What is Wudang?
Most people have heard the name "Wudang" — from movies, from martial arts legend — but few understand what it actually is, or why it still matters today. Let me explain, from the inside.
The Sect
Wudang is a renowned sect along with Shaolin and Emei, known as one of the three major martial arts sects. The martial arts of the Wudang Sect are profound and extensive, placing the utmost importance on the cultivation of internal energy. The sect's founder possessed deep mastery of the Dao, and the legendary Tai Chi Divine Art is renowned throughout the world, rightfully acclaimed as the supreme internal martial art.
The Mountain
Legend has it that Wudang Mountain is the place where the Zhenwu Emperor came, practiced, and even ascended. Wudang Mountain is a Taoist holy land and one of the 72 blessed places. It not only has beautiful mountains and rivers unprecedented in the world, but is also known as the sect of the Five Immortal Mountains.
"None but 真武 (Zhen Wu, the real martial art) is fit to hold this place" — hence the name "Wudang Mountain." The Wudang Sect is located on Mount Wudang in Hubei Province, at the symbolic center of Shenzhou, the Divine Land; it is a renowned and orthodox sect among the Pure Yang schools.
The feature of the Wudang Sect is this: the Tao follows the natural order. The martial arts of the Wudang Sect are rooted in Daoist principle; in practicing and making breakthroughs within these arts, one's aptitude for and mastery of Daoist principle can substitute for the specific gifts or levels of mastery otherwise required.
Our Way
Just as mentioned above, we are Taoists, and we hold our beliefs close. Our sect is a giant monastic order where people are searching for the Tao. Wanderers gather together in Wudang, and make martial arts an ultimate pursuit in life, in order to touch the Tao just as Zhenwu Emperor and Zhang Sanfeng Patriarch did before them. For us Wudang disciples, martial arts is the way our masters left for us to reach the Tao.
Unlike Shaolin sect, who believe in Buddhism, we are Taoist. They hit themselves and others with a pole — just as you've seen on Instagram, and yes, it's quite real — as their way of searching for enlightenment. They say we live in illusion, and that pain, too, is an illusion generated by the body.
On our side, the story is different. "The Tao follows the natural order," as Laozi told us in the Tao Te Ching. We never push ourselves to a level where the body fights back — that is against the rule. Instead, we cultivate internally, make our organs work together, and stay as healthy as we can, so that our martial arts grow naturally.
You can try this yourself. Try a 12-hour training grind, like David Goggins. You will only hurt yourself and your progress — your martial arts will not improve. Results speak for themselves, whether or not you believe our Patriarch achieved immortality.
Buddhism and Taoism have always been friends in history — even as they mock each other. Buddhism teases Taoism: "Even if you achieve immortality, you're still trapped in the illusion this world generates." Taoism teases back: "Trying so hard. That homie needs to chill." It is not a contradiction — different approaches, same purpose. We host Shaolin monks and ascetics at Wudang often, and we admire their martial skill just as much as our own.
Why We Still Train Combat
Our Taoists, as a matter of fact, are the utmost longevity group by archetype. You can question: does Tai Chi legitimately work? Does Qigong really do anything? That's up to you, man — yet our average lifespan easily hits 80+. 100 years old is only a threshold; we have plenty of examples crossing well past it. Martial skill, for us, is a byproduct, not a forced pursuit. Compare that to Muay Thai, where you train to fight lethally — we acknowledge that fact. But that brings pain and suffering afterward, and that, too, is against the rule. We are trying to live, not fight.
So why do you see us fighting at all, then? We have a couple of reasons.
Even now, Taoists cultivating on the mountain meet real opposition. Take the monkeys of Wudang Mountain, for example — those guys can fight, and they can call up a crew. If you aren't competent, you're in real trouble; these creatures hold memory, and they will find you and get even. And these are not ordinary monkeys — the monkeys of Wudang and Emei are considered spiritually significant on these mountains, and their reputation isn't just legend. There are documented cases of them striking tourists who didn't know how to carry themselves. This isn't exaggeration for effect; it's real, and it's one more reason competence isn't optional if you live here. We also have snakes, poisonous creatures, wild boar. We need to defend ourselves. That's reason one.
The Meaning of Wu
Second: martial arts, for us, is not performance. It is not fighting on a stage. It is not hurting anyone. In Chinese, martial arts is called 武 (Wu), formed from two characters: 止 (Zhi), meaning "to stop," and 戈 (Ge), meaning "weapon." Together: "to stop the fight." The original meaning of martial arts, in Chinese, is the way to stop the fight.
So how do we do that? By being competent enough that we don't have to. You cannot stop a fight — even one started by a monkey trying to steal your food — if you cannot fight back. Our purpose is never to hurt anyone. We are simply trying to live.
My Lineage
The Wudang Sect is a large family, holding several clans together under one shared identity: Wudang. What does that mean? It means the real martial art.
My clan reveres Zhang Sanfeng as our patriarch — the original founder of Tai Chi, unmatched in his era. Two other major clans revere Zhenwu and Zhang Songxi as their guiding figures. Zhang Songxi was himself a remarkable disciple of Zhang Sanfeng, who later altered some of the teachings and formed his own clan. But whether the lineage traces to Zhang Sanfeng, the Zhenwu Emperor, or Zhang Songxi, all of us are called Wudang Sect.
Zhang Sanfeng Q version
We hold to one creed: "None but Zhenwu is fit to hold this place." In this, we recognize the real martial art — the Zhenwu.
I belong to the Wudang lineage, specifically the Sanfeng Clan, as a 16th-generation disciple. That means from Zhang Sanfeng in the 14th century to now, in the 21st, fifteen generations have passed before me. I am the sixteenth.
— ChewPai
16th-Generation Disciple, Wudang Sect
