What Is Wushu Combatives? Traditional Kung Fu That Actually Works

Traditional Kung Fu has a reputation problem. Search for it online and you will find no shortage of flowery demonstrations, questionable self-defense claims, and techniques that look impressive on video and fall apart under any real pressure. It is enough to make a serious martial artist dismiss the entire tradition.

That is a mistake — and our Wushu Combatives program is proof of why.

What 7 Star Praying Mantis Boxing actually is

Our Wushu Combatives program is rooted in 7 Star Praying Mantis Boxing — one of the most direct, practical and combat-tested styles within the Chinese martial arts tradition.

Praying Mantis is a Northern Chinese system built around a specific tactical idea: control the opponent's limbs, close the distance, and attack continuously from a position they cannot easily recover from. The mantis hook — the hand shape the style is named for — is a trapping and controlling tool, not decoration. The footwork is aggressive and constantly angling.

What makes it unusual among traditional styles is how little of it is abstract. Mantis was developed by people who expected to use it, and the techniques carry that expectation — fast, efficient movement, close-range striking, and real application behind every technique.

We are not going to pretend every Kung Fu school out there is teaching something useful. Many are not. We keep the depth of the tradition without the nonsense. If it does not work, we do not teach it.

Mantis Boxing was built for fighting — not performance. That's the version we teach.

What a class actually looks like

A typical Wushu Combatives session runs about an hour and follows a consistent shape.

We open with conditioning and mobility specific to the system — stance work, footwork drills, and the joint preparation that close-range trapping demands. From there we move into technical work: a specific entry, trap or control, broken down mechanically and then drilled with a partner who gives progressively more resistance.

The back half of class is where it separates from most traditional schools. Depending on the week, that is either live application against a resisting partner, or weapons work — and on weapons nights, that means sparring with gear on.

Over a month you will cover empty-hand striking and trapping, Chin Na joint control, at least one weapon, and live application of all three. It is not a curriculum you can coast through by memorizing sequences.

The weapons curriculum

What sets Wushu Combatives apart from most martial arts programs is the weapons work. Students train traditional Chinese weapons — the straight sword (Jian), saber (Dao), spear (Qiang), staff (Gun) and short stick — not as museum pieces or choreography, but as a genuine study of armed and unarmed self-defense principles.

There is a practical reason to train weapons even if you never expect to carry one. Weapons magnify errors. A timing mistake that costs you a punch in the face empty-handed costs you the entire exchange with a blade involved — so weapons training sharpens attributes that transfer straight back to empty hands: timing, distance management, body mechanics, and an acute understanding of how an armed opponent thinks and moves.

It is one of the most underrated parts of a complete martial arts education, and one of the rarest things you will find taught seriously anywhere in Tucson.

Everything gets pressure tested — including the weapons

This is where we part ways with most traditional martial arts schools entirely. At BRMA, nothing stays in the realm of theory. Unarmed techniques are pressure tested through sparring with resisting partners.

The weapons work is no different. We train live weapons sparring using HEMA-level protective gear and purpose-built training weapons — the same standard used by the most serious historical European martial arts practitioners in the world.

That means students are not just learning how to swing a sword or wield a staff in isolation. They are learning to use those weapons — and to defend against them — against an opponent who is actively trying to hit them back.

There is no substitute for that if your goal is genuine skill rather than the appearance of it. Most people who have trained traditional Chinese weapons have never once done it against someone trying to hit them. Our students do it regularly.

Anyone can look good swinging a weapon alone. We find out if it actually works.

What about forms?

We do teach forms, and we are honest about what they are for.

A form is a storage medium — a way of preserving technique, sequence and principle across generations before video existed. It is also a decent solo movement drill. What it is not is a substitute for training against a person.

The failure mode in modern Kung Fu is treating the archive as the practice: students spend years perfecting sequences and never test a single technique against resistance. That is how an entire tradition earned its reputation problem. Here, forms support the work. They do not replace it.

How it fits with Sanda and Jujitsu

Wushu Combatives is one of three programs at BRMA, and they are designed to overlap.

Sanda Kickboxing covers striking and throwing at range and in the clinch. American Jujitsu covers grappling, joint control and what happens when the fight closes completely. Wushu Combatives adds close-range trapping, Chin Na, and the weapons dimension that neither of the others touches.

Students frequently train more than one. The systems share enough underlying principles that they reinforce each other rather than compete.

Who this program is for

Anyone curious about traditional martial arts who wants the real thing rather than a watered-down performance art.

Whether you are brand new to martial arts or arriving with a background in another style, Wushu Combatives offers something genuinely different. It rewards patience and attention to detail more than raw athleticism, which makes it a strong fit for students who want depth over intensity — and it pairs naturally with the rest of what we teach.

Common questions

Do I need to buy my own weapons?

No. We provide training weapons and sparring gear. If you decide to buy your own later, ask an instructor first — there is a lot of poor-quality equipment sold to beginners.

Do I have to learn forms?

Forms are part of the curriculum, but they support the training rather than replace it. If you came for application, you will get application from your first class.

Is Wushu Combatives suitable for beginners?

Yes. No prior martial arts experience is required, and the system rewards attention to detail more than athleticism, which suits beginners well.

Do I need to train Sanda or Jujitsu as well?

No. Wushu Combatives stands on its own. Many students train more than one program because the systems reinforce each other, but it is not required.

When does Wushu Combatives meet?

Thursday at 7pm, Friday at 5pm, and Saturday from 10 to 11am, at 5933 E 22nd St in Tucson.

Come see what traditional Kung Fu looks like when it is taught the way it was intended.