Wudang Martial Arts , or Wudang Wushu as it is also known, ?is one of the key schools of Chinese martial arts. It shares an established history in China and is also becoming popular in the modern world.

What is the history of Wudang martial arts?

Wudang martial arts are greatly related to the Chinese native religion - Taoism. It originated in Wudang Mountain in Junxian County of Hubei Province during the Ming Dynasty. Wudang Mountain is one of the four famous Taoist mountains in China. According to legend, the great Emperor Zhenwu cultivated himself and became a real Taoist master, hence the saying of "It is only emperor Zhenwu who really deserves it", after which "Wudang (meaning the same as the saying in Chinese) Mountain" is named.

With a long history, Wudang Wushu is broad and profound. It is said that Zhang Sanfeng, a Taoist who lived in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) created Wudang martial arts and has been honored as the founder of Wudang School. By ingeniously combining the essence of I Ching and Tao Te Ching with wushu, Zhang Sanfeng created Wudang Wushu with important bodybuilding and health keeping values.

The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) saw the formal popularity of Wudang Kungfu. In order to promote Wudang Taoism all over China, Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty assembled 300,000 civilian workers to build 33 Taoist complexes in Mt. Wudang which took them 13 years to finish the whole construction.

After continuous innovation, improvement and enrichment by Wushu masters of later dynasties, Wudang martial arts became a major school of Chinese martial arts. It has long been honored as the most authoritative kungfu in the south alongside Shaolin and the most authoritative wushu in the north.

The basic Wudang martial arts spirit is to value martial arts while at the same time upholding virtue; this has been advocated by martial arts performers from generation to generation. Chinese martial arts are just like a knowledgeable teacher from whom people can learn a lot in order to survive in this complicated world. Therefore, currently Wudang Wushu has been introduced overseas, becoming a sport activity for health preserving, disease curing and life prolonging.

Wudang Wushu embodies distinctive Taoist culture and is a natural combination of Wushu and regimen, profound in both traditional wushu culture and scientific theory. In line with the concept of internal cultivation and external exercising that integrates physical with psychological training,
Wudang martial arts emphasize the strengthening of bones and muscles and internal cultivation, and encourages the use of softness to conquer the unyielding. It doesn't advocate attack but at the same time it is hard to defeat.

Wudang Chuan or Wudang Boxing, meaning soft, internal martial arts, is aimed at health preserving and a means of self defense. Wudang Chuan values martial spirit rather than strength, focusing on the principle of “l(fā)evering a ton of weight with four ounces of force” and “l(fā)etting flexibility control hardness”. Meanwhile, Wudang Chuan is more for defense than attack, as its functions and features also include prolonging life, helping cure and prevent diseases and boosting intelligence.

The Wudang monasteries figure prominently in Chinese martial arts films, especially the genre known as wuxia film and popular literature. An ending scene of the famous movie Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon by Taiwanese director Ang Lee was set at the Wudang monastery, although not actually filmed there. In some wuxia films, characters employing Wudang martial arts are featured as Shaolin's competitors.In many martial arts movies, however, actors portraying Wudang practitioners are also found in heroic or neutral supporting roles. The American hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan named themselves in reference to Wudang features films.