Martial Arts Are the Arts

Martial Arts Are the Arts

In a recent speech Meryl Streep announced that without Hollywood, “you’ll have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts, which are not the arts.” Although Streep won a well-deserved award for an outstanding acting career, the award did not confer authority to define what are “the arts.” The martial arts are called “martial arts” because they are generally recognized to be arts, even though they are not the particular arts at which Streep and Hollywood excel. Anti-martial hauteur was well-known to the ancient Taoists:

Kungfu Grappling

Kungfu Grappling

In addition to striking skills inherent to Chinese Kungfu (Punches, Elbows, Knee and Kicking Techniques), Chinese Martial Arts also include a wide of grappling (takedown and joint locking) techniques.  Two Chinese systems that emphasize and specialize in grappling techniques specifically include Shuai Jiao and Qin Na.  To better understand these two arts please read more and watch the videos!

Chinese New Year Kungfu Demo!

Chinese New Year Kungfu Demo!

CMAA was in high demand this year doing Kungfu demonstrations at several large scale Chinese New Year Celebrations. Lucas Geller and Dean Farley showcased their martial prowess performing Changquan (Longfist) and Dao (Broad Sword) at several venues, including The Egg, SUNY Albany and RPI! Please check out the link to see our performance at SUNY Albany’s Chinese Student and Scholar Association:

The Benefits of Wushu

The Benefits of Wushu

Why do people practice Wushu (Chinese Martial Arts)? Do martial arts still serve a purpose in contemporary society? As someone who’s life has been so greatly affected by the martial arts it is easy for me to say ‘Yes’. While the purpose of training martial arts has changed, the benefits remain as numerous. Ask most Chinese about the benefits of training Wushu and you will most likely hear “Qiang Shen Jian Ti”- To make the body strong and healthy. In today’s day and age, children spend their entire day sitting in a classroom focused on their academic work. When they get home they might sit and watch tv, play video games, or work on the computer.