Wushu (武術
or 武术) literally means "martial art". It is commonly used in China to
describe any type of martial art. Western boxing is referred to as American Wushu in China. In the west the term Kung Fu is
much more commonly used to refer to Chinese martial arts.
The word wushu consists
of two Chinese characters 武 (wu), meaning martial or military, and 術
(shu`), which translates into art, skill or method.
Together these form "wushu`"
or "martial art". To be more precise, the first character 武 (wu) is actually a combination of
two other characters: 止 (zhi) and 戈 (gē). The first means to
stop or halt something, and the latter symbolizes an ancient Chinese weapon similar to a spear (notice that the stroke symbolizing
a dagger on the side of the character 戈 is shelved).
Because of this, many consider
a more detailed translation of wushu to be "method to stop weapon" or "the art of stopping violence", more similar to the
Western term self-defence.
The act of defending
yourself self-defence. This aspect plays a major role in the philosophies that are present in many Chinese martial arts, which
emphasize that the best way to defeat an enemy is to do so without fighting, and that the easiest way to not fight is to avoid
situations that might lead to any fighting at all.
