August 1999

Volume 1 Issue 9

The "art of kicking and punching.  Tae Kwon Do is a native Korean form of fighting that embraces kicking, punching, jumping, blocking, dodging and parrying.  It is a system for training both the mind and body with an emphasis on the development of moral character.  It is a combination of the "hyung" (patterns) of its ancestral combative arts, taekyon and subak, and kata (formal exercises of the Okinawan Shuri and the Naha schools of karate). This system incorporates the abrupt linear movements of karate and the flowing, circular patterns of kung-fu with native kicking techniques.  Hand techniques though were originally very weak or non-existent!

Wu shu is the proper name for that which is usually called kung-fu in the western hemisphere.   The latter term denotes little more than ability or skill.  The People's Republic of China has formally adopted the term wu shu as the official name for martial arts on the Chinese mainland.  Wu Shu today is composed of basic offensive and defensive movements executed either bare-handed or with weapons according to set patterns.  Wu Shu is taught at all physical culture institutes and a number of middle and primary schools in China.  Some forms of Wu Shu are:  Ba Ji, Di Tang, Fan Zi, NanCh'uan, Tung Bi and Xing Yi.  They each have their own unique peculiarities.

This  Issue...

1.  Student of the month             4.  Recent promotions
2.   Point of Strategy
3.  Historical Perspectives