In 1979, the State Commission for Physical Culture and Sports created a special task force to teaching and practice of Wushu.

The push for standardization continued leading to widespread adaptation. Wushu became the government sponsored standard for the training in martial arts in China. Stylistic concepts such as hard, soft, internal, external, as well as classifications based on schools such as Shaolin, Taiji, Wudang and others were all integrated into one system. This new system seeks to incorporate common elements from all styles and forms as well as the general ideas associated with Chinese martial arts. Wushu was introduced at both the high school and university level. During this period, a national Wushu system that included standard forms, teaching curriculum, and instructor grading was established. The Chinese State Commission for Physical Culture and Sports took the lead in creating standardized forms for most of the major arts. In 1958, the Chinese Government established the All-China Wushu Association as an umbrella organization to regulate martial arts training. Modern wushu competitors are increasingly training in aerial techniques such as 540-, 720-, and even 900-degree jumps and kicks to add more difficulty and style to their forms.

Competitive forms have time limits that can range from 1 minute, 20 seconds for some external styles to over five minutes for internal styles. The forms comprise basic movements (stances, kicks, punches, balances, jumps, sweeps and throws) based on aggregate categories of traditional Chinese martial art styles and can be changed for competitions to highlight one’s strengths.

Taolu involves martial art patterns and maneuvers for which competitors are judged and given points according to specific rules. In contemporary times, wushu has become an international sport through the International Wushu Federation (IWUF), which holds the World Wushu Championships every two years the first World Championships were held in 1991 in Beijing and won by Yuan Wen Qing.Ĭompetitive wushu is composed of two disciplines: taolu (套路 forms) and sanda (散打 sparring). The term wushu is Chinese for “martial arts” (武 “Wu” = military or martial, 术 “Shu” = art). It was developed in China after 1949, in an effort to standardize the practice of traditional Chinese martial arts, although attempts to structure the various decentralized martial arts traditions date back earlier, when the Central Guoshu Institute was established at Nanking in 1928. Wushu (simplified Chinese: 武术 traditional Chinese: 武術) is both an exhibition and a full-contact sport derived from traditional Chinese martial arts.

Wushu techniques