Wushu Front Sweep

In this lesson, you will learn how to do a Wushu front sweep. In Chinese, this is called "Qian Sao." The front sweep is one of the most basic Wushu skills, and you should practice it at least 2 or 3 times a week.

A full Wushu front sweep is 540 degrees:

• 180 degrees of an initial turn (used to create momentum and balance),
• plus a 360° twist on the ball of the left foot.

In Wushu competitions, a 540 front sweep without using hands scores as much as a no-handed cartwheel or a flying Wushu front kick. If your hands touch the floor, the sweep doesn't count at all. A 900 front sweep scores as much as a Wushu whirlwind kick 540. You can find more Wushu techniques at the Wushu main page.

Execution

Before performing the actual Wushu front sweep, you always start with a smash punch. For detailed instructions on the smash punch, check the smash punch tutorial under Wushu, Longfist.

Note: I’ve slightly modified the movement after the smash punch to make it easier to practice. The real movement is a bit different (see video). If you want to use the original version, skip the next bullet point.

• Wait a second or two and look straight ahead.
• Step back with your left leg, as shown above.
• At the same time, extend your left arm in front of you, and pull your right fist to your hip.
  • The left hand should be open (a palm), with fingers pointing up.
  • Keep your upper body vertical and avoid standing up while stepping back.
  • Your head must stay at the same height.

Now:

• Open your right fist and extend the right arm behind your back, so your left and right arms form a horizontal line.
• From this point on, your upper body must stay perfectly vertical, and your arms should only move in the horizontal plane. This helps balance the initial turn.

Begin swinging your extended arms in a horizontal line until they align with your chest. Then lock your shoulders. From here on, the trunk, arms, and head move as one unit. Move backward simultaneously and place your left heel down—this and the next two stages make up the initial turn of the front sweep.

The purpose of the initial turn is to create momentum for the actual twist/sweep on the ball of the left foot.

Important:

• During the initial turn, you place your heel down, then turn on the heel, and finally shift to the ball of the foot again.
• After that, the actual sweep begins.
• Make sure you learn to balance the initial turn properly.

Keep your arms wide open and your upper body vertical. If you mess up the initial turn, the Wushu front sweep won’t work. If you're a beginner, I recommend practicing only the smash punch and the turn (without the sweep) for a while.

Continuing the Movement

As mentioned, your arms, trunk, and head move together. Now:

• Turn your hips and maintain balance with your arms (trunk stays vertical).
• Watch the left foot: now the toes are raised and you're twisting on the heel.

You're still in the initial turning phase. Now your right foot starts moving.
Important:

• The toes of the right foot must point in the direction of the sweep, like an arrow.
• The center of rotation should align with your left foot and spine.
• If slightly off, you can still adjust your position during the next 180 degrees—that’s the purpose of the initial turn!

Sweep 180 degrees and step from the right heel onto the ball of the right foot. The trunk, head, arms, and right leg move together as one unit.

The Actual Sweep

Now the actual Wushu sweep begins (end of the initial turn). At this point:

• Lock your entire body.
• Let go and rotate on the ball of your left foot.
• The center of rotation should run through your spine and left foot.
• Keep your head high and gaze horizontal.

If the initial turn was correct, you'll easily sweep around once or twice. If your right leg gets stuck, or you fall backward or slip, you likely didn’t keep your upper body vertical during the initial turn. Keep practicing the turn!

To speed up the sweep:

• Close your hands in front of your chest.
• Your arms help balance the rotation.
• Keep your gaze horizontal.
• Keep your right leg fully extended.
• Stand up slightly as you rotate, and bring your hands closer to your chest.
• Avoid relaxing the left leg—doing so can cause you to round your back.

Beginners often place their hands on the floor, which leads to:

• A bent back
• A sweep with a non-vertical upper body
• Slower progress learning the front sweep without hands

If you already learned it with hands, consider starting over and focusing on the initial turn. However, if you’ve decided to use your hands:

• After the initial turn, put your hands down instead of closing them.
• That way, at least your practice of the turn wasn’t wasted.

Note: A front sweep with hands doesn't score in most Wushu competitions.

To stop the sweep, lean slightly forward and/or open your arms.

Ending the Sweep

A normal Wushu front sweep ends with a 180° turn plus a 360° twist → Wushu Front Sweep 540.

There are different ways to finish. Most common is the flat stance ("Pu Bu"), but you can also end in a bow stance or a rest stance. In the example above, the ending is a popular flat stance:

• Turn your upper body and open your arms as shown.
• Right arm up, left arm extended behind your back (like a low Wushu bow stance).
• Then turn back quickly into a flat stance, with both heels on the floor:
  • Right hand: Hook behind the back
  • Left hand: Palm facing up
  • Both elbows and the left knee extended
  • Flip your hands at the same time to lock in the end position

Advice

At first, only practice the initial turn without doing the full sweep.

If you want to learn the Wushu Front Sweep 900, check out the video tutorials.

Summary:

For the 900 front sweep:

• Keep your arms open during the first rotation, and close them before or during the second rotation.
• Alternatively, you can do it like a 540 sweep and close your arms before the first rotation.
• You need to apply pressure through your left leg to increase grip and control.
• As your sweeping leg draws closer, your rotation speed increases.
• If you manage to balance on one leg and keep your spine aligned, even 4–5 rotations are possible.

I tried that with ballet shoes on a slippery floor—if you fall, you fall hard! 😉
By the way, the higher you stand during the sweep, the less it will resemble a Wushu front sweep.

Suggestions

• Wushu Front Stretchkick Stretch
• Crouched Wushu Stretch
• Artistic Gymnastics

Videos / Images

• Wushu Front Sweep with Hands – Qian Sao
• Wushu Front Sweep 540 without Hands – Qian Sao
• Double Wushu Front Sweep – Qian Sao 900
• Front Sweep Practice in a Wushu Class