Traditional Wushu vs Modern Wushu

or

Kung Fu (Gongfu) vs Wushu

There is a great deal of confusion about these terms. Both "Kung Fu" and "Wushu" are terms that are used to refer to Chinese Martial arts. Typically, those who call their art Kung Fu treat the word Wushu as a reference to modern performance routines that may be beautiful but without any practical martial application. Those who refer to their art as wushu may see a difference between modern performance wushu and the more comprehensive traditional wushu. To them, the term "gongfu" refers to specific martial skills developed over time.
There are also those who practise both traditional wushu and modern wushu, and say that both require gongfu.
To be accurate, wushu means "martial art." While kung fu refers to a profound skill acquired over time. So wushu may be said to include may types of "gong" (skill). Yet those who refer to the art itself as "kung fu" or "gongfu" may claim that the pretty routines of modern wushu are watered-down versions of their martial art, and therefore are devoid of real gongfu.

At some North American tournaments, an official might be heard telling the competitors "This is a traditional kung fu division! I don't want to see any wushu here!"

Another official, with a confused expression, will turn to the first and ask, "You don't want to see any martial arts?"

Fortunately, martial artists are starting to work out the semantics. Nowadays, you will hear less about the difference between "kung fu" and "wushu." Practitioners are gradually coming to refer to them as "Traditional Wushu" and "Modern Wushu." Both are judged according to the types of skills they emphasise, and the level of gongfu the students demonstrate.

What is the real difference between traditional wushu/kungfu and modern wushu? Why do some traditional "kung fu" schools look down on wushu schools?

How did the confusion get started?

Ancient Modern Martial Arts -

Huatao Wuyi 花套武藝(s艺): (fireworks based on martial skills)

Back in the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) there was an art form called Huatao Wuyi. This art form was derived from traditional wushu and often employed martial artists who were happy to modify their routines in order to entertain the audience and make money. This is much like a graeco-roman wrestler taking up professional wrestling to make money. The traditional conditioning and acrobatic skills of the martial artists came in very handy when performing dramatic choreographed fight scenes. These performers developed training routines that were more expressive and dramatic than practical.

Chinese opera and folk dance were heavily influenced by Huatao Wuyi, just as many folk dances around the world have been influenced by the local martial arts. But the popularity of fight scenes in Chinese folk performances and opera pushed the development of Huatao Wuyi to great heights.

From an artistic and entertainment point of view, this was a great development, and it could even be argued that the athletic demands of performance were a benefit to martial artists' conditioning. But it was such a corruption of the essence and purpose of traditional wushu that military troops were prohibited from practising it, lest they begin to confuse dance with combat. To some it was called Huaquan Xiutui (花拳绣腿) or "Flower Fists and Embroidered Legs"

Huatao wuyi has persisted, in various forms, to this day.

Modern Wushu

- Xiandai Wushu 現代武術 (s现代武术) - Modern/Contemporary Wushu

After the communists took power in China, there was a period tacit acceptance of wushu, both traditional martial arts and performance arts. But during the cultural revolution (1966-1976) , the public performance of any martial art, including sanshou, shuaijiao, boxing and even weight lifting, were discouraged. The only form that martial arts could take was the huajiazi 花架子. These were pretty but fake versions that were more dance than martial art, and containing dance, gymnastic, and acting moves.

These zixuan taolu 自選(s选)套路 (freestyle optional routines) were both physically demanding for the performer and aesthetically pleasing to the audience. And because there were no apparent combat element, parent felt it was a good option for their children.

Modern wushu has become very popular around the world, and has strongly influenced eastern and western popular culture. But when the cultural revolution ended, there were few public masters of traditional wushu who were able to take challenges from the traditional schools that had left china before communism. This led to the perception that "Kung fu", as traditional wushu was often referred to in the West, was a superior fighting art to the modern wushu of communist China.

Neo Modern Wushu

But the fact that modern wushu was more popular in China, didn't mean that traditional masters were not still there. Many, like Liang Shouyu, had continued their traditional training, and after the cultural revolution they were able to start teaching again. When these masters started emigrating from China, they were able to restore the respect for the wushu of the mainland China. By the end of the 20th century, Chinese sanshou teams were starting to dominate international sanshou competition.

