The Wushu Club at UCSD practices contemporary Chinese wushu, an exhibition martial art developed after 1949 in the People’s Republic of China based on traditional Chinese martial arts. Wushu performances and competition are based on routines, called forms (taolu), in various events representing different styles and types of weapons used in traditional Chinese martial arts. The two main styles in c
ontemporary wushu taolu are long fist (changquan) and southern fist (nanquan). Long fist in contemporary wushu is primarily a long range combative style emphasizing fully extended strikes, a balance of hand and foot techniques, and the inclusion of many acrobatic techniques. Southern fist, in contrast, has more focus on low, grounded stances and movements, a greater emphasis on hand techniques, and fast transitions between movements. Both long fist and southern fist have weapons unique to each style, including broadsword (dao), straightsword (jian), spear (qiang), and staff (gun) for long fist and southern sword (nandao) and southern staff (nangun) for southern fist. Since its founding by Robin Lo in 2002, the primary purpose of the Wushu Club at UCSD is to provide club members with the opportunity to be introduced to and learn wushu in a friendly and safe environment. The club has had a long tradition of having more experienced members, in addition to the formal coaches, help train newer members. One of the main goals our training is to prepare members for both performances at UC San Diego to spread awareness of wushu as well as to participate in intercollegiate competitions, such as the annual UC Berkeley Chinese Martial Arts Tournament. Towards this goal, practices emphasize mastering the fundamental movements of wushu, learning forms for competition, and conditioning exercises to build speed, strength, stamina, and flexibility. Practices are held through UCSD Recreation Classes.
