Black Belt Test Essay: The Impact of Wushu in Combat in the Past and Present
By: Ansh Thakkar
Six point two million people have practiced Wushu in 2021 in the United states, and that number is steadily growing (Statista Research Department 2022). Wushu, having been one of the eight contenders for martial art sports in the 2020 Olympics is gaining popularity as a performative sport (Wood 2021). However its current use in actual combat to the public view is relatively limited. This paper will look into Wushu’s usage in wars of the past, and in combat in the present.
Before going into Wushu’s usage in the past, it’s worth looking at what Wushu really is. Wushu or Kung fu is the Chinese word for martial arts. For most of this paper Wushu will refer to the style of martial arts institutionalized by the Shaolin monks, though later this paper will also consider other styles (Christensen 2016, 40). The modern section of this paper will however also consider other martial art styles.
Chinese martial arts in legend appeared over 4,000 years ago in the Xia dynasty. The famed Yellow emperor supposedly wrote some of the first treatises on martial arts. The first written references to Chinese martial arts come from the Spring and Autumn Annals which is thought to be drafted in 5th century BCE by Confucius and is currently considered one of the five classics of Chinese literature (Wilkinson 2012, 612). Many other famous books including the Tao te ching, and The Art of War from this time period also mention principles of martial arts (Padmore 2004, 77).
These are particularly notable as The Art of War led to the use of the training of citizen armies in martial arts in China (Gagliardi, n.d.). This leads to the advent of the first professional martial artists in written history who are introduced to us in the Spring and Autumn Annals as Yuenü, a swordswoman, and the old man Yuan (Selby 2006, 155-156). These martial artists later go on to become demigods in the Chinese pantheon (Gagliardi, n.d.). This history mirrors what occurs during 5th century BCE when King Wen of Zhoa is recorded by historian Zhuang Zi to train three thousand martial swordsmen (Gagliardi, n.d.).
With the advent of modern weaponry, many may think that martial arts, and other hand to hand combat has been phased out, yet this is not the case. In particular, the US Marine Corps has an entire martial arts program that takes inspiration from over 20 martial art disciplines including Kung fu, Karate, and Taekwondo. The aptly named the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP) has the motto “One mind. Any weapon.” (United States. Marine Corps 2011).
There are many similarities between this program and Kung fu. It also has colored belts followed by six degrees of Black belts with higher belts being able to instruct lower ones. It also focuses not only on physical combat but also the mental and ethical aspects as well which are often taught when learning Kung fu.
The application of this program is quite widespread within the Marines. All marines are required to be at least a tan belt requiring 27.5 hours of training. Marine infantry require up to a green belt, a cumulative training of 77.5 hours (United States. Marine Corps 2011). This requirement is justified for two reasons. One this training is essential in rare but deadly close combat situations, and two that the training also has a heavy focus on skill in both leadership and ethics. These latter skills are essential when moving up the military ladder and leading teams.
In conclusion, while to most martial arts may seem to be only a sport, its effects are far reaching in combat, both in history and in the modern day. One other thing to note is that while the combat aspect of martial arts are valuable, what really matters in modern cases is their focus on leadership and ethics.
References
Christensen, Matthew B. 2016. A Geek in China: Discovering the Land of Alibaba, Bullet Trains and Dim Sum. N.p.: Tuttle Publishing. p. 40. ISBN 978-1462918362.
Gagliardi, Gary. n.d. “The Martial Arts and Sun Tzu | Sun Tzu’s Art of War Strategy -.” Science of Strategy. Accessed May 25, 2023. https://scienceofstrategy.org/main/content/martial-arts-and-sun-tzu.
Selby, Stephen. 2006. Chinese archery. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Univ. Press pg. 155-156.
Statista Research Department. 2022. “U.S. Americans who practiced martial arts 2021.” Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/191917/participants-in-martial-arts-in-the-us-since-2006/.
United States. Marine Corps. 2011. The Marine Corps Martial Arts Program: The CompleteCombat System. N.p.: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
Wilkinson, Endymion P. 2012. Chinese History: A New Manual. N.p.: Harvard University Asia Center.
Wood, Robert. 2010. “Olympic Wushu.” Topend Sports. https://www.topendsports.com/events/summer/sports/wushu.htm.
