A Wushu legend and Taolu champion, Zhao Changjun was also traditionally trained in the traditional Wushu styles of Tan Tui and Chaquan (查拳 cháquán), and was an example of both a modern Wushu athlete and legitimate Chinese martial artist. But perhaps my primary source of awareness of Tan Tui, was through the example of my Wushu idol, Zhao Changjun. And in my training experience with traditional Wushu, I have had the opportunity to learn Tan Tui (弹腿; tántuǐ, Springing Leg), which brings us to the focus and topic of this write-up.Įver since my awareness of traditional Wushu first began, I have always been interested in Tan Tui. But whereas modern Wushu practice and training of Wushu for sport and competition, traditional Wushu refers to the practice of all traditional styles of Chinese martial arts that were developed and practiced throughout Chinese history. However, Wushu, in its most inclusive sense, is an umbrella term for all Chinese martial arts, and thus includes all styles of Chinese martial arts, as it semantically should. It is important to note that when I say “Wushu”, I am not just referring to modern Wushu, a standardization of Chinese martial arts for sport modern Wushu is consists solely of two competition categories, Taolu (套路; tàolù, forms), the practice of performance, and Sanshou (散手; sànshǒu), the practice of freestyle, full-contact fighting, sparring and scientific martial applications. But also, as I have also pointed out previously, when I’m not training competitively, I focus on other areas of Wushu, namely Sanshou, Taiji, and traditional Wushu. This specific edition will look at Tan Tui.Īs I may have pointed out before in my previously written write-ups, I am still in my “offseason” from competitive Wushu training.
#Wushu taolu basic training pdf series
The look at “traditional Wushu” in this series is not to be confused with the standardized competition and performance routines performed in modern Wushu Taolu, which are also called “traditional” in modern Wushu circles rather, this is specifically about the actual traditional Chinese martial arts styles themselves, and is meant to share some accurate knowledge about the traditional Chinese martial arts needed to make educated observations about these styles. Sections of each edition will be divided into background history, training, weapons, and a list of branches of the style. He knew Zhao could last over a decade in the competitive circles because of his traditional building blocks.” -Gene Ching, Kung Fu Magazine “Making the Grade”Ībstract: This is the third edition of a segment of write-ups entitled “What You Need to Know.” This series is dedicated to the promotion of better general understanding of traditional Wushu styles, by sharing information about specific styles I gain knowledge about, preferably after I have some degree of training in them. To Bai, a stronger foundation means a longer competitive career.
Bai feels that the coaches don’t care anymore. “Bai remembers the end of the ’70s when traditional training was still essential…No one trains tantui for competitive wushu anymore.