The
Legend of Kung Fu
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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.
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| 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. |
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Chinese
kungfu (Wushu)
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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). |
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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
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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).
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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. |
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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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