Explore Chinese Kungfu

魯春燕

What springs to mind when you think of kungfu， also known as wushu？ Maybe the image of Shaolin monks striking fierce poses with a stern look in their eyes， or popular childrens movies like Kungfu Panda. But do they really portray the meaning of kungfu？

Recently， Laurence J. Brahm， a documentary filmmaker from the United States， explored this question in Searching for Kungfu. In the movie， Brahm embarked on a kungfu poilgrimage， traveling to cities in China and the US in search of the origin and value of kungfu.

Brahm himself is a kungfu lover who has been devoted to the practice for more than 40 years. For him， pursuing this craft was more than a pastime.

Around a decade ago， Brahm was unable to use one of his legs for about two years and had to walk with crutches and a cane. But by practicing martial arts “very， very slowly” he was able to recover step by step. Now， kungfu has become a daily routine for him and also the way he greets the day.

“Martial arts can help us connect our body， connect our neural system， connect our blood flow， can also help connect us into our environment to increase our awareness. Martial arts is moving meditation，” Brahm said.

Still others find additioanl meaning in the practice.

“Chinese kungfu is full of Chinese philosophies and core values，” Hong Kong actor Bruce Leung told Xinhua.

Nonviolence is one of these values， whch is shown both in the name and the practice. Wu， consitsts of two characters—ge， meaning “dagger-ax”， and zhi， meaning “to stop”. So， the meaning of kungfu in Chinese is the art of stopping fighting， the art of nonviolence. Kungfu artists always salute with baoquan. This lets each person know that there are no hidden weapons and shows trust.

Brahms appreciation of kungfu is clear. He sees it as “a mirror of Chinese culture”.

“The traditional values of kungfu， actually， are in the minds of all Chinese people. Why does China want to be in harmony with other nations？ Its part of the psychology of the Chinese people. Its also national psychlogy，” Brahm told Xinhua.

Brahm also believes that todays world urgently needs to restart equal exchanges between countries without stereotypes， and that culture and sports， such as kungfu， can serve as a great channel and platform.

想到功夫（武術），你會想到什么？也許是少林僧人目光炯炯的一招亮相;也許是像《功夫熊貓》這樣深受孩子們喜愛的電影。但這些真地體現了功夫的真諦嗎？

今日，美國紀錄片制作人龍安志在《尋找功夫》中探討了這一問題。在電影中，龍安志踏上功夫朝圣之旅，走訪中美城市，尋找功夫的起源與價值觀。

龍安志是個功夫愛好者，潛心修習功夫40多年。對他來說，這不僅僅是一種消遣。

大約10年前，有兩年左右的時間里，龍安志的一條腿都不能動，他不得不拄拐走路。但通過“非常非常緩慢地”練習武術，他逐步恢復。現在，功夫已經成為他日常生活的一部分，也是他迎接新一天的方式。

“武術可以幫助我們連接身體，連接神經系統，連接血流，還可以將我們連接到環境中來提高我們的意識。武術正在推動冥想。”龍安志表示。

還有些人在習武中發現了其他真諦。

“中國功夫充滿了中國哲學和核心價值觀。”中國香港演員梁小龍在接受新華社采訪時表示。

非暴力就是其中之一，體現在武術的名字和習武過程中。“武”由兩個字組成——一個是戈，指“匕首”;另一個是止，指“停止”。因此，功夫在中文里指停止（止）戰斗（戈），一種非暴力的行為藝術。習武者總行抱拳禮，這是在告訴每個人，沒有藏武器，顯現信任。

龍安志對功夫的欣賞不言而喻。他將功夫看成“中國文化的一面鏡子”。

“實際上，功夫的傳統價值觀在所有中國人心中。為什么中國要與其他國家和睦相處？這是中國人心理的一部分。這也是民族心理。”龍安志在接受新華社采訪時表示。

龍安志還認為，當今世界迫切需要恢復國家之間沒有刻板印象的平等交流，文化和體育，例如功夫，可以作為一個很好的渠道和平臺。