Essentials of Chinese Wushu
By Wu Bin and Yu Gongbao
Paperback, English
Foreign Languages Press, Beijing, 1995

Wushu (also known as kung-fu or martial arts) is one of the typical demonstrations of traditional Chinese culture. It is a sport which utilizes both brawn and brain.

Wushu is not only a sporting exercise but also an artistic form. It is used to cure illness as well as for self-defense and is a comprehensive form of culture of the human body.

The authors give a simple and clear introduction to the history and characteristic features of Chinese Wushu; its health-keeping effects and entertaining value, various schools and styles of Chinese boxing, and weapons, and Chinese Wushu's morality, etiquette and competition rules.
This book also introduces over 30 different schools of Chinese boxing and almost the same number of apparatus, including short apparatus, long apparatus, hard apparatus, soft apparatus and hidden weapons used in ancient China.
Included in this book are some 70 pictures, from which readers can vividly see graceful postures of various kinds of Chinese boxing and Wushu apparatus.

Contents

1. General Description
2. Content and Classification
3. Schools of Chinese Boxing
4. Weapons
5. Martial Ethics and Etiquette
6. Competitions

About authors: Wu Bin, President of the Technical Committee of the Wushu Federation of Asia and Director of Teaching and Research Section of the Wushu Research Institute of China, Li Xingdong, Wushu researcher, and Yu Gongbao, Qigong researcher.