It integrates concepts and forms from various traditional and modern Chinese martial arts, including Shaolin kung fu, tai chi, and Wudangquan.

[8] The earliest term for 'Martial Arts', which can be found in the Han History (206BC-23CE), was "Military Fighting Techniques" (兵技巧; bīng jìqiǎo).

The word Wǔ (武) means "Martial" and is composed of two parts: “walk” or “stop” (止; zhǐ) and “lance” (戈; gē).

The term wushu being used for 'martial arts' goes back as far as the Liang Dynasty (502–557) in an anthology compiled by Xiao Tong (蕭通), (Prince Zhaoming; 昭明太子 d. 531), called "Selected Literature" (文選; Wénxuǎn).

The term is found in the second verse of a poem by Yan Yanzhi titled: Huang Taizi Shidian Hui Zuoshi (皇太子釋奠會作詩).The great man grows the many myriad things .

[9] This was part of an over-arching social, cultural and political movement lead by that Party, to modernize China as it saw fit.

The Chinese State Commission for Physical Culture and Sports led the creation of standardized forms for most of the major arts.

During this period, a national wushu system that included standard forms, teaching curriculum, and instructor grading was established.

This new system sought to incorporate common elements from many styles and forms as well as the general ideas associated with Chinese martial arts.

[10] Stylistic concepts such as hard, soft, internal, and external, as well as classifications based on schools such as Shaolin, tai chi, Wudangquan, and others were all integrated into one system.

In 1979, China's State Commission for Physical Culture and Sports created a special task force for teaching and practice of Wushu.

[15] Only the age group C and B athletes at the World Junior Wushu Championships still compete with compulsory routines at an international level.

Sanda is a fighting method, sport, and applicable component of wushu/kung fu influenced by traditional Chinese boxing, of which takedowns and throws are legal in competition, as well as all other sorts of striking (use of arms and legs).

Sanda represents the modern development of lei tai contests but with rules in place to reduce the chance of serious injury.

For safety reasons, some techniques from the self-defense form such as elbow strikes, chokes, and joint locks, are not allowed during tournaments.

Although it is less common, some sanda practitioners have also fought in publicly viewed American Mixed Martial Arts competitions.

However, it failed to reach the final shortlist, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) ultimately voted for the re-inclusion of wrestling instead.

[citation needed] In March 2015, IWUF executive vice president Anthony Goh stated that the Federation was planning to propose wushu again for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

It has been criticized by some traditional martial artists for being too commercialized, losing many of its original values, and potentially threatening old styles of teaching.