Fun at Cross-Training

The Melbourne University Taichi and Wushu Club and WTF Taekwondo Club had their first ever Cross-Training on the 23rd and 24th of April!

23rd April 2013:        WTF TKD tries out Taichi and Wushu!

Led by our instructor Master Lily Sun, some tkd students tried out wushu and/or taichi. We began with a few stretches and then went straight into lines (image below is of lines).  For those who don't know, lines involve almost all of our wushu basics, from front kick to butterfly! These basics grow in difficulty as the lines progress. We practise these lines because, among other things, they are the foundation of the many forms we practise. Our tkd friends who were thrown into our training responded amazingly to all of the movements in lines.


Alicia, Marketing Manager:
"It was really fun to check out tai chi and wushu. It made for a good break from just doing tkd. It was interesting to see that some of the kicks were similar to tkd though the application was different. For example the outward kick, which master lily sun said is used as block in wushu, is used as an attack kick in tkd. There was some really cool stuff too! the butterfly kicks, cartwheels, and the leg sweep! Taichi was a nice change of pace as well though it definitely took more energy then expected!"

Lei, The Treasurer:
"The cross training was definitely a great experience.  It was very interesting to try a different martial art and there was a lot to be learnt. It allows us to see the combative arts from a different perspective, and teaches us to understand more about our own style. It also helps to form good relationships between our clubs and our respective members and we look forward to more events like this in the future!"

24th April 2013:        Taichi and Wushu try out WTF TKD!

Led by Sabumnim Tuan Truong, thirteen of our members tried out tkd.  Personally speaking, this was painful...who would have thought that there would be forceful contact in martial arts?  But honestly everyone in tkd was welcoming and we really enjoyed the exposure to a new way of striking and kicking. By the end of class it was evident that no one really wanted to stop training tkd. We were fortunate enough to be allowed to follow the white and yellow belts who were learning their first form and the three step sparring sequence.  After this we got to try out kicks with chest pads, this is something that is not done in our form-based wushu training and was greatly enjoyed by our visiting students.


Paul, The Treasurer:
"It was great to learn about some techniques from them that we don't learn in wushu, like roundhouse kicks."

Jia Hui, Junior Member:
"It was interesting and fun! The form we learnt focuses more on hand blocks from possible attack directions which is practical in sparring."

Ben, Taichi Instructor:
"It was good to experience being hit - we don't get that much at wushu"

 

 

Thank you so much to WTF tkd, we really enjoyed training with you guys and hopefully we will be able to do so again soon!!!

[Some more images] 

 

[Some of our members being led in the first tkd form]

 

[Some tkd members learning taichi with our taichi instructor (on the left)]

 

[Lines at wushu: Sweeps]

 

A bit of extra knowledge on our first form

We all know the first real form we learn when we join this club is called Chang Quan, people who pay attention know it's officially called Chang Quan San. San in this case stands for 3 ( 三 ). So if you think about it, if it's called number 3, surely there is more of this right? Yup.

This is part of a series of forms established in 1956 by the Chinese Wushu Federation which have been classified into 3 divisions :

1. Basic Forms 初级套路 : Name says it all, basic forms for beginners. with emphasis on all the basic stances and kicks. Along with basic motions and combos for all weapons.
2. Second Class Forms 乙组套路: 1 step up in difficulty from the basic forms.
3. First Class Forms     甲组套路: Highest level of difficulty used for competitions prior to competitions allowing competitors to choreograph their own forms.

Nowadays, while people still learn the forms from these divisions, they don't follow the order strictly anymore. Apart from the basic forms, it's difficult to determine how forms are classified into the 2 other divisions. So unless you ask someone who classified them, they may as well not exist.

Obviously apart from these modern forms, all Wushu schools teach traditional forms as well.

With Wushu being an international thing now, the International Wushu Federation ( IWF ) also periodically creates international compulsory forms. They are currently on their 3rd iteration which arrived in 2012, the update prior to that was in 2000. 

The Basic forms consist of 3 Longfist forms, and basics for all weapons in the curriculum. The Longfist forms are known as Longfist 1, Longfist 2 and Longfist 3, one being the easiest and three being the hardest. A beginner is probably wondering why we are giving him/her such a hard time by starting with #3, well, it's because we love you. 

For the curious, here is a link to a English video on all the basic forms, and a page full of them in chinese. Here's a chinese book on Longfist 3, just scroll down and you'll see pictures of how to do it from the very beginning. 

Quick note: I did my best to verify the accuracy of the information in this post, if anyone knows any better, let me know.

Basic Long Fist [Changquan san]

Hi Everyone,

This post is mainly for our juniors who are now in the midst of learning basic long fist.

