Chinese martial arts are commonly known as kung fu – “skill” or “ability” – in the West; in China and other Asian countries they are more correctly known as wu-shu, or “the art of combat”. 

There are hundreds of Chinese martial arts. More often than not they can be classified as either “hard/external” styles or as “soft/internal” styles. “Hard” styles include the speedy and powerful Shaolin chuan while “soft” styles such as tai chi chuan concentrate more on internal elements such as awareness of spirit and regulation of chi, or “energy”.