HumanWeaponKungFu

HumanWeaponKungFu

Journey to China, home to one of the oldest and most famous martial arts of all; Kung Fu. From Beijing to the Great Wall, our hosts will travel this vast country learning techniques from some of the greatest living masters. 

After practicing flying kicks fifteen feet in the air at a kung fu film studio and learning the brutal moves of the Chinese police, our hosts will arrive at one of the most sacred sites in all martial arts to witness the awesome feats of the Shaolin fighting monks. 

And finally one of the hosts will step into the ring to take on a true kung fu champion.


Sanshou or Sanda (free hand)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanshou


Kung Fu

Though English speakers use the term Kung Fu to refer generally to all martial arts of Chinese origin, the precise Chinese term for marital arts is wu shu. Kung fu in Chinese can be translated as work or skill. The origin of martial arts in China has been traced all the way back to around 500 A.D., when Buddhist monks began practicing qigong, or energy cultivation techniques, which they found also greatly improved their physical strength. When Manchuria took over China and began the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), martial arts were outlawed in order to prevent rebellion, though government forces continued to practice traditional hand-to-hand fighting techniques and civilians—including the monks of the legendary Shaolin Temple—kept up their practice in secret.

Revolution swept China in 1911 and the Qing dynasty fell. Over the next two decades, the history and secrets of Chinese martial arts were revealed to the public, opening up the traditional martial arts practices to greater scrutiny, as well as Western influence. Around this time, they began to be adapted to serve as a form of recreation and fitness. After the triumph of the Nationalists and the unification of China in 1928, the government moved to formalize the role of martial arts in Chinese society, requiring public schools to include martial arts in their physical education programs. The rise of the Communists after World War II continued the process of mainstreaming martial arts, as many of the religious elements were removed and individual or choreographed demonstrations were emphasized. Since 1979, when China began to open more to the outside world, private martial arts associations and training centers have sought to return to more traditional forms of practice.

Kung Fu encompasses hundreds of fighting styles indigenous to China,