What are the advantages of doing wushu (kung fu) or tai chi chuan or wing chun?

wushu, has become more of a competitive sport over the years, similar to tkd.. you can still find remnants of the traditional styles that have been watered down to accommidate contemporary students, and with wushu what you learn is contemporary.. there are very little if any sifus that still teach classic wushu, that used to be more combative, but you'd really have to search and research the lineage and skill of the instructor..


don't get me wrong it's a beautiful art form with theatrical feats of acrobatics and is a very diciplined art, but art is all it has become..





i myself am a yang taijiquan practicioner. and understanding what the guys are saying in that taiji has also become a contemporary martial art, being taught by holistic instructors as a meditative form, for health only, not knowing the very art that they are so pompously claiming to know and teach..





taijiquan is by all accounts one of the oldest martial arts in exsistance today.. and with the right instruction can also be one of the most brutal martial arts in exsistance today.. sadly there are only a few that teach it as such..





taiji is 70% shuay jiao (chinese grappling) and chin'na (joint locks and manipulations [not grappling]). it was used in china as a combative art in battles.





every movement in taiji is a kick, strike, lock, or throw.. each movement has all four possibilities otherwise it's not really taiji..





the grappling is more of a throwing, not throwing away, like aikido, but throwing downward - "my sifu says of shuay jiao, 'if i'm going to hit someone, why not hit them with the hardest thing i can find, and that's the earth!'"





you also gain the benefits of the healing aspects of taiji, which lowers blood pressure, reduces stress, fights osteo-arthritis, massages the joints and internal organs, opens the merrideans so that your body detoxifies and energy channels are cleared, extending your life so that you have longer to perfect your taiji!





but again, you have to find an authentic sifu who has learned and teaches taijiquan as a martial art.. and i can't stress it enough, again, do your research, there are tons of 'contemporary' taiji instructors who don't have a clue, who've learned the form at a three day seminar and were certified by another poser...!!!





wing chun is also a wonderful art, and is actually the basis of bruce lee's art jkd.. wing chun is a trapping art, close quarters you learn to distroy the line of attack, trap the attack and lock/break etc. said limb.. it's a fast art beautifully executed by skilled practitioners, with few high kicks, but it does contain kicks.. the advantages are speed, sensitivity and knowledge of limb manipulations. i've never trained in wing chun, but i do do jkd trapping..





well, that's what i know, i hope this helps!





~*good luck*~

What are the advantages of doing wushu (kung fu) or tai chi chuan or wing chun?
thanx for the 10! Report It

Reply:I don't like you generalizing on wushu, but you are right on one point. In order to fight with wushu, you need a teacher that teaches wushu for fighting and not the typical dancing artsy crap. Report It

Reply:Balance.... Harmony.... exercise...








Do you learn to fight? Doubtful.... Do I consider Tai Chi Chuan to be the mother of martial arts.... yes.... does that mean I would rather train that than MT or another striking art for self defence... hell no.





Wu Shu is all about show... kind of like TKD.
Reply:None.





Do kyokushin and jujitsu instead, with Thai kickboxing thrown in.
Reply:There is no advantage or disadvantage. It depends on purpose and how much effort you're planning. If you want to learn to fight than avoid any offshoot style such as meditational tai chi or tae bo otherwise go for those. If you want to see results and increase your fighting ability fast as possible then I suggest karate, jujutsu, tae kwondo, and other japanese martial arts, but I warn you that you already have to be in pretty good shape. If you have time or are in less than good shape than I suggest wushu such as combat taichi(I repeat combat taichi ,not American taichi. Look for Yang style or Chen style) and wing-chun because you have to train for a long time in the basics to attain physical health and ability to fight. It may take as long as 3 years to even begin to have fighting ability, but you get to set a routine and pace suitable to you. If you are in very good shape and want to put effort, concentration, and time then you can learn shaolin styles, hung gar, and other hard style kungfu. It all depends on your preferences, dedication, and time.
Reply:broad corriculum... including chi'na (grapple) and dim mak (pressure points) ofcoarse there are many types and some expectantly better than others and some just for sports compatition
Reply:ok here is the thing about wushu. It not really that great unless your like the best guy in the world. They are the only one how can actualy apply the stuff in ways that are valid. It's an insanely hard art to get down and I really dont thing it's practicle. You could study your whole life in wushu and never get to that level where you can actualy apply it. Try some traditional kung fu. It's more real and teaches you better techniques. While wushu does have an abstract concept helping it out. My instructor teaches us bits and peices of wushu as we get into the higher levels as thats the only time we will really be good enough to use it anyways.





O ya and as I've told others I only recomend tai chi as an add on to a martial art
Reply:These styles are excellent for getting to know yourself by meditation and the training involved.
Reply:Check out www.KrackedSkullz.com and tell me.


Chuck is in his 50's and still having a blast.
Reply:they are much much more developed martial arts so insted of summinc farely 'recent' like ju jitsu which some say is about 200yrs old whereas kung fu styles have been around for thouhsands of year. also insted of it being quite ridgid e.g. karate, kung fu is much more flowing and sophisticated





guy below your jus a ponse who dunno wot hes on about nd thinks mma is the best thing since sliced bread probably
Reply:1- none if the styles aren't trained properly.





especially since wing chun and tai chi are "kung fu".





2- the best of them will be the one that trains with resistance and in a realistic manner.





3- wushu is generally considered a style that is a "performance art".





EDIT: 4- just because something has been around for thousands of years doesn't make it good- actually the opposite.





If it hasn't been advanced upon it is obsolete. would you use a computer from the 1980's?





Better yet, flint knives and weapons produced by precussion flaking have been around since the early paleolithic (millions of years old). As well as the combat styles that were used with them. Does this mean we should trade in our guns for weapons made of flaked stone?