“correct”or orthodox forms of those styles. Competitors perfected the
execution of those forms according to explicit criteria.
Wushufixed not only the styles and their forms but also the overarching
conception of the martial arts. Hard and soft, or internal and external, styles
provide the larger categories for the listed martial arts. All arts are retro-
spectively mapped onto these divisions. This regularization continues
through Shaolin, Taiji, Wudang, and other arts, creating a much neater
lineage of martial arts practice than ever existed before. Indeed, further
exploration of the martial arts practiced outside these government-sponsored
institutions may actually show them to be marginal, at least with respect to
the number of practitioners of martial arts in China. With international
competitions in Wushu judged by these standards, the Chinese government’s
version of Chinese martial arts is spreading beyond its own borders.
Wushu competitions also includefighting, orSanda(散打).Sanda
allows for kicks, punches, sweeps, and takedowns, though not wrestling
on the mat. In practice, Wushufighting is similar to other striking arts,
though it appears to be even less practiced outside of China than Wushu
forms are. It is certainly a more practical combat art than Wushu forms;
competitors wear protective gloves and are divided into weight classes.
Indeed, Wushufighting does not look very different from Thai boxing,
Mixed Martial Arts, or even Western boxing. Where Wushu forms look
very Chinese in execution and present a distinctly Chinese aesthetic of
performance martial arts, Wushufighting is more generic.
Both aspects of Wushu are now struggling to become more interna-
tional in their audience and practitioners. Similar to the Chinese martial
arts of the Pure Martial School in the early twentieth century, Wushu
seems to attract followers by appearing to be an authentically Chinese
physical practice with an ancient pedigree. Chinese people, diaspora
Chinese, and non-Chinese interested in practicing Chinese physical culture
as a means to an authentically“Chinese”experience see Wushu, if not
wushu, as quintessentially and distinctly Chinese. At the same time, Wushu
seems to be suspiciously modern and competition centered. It is hard to
reconcile one of the unified national arts (Wushu)–organized and pro-
moted by the government, performed by professional athletes, taught by
professional coaches, and carried out in a sports arena–with the notion of
a profound physical culture practiced by ordinary people for self-defense
or personal development (wushu). By modernizing and regularizing wushu
into Wushu, the Chinese government has assiduously stamped out a living
tradition in the expectation of creating an active sport that promotes
Chinese culture and the idea of a strong nation.
1978 to the Present 235