Disciplines
In Helsingin Wushu you can practice traditional Chinese sports, such as wushu kungfu, taiji and health qigong.
Skill, strength and good health
Chinese martial arts are commonly called wushu, which means “skill of war” in Chinese. The disciplines consist of a variety of combat techniques, but both the inner and outer exercise are considered as equally essential parts of the training. Today wushu is practiced in hundreds of different forms that have deep roots in China. In Helsingin Wushu you can practice the challenging yet stunning wushu kungfu, peaceful and powerful taiji, and purely health-focused qigong.
The sports and training
Some of the most common training methods of wushu sports are routines and combat – taolu and sanshou. The disciplines include several different boxing styles, such as shaolinquan, changquan, nanquan, taijiquan, xingyiquan and baguazhang. Wushu is also practiced with different types of weapons, like sword, broadsword, spear and staff.
The history of wushu
In ancient China wushu was not only a way of self defence and exercising, the sport was also a part of the military entrance examinations ever since the times of the Tang dynasty (600 CE). Already in the times of the Song dynasty (960-1276 CE) wushu also became a competitive sport. Wushu is nowadays still practiced for self defence and exercising purposes, but it has also remained as a popular competitive sport. After the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, wushu was declared as one of the national sports of the country. Today there are thousands of professional wushu athletes, coaches and researchers in China and around the world.
