The Legend of Kung Fu

Thousands of years ago in a mysterious land called The Middle Kingdom, many legends were created. Martial arts was one of them, made famous by its name Kung Fu. In an ancient temple we encounter a little boy. Through practicing Zen Buddhism and Kungfu, our little monk eventually grows and finally reaches the sacred goal of enlightenment.

Comments to the show :The applause rocked the Red theater on August 28th 2006, more than 300 journalist representatives from different countries enjoyed Chun Yi: the Legend of KungFu at the Red Theater in Beijing during their break in the First World Press Briefing for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. One of the representatives from England said, This time, I saw real KungFu alive on stage in such dramatic way, it was amazing! Another journalist from USA highly praised the show, With its poetic drama, this is an extremely creative expression of ancient Chinese martial arts.

Chinese kungfu (Wushu)

wushu, or Martial Art, is an important component of the cultural heritage of China, with a rich content over the centuries. Literally, "Wu" means military, and "Shu" means art. Wushu therefore means the art of fighting, or martial arts. Martial training includes Ti (kicking), Da (punching), Shuai (throwing), Na (controlling), Ji (hitting), Ci (thrusting), etc. Related to each style are basic forms, or sequences, which may involve defense strategies, offense, retreat, mobility and immobility, speed and slowness, hard or soft postures, emptiness and fullness, with or without weapons.

Wushu was born and has steadily grown and attained perfection as an integral part of Chinese culture. As such it is bound to be influenced and conditioned by other forms of culture, first and foremost by philosophy, art and literature, and religion. Wushu reigns as one of the most traditional and popular national sport in China, practiced by the young and old alike.

Wushu was originally a military training method, bearing a close relationship with ancient combats. Practical skills, such as strength training, fencing, staff sparring, spear training, etc., are still used now by policemen and soldiers. Today Wushu has been organized and systematized into a formal branch of study in the performance arts and has become an athletic and aesthetic performance and competitive sport. Every movement must exhibit sensible combat application and aestheticism.

Chinese Wushu is classified into various styles according to different regions, different schools and families, as well as different fighting techniques. Routines are performed solo, paired or in groups, either barehanded or armed with traditional Chinese weaponry. Wushu can be viewed in terms of two categories, including Taolu (Forms with or without weapons) and Sanshou (Free Sparring).

Taolu is a performance of set offensive and defensive Wushu movements based on Chinese Wushu principles. It includes the following four main categories: Bare-Handed Forms, Weapon Forms, Duilian, and Group Forms.

Duilian form consists of sets of offensive and defensive movements for two or more practitioners in mock combat routines. They usually include three groups -- Bare-handed vs. Bare-handed, Weapon(s) vs. Weapon(s), and Bare-handed vs. Weapon(s). Group Forms are usually for demonstrations only and performed with or without weapons by a group of six or more persons.

Wushu's emphasis has shifted from combat to performance, and it is practiced for its method of achieving health, self-defense skills, mental discipline, recreational pursuit and competition. In 1990, Wushu was adopted as an official medal event in the Asian Games, and since then World Championships have been held with 56 nations participating. Now Wushu is vying for the Olympic Games in the 21st century.

Shaolin (kungfu) Wushu

Shaolin Wushu (Shaolin Martial Art) is one of the most influential genres of Chinese martial art, and it's named after the Shaolin Temple located in Dengfeng County, Henan Province. The monks in the Shaolin Temple began to study martial art during the Southern and Northern Dynasties and this tradition prevailed during the Sui and the Tang dynasties (581-907).

Shaolin Wushu is famous both at home and abroad as a highly effective method of self-defense and health-building. Combining both external and internal, and "hard" and "soft" exercises, Shaolin Wushu involves various methods of fighting techniques, consisting of barehanded boxing and weaponry combat. The Shaolin boxing has compactly designed routines. Its movements are quick, powerful and flexible; both practical for defense and attack.

The most outstanding characteristic of Shaolin boxing is that the practitioner works on one straight line. It means that his movements of advancing, retreating, turning around, sideways, or jumping are restrained on one line. His arms are kept slightly bent so that he can stretch out to attack or withdraw freely for self defense. Another characteristic of Shaolin Wushu is to maintain the body in perfect balance, as stable as a mountain. The practitioners should keep a tranquil mind but strike with great force and speed. He should be good at "borrowing" force from the opponent. That is, he should not meet the opponent's strikes head-on, but take advantage of the striker's force and go along with it to bring him to ward off a force of a thousand weights. The practitioner should know how to make feigned strikes and when striking, hit the vital parts of the opponent. The movements should be as dextrous as a cat, the shaking as a tiger, the moving as a dragon, the advancing as lightning and the yelling as thunder.

Shaolin Wushu is a very convenient sport, for the practice does not need a large space and is not affected by weather or the kind of weapons used.

There are many routines. External exercises include Minor Hong Boxing, Greater Hong Boxing, Old Hong Boxing, Chaoyang Boxing, Chang Boxing, Plum Blossom Boxing, Cannon Boxing, Luohan Buddha Boxing, Tongbei Boxing, Seven-star Boxing, Dragon-out-of-the-sea Boxing and Shooting-star Boxing; for internal exercises there are Xingyi Boxing and Juji Boxing. Shaolin boxing can be practiced singly or in pairs. The dual routines include: Banshou Liuhe Boxing, Yaoshou Liuhe Boxing and Kick and Strike Liuhe Boxing.

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