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History of Wushu - IWUF

The origins of wushu can be traced back to early humans' struggle for survival thousands of years ago, where techniques were developed to defend against animals and other humans. During ancient Chinese dynasties, wushu evolved specialized armed and unarmed combat methods. In 495 AD, Shaolin Temple was built and monks there combined martial arts and zen Buddhism. During the Qing Dynasty, wushu was mainly practiced by common people and new styles emerged focusing on health and philosophy in addition to martial skills. In the 20th century, wushu competitions and organizations helped promote it as a sport. The International Wushu Federation was officially founded in 1990 to standardize and promote wushu internationally.

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Stanislav Ozzy Petrov
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294 views5 pages

History of Wushu - IWUF

The origins of wushu can be traced back to early humans' struggle for survival thousands of years ago, where techniques were developed to defend against animals and other humans. During ancient Chinese dynasties, wushu evolved specialized armed and unarmed combat methods. In 495 AD, Shaolin Temple was built and monks there combined martial arts and zen Buddhism. During the Qing Dynasty, wushu was mainly practiced by common people and new styles emerged focusing on health and philosophy in addition to martial skills. In the 20th century, wushu competitions and organizations helped promote it as a sport. The International Wushu Federation was officially founded in 1990 to standardize and promote wushu internationally.

Uploaded by

Stanislav Ozzy Petrov
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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org/history-of-wushu/

iwuf.org

History of Wushu - IWUF


3-4 minutos

History of Wushu

The origins of wushu may be traced back to early man and his
struggle for survival in the harsh environment during Bronze Age
(3000-1200 BC), or even earlier, a struggle that led to the
development of techniques to defend against both wild animals and
other human beings. The application of weapons eventually came
to form the roots of wushu’s weapon-based techniques, and
contests of strength and technique (such as jiaodi, an early
Chinese form of wrestling) enhanced the development of barehand
combat systems.

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From the Shang Dynasty (approx.1556-1046 BC) through Warring


States period (481-221 BC) wushu further evolved specialized
armed and unarmed combat methods, and sophisticated weapons
for warfare began to emerge. During these times, wushu also
became popular among the common people as a means of self-
defense and health improvement, as well as entertainment; ancient
Chinese philosophy famously espoused the culturing of both literary
and martial arts (“wen wu”).

Fast-forward to 495 A.D when the Shaolin Temple, long-recognized


internationally as a touchstone of certain styles of Chinese wushu,
was erected on Song Shan Mountain for the monk Batuo, whose
students enjoyed practicing wushu-type exercises in their spare
time. Later generations of monks combined chan (Zen) and quan
(martial arts) into what is famously known today as Shaolin Quan
(Shaolin Wushu).

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During the later part of the Qing Dynasty (1644 -1911 AD), military
“cold” weapons’ use began to diminish as the use of firearms
gradually increased among soldiers. Wushu came to be practiced
mainly by the common people, and martial techniques and
practices started to be combined with theoretical and philosophical
ideas popular amongst the common folk, resulting in hundreds of
styles like Xingyi Quan, Bagua Zhang and Taiji Quan emerging.
While primarily rooted in martial applications, these styles also
placed importance on health and moral principles.

In the early 20th century the establishment of organizations like the


Shanghai Jing Wu Physical Culture Society paved the way for

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wushu’s development into the realm of popular sport. Public


performances, training, and competitions became common, further
promoting wushu’s practice.

In 1923 the Chinese National Wushu Games were held in


Shanghai, and in 1936 a Chinese wushu delegation performed a
demonstration at the XI Olympic Games held in Berlin. Wushu
continued to develop through the Republican Era and after the
founding of the People’s Republic of China. Wushu competition
formats and rules were implemented, and teaching methods and
materials were standardized, and in 1985 the first International
Invitational Wushu Tournament was held in Xi’an, China, and the
preparatory committee for the International Wushu Federation
(IWUF) was formed. On October 3rd, 1990 the IWUF was officially
founded.

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