The Wushu Dan System

Red, blue, orange, green, white, yellow, brown, black - the many colours of the belt systems in Karate or Taekwondo had always been quite confusing for practitioners of Kungfu. In contrast to their Japanese and Korean martial arts brethren the rite of passage for a student of Chinese Wushu was simple: He was a student and always remained one before his master. Yet, after years of hard training - a training which the Chinese call "eating bitterness" (chi ku) - a student could become a master himself.

Although the sometimes humiliating and very character-forming training convinced many Wushu afficionados that staying a student was justified, there also were others who jealously peeked over to their martial arts colleagues and wondered why Wushu did not know different grades for different levels of training.

Since 1998, however, Wushu pracitioners don't have to peek over to the competition anymore for Wushu got its own grade system that year. The examination sytem founded by the Chinese Wushu Association, the National Sports Commission and the Chinese Wushu Research Institute consists of the following nine Dan levels:

1st to 3rd Dan (blue eagle symbol), the so-called basic level dans for Wushu students with several years of experience. This Dan category equals the level of other martial arts styles' belt examinations.
4th to 6th Dan (silver tiger symbol), the so-called midlevel dans for Wushu practitioners who already teach students and who have been training Wushu for at least ten years on a continuous basis. Starting with the 5th Dan applicants also have to prove that they are doing scientific Wushu research, for instance by publishing articles or books.
7th to 9th Dan (golden dragon symbol), the so-called highlevel Dans only given to highly experienced teachers, respectively masters, for outstanding achievements. Starting with the 7th Dan a teacher is allowed to call himself "Grandmaster".

But make no mistake - the term "Dan" in no way means that this examination system is borrowed from Karate, Takewondo or any other martial arts style. Instead of using the similar sounding Chinese word "duan" (which means "level" or "grade") Chinese sports authorities just opted for the better known term "Dan" in order to make international comparisons easier. But Chinese martial arts once indeed had their very own examination system.

The Chinese Wushu Encyclopedia (Zhongguo Wushu Baike Quanshu) proves that in the past there have been several systems, as for instance in 702 A. D. During the Tang dynasty and the reign of Emperess Wu Zetian the examination system for Chinese martial arts consisted of three different master levels. If a martial artist passed all exams and if he also showed high moral values, he was allowed to become a supreme Grandmaster. Yet, this highest title of all was only confered to truly outstanding masters.

In the course of the following centuries the Wushu examination system underwent some changes, yet its basic structure remained the same until the Qing dynasty (1644 - 1912). Martial artists could take an exam every three years. Corresponding to their abilities certain titles were given out which varied according to time and region. For instance there were such titles as "Wuxiucai" (an academic title for the best martial artists of a district), "Wujuren" (an academic title for the best martial artists of a province) or "Wuzhuang yuan" (the highest title for martial artists who could then act as consultants for the Imperial martial arts examinations). With the foundation of the People's Republic of China in 1949, however, no more martial arts titles were confered due to political-ideological reasons.

But at the beginning of the 21th century China was confronted with the fact that Kungfu and Taiji Quan became increasingly popular in the West. This, of course, can be attributed to such famous martial artists like Bruce Lee, Jet Li or Jackie Chan. Not only did they become celebrated movie stars all around the world but they also introduced Chinese martial arts to the broader public in such an impressive manner that more and more Westerners started taking up Wushu. And there also was the fact that at the beginning of the 90's the West discovered a new way of thinking. Asian life philosophies suddenly were en vogue. Stressed-out Westerners not only discovered Wushu as a perfect way to keep fit but also as a healing therapy for the mind. In a world where fast money ruled and moral values were ever decreasing Wushu meant a return to traditional values according to which cultivating body and mind and working on one's personality took center stage. Yet, many Kungfu practitioners who took part in competitions on a regular basis wondered why Chinese Wushu did not have a grade system like so many other Asian martial arts.

So in the course of time the Wushu community demanded a new examination system and the Chinese sports authorities finally gave into that demands in order to promote Chinese martial arts on both a national and an international level. The new examination system is supposed to give Wushu practitioners an opportunity to systematically improve their techniques and their theoretical knowledge, to compete with others on the same level and to better evaluate their abilities in that process. As a result, the increased motivation of Wushu practitioners to improve their knowledge regarding applications, theory and ethics is - together with an enhanced exchange of experiences on a global scale - supposed to ensure that the different styles and techniques will preserve their characteristics and their legendary Wushu spirit. Furthermore, Chinese authorities strive to structure the complex contents of Wushu more clearly and promote research regarding the theory of Wushu. The latter will be supported - apart from regularly held Wushu conventions - by the fact that since 1997 Wushu graduate students at Chinese universities can now also attain a doctorate in Wushu.

Finally, Chinese sports authorities also wish and strive for Wushu becoming an Olympic discipline. To reach this goal, however, Dan examinations will have to be held worldwide. The first step on this way was made in June 1998 by holding a Dan examination in Beijing where 111 Wushu masters were confered a highlevel Dan. Therefore in 1998 China had a total of three Grandmaster of the 9th and highest Dan in Wushu (that is Cai Longyun, Zhang Wenguang and He Fushen), 26 Grandmaster of the 8th Dan und 82 Grandmasters of the 7th Dan. And in 2003 there are already 10 Grandmasters of the 9th Dan, 699 Grandmasters of the 8th Dan and 609 Grandmasters of the 7th Dan.

The official representatives of the Chinese Wushu Association in Europe and your contact for questions regarding the Dan examinations are Mr. Sun Jianguo (7th Dan) in Munich/Germany, Mr. Sun Genfa (7th Dan) in Lyon/France and Mr. Zhu Shaofan (6th Dan) in St. Gallen/Switzerland.

Since 2003 Dan examinations are held in Beijing as well as in Shanghai. For more information see www.wushu.com