 = arts) and covers all Chinese martial arts styles, such as Taolu (forms), Sanda (chinese kickboxing), Shuai jiao (chinese wrestling) and traditional animal and weapon styles. Learn the basics, wushu jumps, kicks, beginner forms, weapons and traditional styles. If you are interested in modern, competitive wushu, I recommend you also learn the basics artistic gymnastics.

Basics

Basic Wushu Stances
- Horse Stance (ma bu)
- Bow Stance (gong bu)
- Cat Stance (xu bu)
- Flat Stance (pu bu)
- Rest Stance (xie bu)
Wushu Kicks
- Front Stretchkick (zheng ti) >> New
- Inside Circle Kick (li he)
- Outside Circle Kick (wai bai)
- Side Stretchkick (ce ti)
- Slapkick (dan pai jiao)
- Toe Fist Kick (dan ti)
- Heel Palm Kick (dan ti chong zhang)
Basic Wushu Sweeps & Kicks
- Side Kick (ce shuai tui)
- Front Sweep (qian sao)
- Back Sweep (hou sao)
Basic Wushu Jumps
- Flying Frontkick - TKFJ (teng kong fei jiao)
- Whirlwind Kick - XFJ (xuan feng jiao)
- Lotus Kick - TKBL (teng kong bai lian)
- Cartwheel without Hands - CKF (ce kong fan)
- Cartwheel without Hands Twist - CKF360 (ce kong fan zhuan ti san bai liu)
- Butterfly Kick - XZ (xuan zi)
- Butterfly Twist - XZZT (xuan zi zhuan ti san bai liu shi du)
Additional Instructions
- How to Combine Wushu Jumps
- How to Learn Wushu Jumps - Training Methods
- Standing Lotus Kick
- Split Kick
- Kip Up (li yu da ting - aka skip up)
- Front Flip Back Crash (qian ka shuai bei)
- Flying Cross-Leg Kick 360 to 540 (teng kong pan tui 360 du, 540 du)
- Flip Flop - Headspring (tou shou fan)
- Wall Flip
- Cork Screw (cork twist - Di Tang and XMA tutorial)
- Back Handspring with Landing on the Stomach
- Artistic Gymnastics

Styles

Modern Wushu - Competitive - Hand and Weapon Styles
- Longfist (chang quan - wushu)
- Staff (gun shu - wushu)
- Broadsword (dao shu - wushu)
- Spear (qiang shu - wushu)
- Straightsword (jian shu - wushu)
- Southern Style (nan quan - wushu)
- Tai Ji (tai ji quan - wushu)
Traditional Wushu Hand Styles
- About Traditional Hand Styles (chuan tong quan)
- Drunken Style (zui quan)
- Ba Gua Zhang
- Xing Yi Quan
- Ba Ji Quan
- Fan Zi Quan
- Tong Bi Quan
- Praying Mantis (tang lang quan)
- Eagle Claw (ying quan)
- Monkey Style (hou quan)
- Crash Style (di tang quan)
Traditional Wushu Weapons
- About Traditional Weapon Styles (chuan tong wu qi)
- 3-Sectional Staff (san jie gun - wushu)
- Whipchain (jiu jie bian - wushu)
- Pu Dao
- Double Straightsword (shuang jian - wushu)
- Double Broadsword (shuang dao - wushu)
- Double Hooks (shuang gou - wushu)
- Double Whipchain (shuang bian - wushu)
- Ropedart (sheng biao - wushu)
- Monkey Staff (hou gun - wushu)

Knowledge

About Wushu
Wushu Terminology
Wushu Training Routines
Warm-Up and Stretching before Training
Short Exercises (Modern Wushu)
Wushu Rules
Short Forms and Exercises (taolu, zuhe, qibengong)

Advice

In China, everybody starts with Longfist (chang quan). The basic jumps and kicks are the very first things to be learned. Then the 5 Stances form and a form called Gui Ding Quan. After that, you choose of you want to learn Staff and Broadsword or Spear and Straightsword. It usally takes years until students are allowed to learn traditional hand styles and weapons. Even if you are not young enough to start with the acrobatic jumps used in modern wushu, you should practice the basics and know how the jumps work.
Build up flexibility first. The stretchkicks have to be practiced at least 4 times per week.
Artistic gymnastics can be very helpful for everybody who is interested in modern wushu.

Suggestions

Sanda - Wushu Kickboxing
Shuai Jiao - Chinese Wrestling
Qi Gong - Internal and External
Artistic Gymnastics - Acrobatics, Flips, Apparatus
Stretching
Weight Training
Increase Speed and Vertical Leap - Track & Field Section

Videos/Images

Wushu Video Channel