The Difference Between Ancient Martial Studies and Modern Martial Arts
After World War II, the globe used "competitive sports" to eliminate the remaining aggressive energy of the war, such as the Olympic Games. New China, to conform to the international situation, led to Chinese martial arts being swept into the category of sports, "developing" martial arts in forms such as competitions and athletics. However, the rules used in Olympic-spirit-driven competitive sports are fundamentally different from the core idea of traditional Chinese martial arts of "stopping war is Wu (martial virtue)." The two are difficult to fit together or define, leading to the current situation in Chinese martial arts where different conceptual martial arts coexist: mainly performance-oriented, competition-oriented, and folk tradition-oriented. Sports are the art of physical education, using tangible anatomy (from Western medicine) as the yardstick for judgment—muscle and body training, the art of tempering willpower. But it lacks awareness training for combat situations, so sports training does not possess combat capability.
Traditional Chinese martial studies (Gu Wu Xue) is what ancient sages researched by combining war combat techniques with ancient Chinese medicine (Daoist medicine). It has the foundation of several thousand years of Chinese culture and has its own laws of development. Traditional martial arts are not modern sports; they do not pursue high, floating, and handsome appearances, nor competitions, nor require Olympic spirit. They have our traditional moral constraints and do not need external unification and standardization. The only goal is "to defeat the enemy and win while having no rules whatsoever"—for example, on the battlefield, if the enemy has a weapon and you don't, you cannot say to the enemy, "This is unfair, let me go find a gun first, then fight you." Traditional martial arts have the foundation of several thousand years of Chinese culture and have their own laws of development.
Traditional martial arts have no forbidden rules, only moral constraints. Traditional martial arts train force, qi, intent, essence, and spirit. They emphasize individual combat effectiveness, skill and power exhibition, and the application of military wisdom. The ultimate goal of traditional martial arts is to defeat the enemy and preserve oneself, with martial virtue cultivation as the highest realm.
What is "Martial Virtue" (Wu De)?
The concept of Wu De: Wu De is the moral standard that people who practice martial arts should consciously abide by in social life. In 1987, the National Martial Arts Academic Seminar defined Wu De as "valuing martial arts and revering virtue, cultivating character and nurturing nature." The term "Wu De" first appeared in "Zuo Zhuan" (Commentary of Zuo). In "Zuo Zhuan: Xuan Gong Year 12," it says: "Wu has seven virtues: prohibiting violence, stopping weapons, protecting the great, settling accomplishments, pacifying the people, harmonizing the masses, and enriching wealth."
Wu De education, as a component of school physical education, has the value of national self-confidence and patriotic moral education with Chinese characteristics. It plays an irreplaceable role in comprehensively promoting and implementing quality education. When conducting Wu De education, it should mainly be permeated into the constraints of martial arts classroom routines, the teaching and implementation of martial arts etiquette, etc. When conducting Wu De education for students, pay attention to the following aspects:
1. Solemnly introduce and explain the content of Wu De to students.
2. Create a relaxed and harmonious classroom atmosphere so that students accept the content of Wu De.
3. Use various methods to guide students to understand the content of Wu De.