As interlude from Nigel's regular blogging, we wish to give you easy access to a video on Youtube which demonstrates the basic long fist form. 

Please be reminded that this week we are only doing the first section which is up to (0.18).  Some of her actions differ slightly so please use this as a reminder of what we have done in class rather than an exact demonstration. 

We shall go over this in Friday's class once again and hopefully start the second section next week!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEllGdmG7K8

Also,  please do the palm and hook at (0.16) but avoid the strike at (0.17), for the first section we finish in the horse stance (0.18). 

WTF is Wushu?

How was everybody's Easter? I hope it was great! For me, it's mostly been lots of chocolate and soft drinks, ending with lots of regret... Luckily though, we had informal training on Friday, and it was awesome!

I recently learned that just because universities are on holiday doesn't mean I get to slack, so my apologies for not posting last week.

Since so many people have trouble explaining what Wushu is to their friends and family, even when they are working the stall during O-week *ahem*, I'll write a little about Wushu and hopefully it'll help everyone out. The history of Chinese martial arts is a long and vibrant one, some speculate it's been around for more than 4000 years. I'm too lazy to write that much, so I'll just talk briefly about modern Wushu. If I have spare time (hahahahahahaha) I'll properly update the "About: Wushu" page on the site.

A brief history of Wushu
Developed in the 1950s, it standardized the learning of martial arts in China with standard forms, teaching curriculum, and instructor grading. Because this was in the wake of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, the teaching of traditional forms was suppressed. It wasn't until the Era of Reconstruction (1976–1989) that it started to relax, and the way Wushu was taught was reevaluated. As a result of many changing sociological factors in China and the de-politicization of Chinese sport, a more market driven approach was taken and the Chinese government now promotes both traditional and modern Wushu approaches. The first Wushu World Championship was held in Beijing, China (1991). The first World Junior Wushu Championship was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2006)( I was there!!!!!). They are both held once every 2 years.

WTF is Wushu?
It's both an exhibition sport and a full-contact sport derived from traditional Chinese martial arts. Competitive Wushu has two components: Taolu (套路) and Sanda (散打 or Sanshou). Similar to the Kata in Karate, Taolu involve martial art patterns and maneuvers for which competitors are judged and given points according to specific rules. I might go as far as to say it is also quite similar to the floor event in Gymnastics. Modern barehand Wushu styles include (Links go to relevant parts of playlist linked below, except Taichi) :

1. Changquan (长拳 Long fist) : refers to long-range extended wushu styles. The most widely-seen of the wushu forms, it is difficult to perform, requiring great flexibility and athleticism.
2. Nanquan (南拳 Southern Fist) : refers to wushu styles originating in southern China. Typical characteristics of this style are very stable, low stances, powerful movements and intricate hand motions. 
3. Taijiquan (太极拳 Taichi) : This style is famous for its slow, relaxed movements. The movements are based on the traditional styles such as Yang (杨), Chen (陈), Wu (吴), Wu (武) and Sun (孙). 

All three forms are modernized versions of their respective styles. Aside from barehand styles, there are also quite a few weapon styles:

1. Dao (刀 Broadsword) 
2. Nandao (南刀 Southern Style Knife)
3. Jian (剑 Straightsword) (Bonus)
4. Taijijian (太极剑 Taichi Straightsword)
5. Gun (棍 Staff)
6. Nangun (南棍 Southern Staff)
7. Qiang (枪 Spear)

In the past, International Wushu competitions used compulsory routines. However, after the 2003 World Wushu Games it was decided that routines choreographed by the individual competitors would be the norm with the introduction of Nandu(难度 Difficulty Movements). The motivation behind the change was to help the sport progress and improve the overall quality of athletes.While there was some minor controversy surrounding the change, the outcome wasn't half bad.

The other side to Wushu that is not often seen by the general public is it's full contact component, Sanda. It is a combat sport that is influenced by Chinese boxing and contains elements of wrestling and grappling. Sanda bears some similarities with Muay Thai and Kickboxing. Sanda competitions are commonly held alongside Taolu competitions.

(Unfortunately this is an area where I have little experience with, so I apologise for the lack of further explanation)

Does anyone famous practice Wushu?

Could a sport as young as Wushu have produced any notable figures? Of course! There are some notable celebrities that were trained in Wushu such Jet Li (need I say more?), Donnie Yen (Ip Man, Shanghai Knights, Blade II) and Ray Park (Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, X-men, G.I. Joe : Rise of the Cobra). 

TL;DR : It's Chinese Martial Arts. Duhhhhhh.

Playlist: Beijing Wushu Team 2005 Demo ( I highly recommend it, its pretty entertaining and contains stuff I didn't link in here)