But there was an apparent trend emerging. Throughout the world there was a growing spit between different types of wushu schools. Some taught modern wushu as a performance art and sport. Some taught wushu for self defence, some practised the art as a sort of spiritual cultivation. Often, students would be exposed to one aspect of wushu, and learn nothing of the others. Student would seek wushu for self defence and end up learning impractical performance skills, or they would learn the performance skills and have no idea that there was a martial art behind it. And those seeking a deeper meaning were often left wondering where all that ancient wisdom and philosophy had gone.

In response to this growing dichotomy, traditional and modern wushu coaches from around the world formed the International Wushu Sanshou Dao Association with the objective of fostering a versatile martial artist who could perform the routines, demonstrate the combat skills, and understand the deeper meaning of the art.

Post Neo Modern Wushu

(aka "The Death of Wushu")

Due in part to a movement to have wushu included as an official sport in the Olympics, several changes were made to the way in which modern wushu competitions were judged.

In the past, only highly experienced masters were able to judge wushu routines, because they had the unique understanding of the art that enabled them to see aspects of a performance that younger experts could not even see. This posed a problem for the training of judges, and for the promotion of the sport to audiences who were even less well informed.

Wushu organisers started to allow extraordinary new levels of creativity in the choreography of routines, with levels of gymnastic difficulty being added to required elements. This quickly led to an increasing emphasis on gymnastic skill and acrobatic skill, and less importance on the subtleties of internal power, spirit, focus, intent, and practicality.

By the 21st century, there was a move away from standard routines to individually choreographed routines with standard elements and varying levels of difficulty. This system rewards athletic skills that can be more easily understood by judges and audiences. But it eliminates even more of the practical martial elements of the art, and in some cases changes the essence of the styles being performed.

Some of the older masters have refused to participate in this new system, while others have been more accepting of this new version of the sport, saying that it is simply a new aspect or branch of wushu to add to the others. But even with the more conciliatory masters, there has been a lot of eye rolling going on.

The type of performances that are now seen at modern wushu competitions is seen as silly and meaningless, even to non-martial artists. One point of view is that this new bureaucratic mess has turned wushu from a martial art to a mediocre kind of theatrical gymnastics.

Some blame a Chinese-style bureaucracy that has put non-martial artists in charge of wushu policy. Others blame a misguided attempt to make wushu an Olympic sport "at all costs". Others blame a political resistance to the traditional martial ethic, creativity, and independence that is historically associated with martial arts.

This deterioration of wushu in international competition has motivated several wushu federations to boycott the competitions. Several even lobbied the International Olympic Community (IOC) to NOT allow wushu as an Olympic sport in Beijing in 2008.

Modern Traditional Wushu

Of course, as with any extreme movement, there is always a backlash. Hence, the World Traditional Wushu Championships which operates much like the World Wushu Championships, except that the routines are judged according to more traditional criteria. In 2004 the 1st World Traditional Wushu Tournament was held in Zhengzhou China. The 2nd World Traditional Wushu Tournament was held in 2006 at the legendary birthplace of Chinese Wushu, the Shaolin Temple near Zhengzhou, in Henan. The four-day event attracted 2,008 athletes and coaches from 66 "countries and regions."

The problem that some might see with traditional competitions is that there is often no difference in choreography between the new traditional routines and what was considered a modern routine just a few years ago. The difference must be in the criteria for judging them. For instance, traditional taiji competitions see people doing "modern routines" that were created as International Standard Routines in the 1980's. But these routines are judged on traditional criteria. Some routines have a "modern flavour" but the choreography is traditional, unlike taiji routines with 720 aerial spin kicks landing the splits.

The performing of routines with a focus on artistic style, acrobatics, and aesthetic over combat applicability has been around for a long time. The Xiandai (contemporary wushu) 现代武术 has elements of Huatao wuyi花套 武藝(S艺) of the Ming Dynasty mixed with some modern gymnastics and dance 舞术(also pronounced wushu).

(There are other chinese words which sound very similar to wushu. Another word, wushu鼯鼠 means flying squirrel. I'm sure there is a joke in there somewhere.)