The term "wushu" is a more proper term for Chinese martial arts. Wushu means "fighting art", while Kung Fu means essentially "to do something with skill that has taken time, effort and study to develop". You can have good kung fu in fighting skill, or cooking, or carpentry, or whatever. Kung fu was mistranslated in the west to mean the fighting arts, and the term has stuck. Traditional Wushu would mean the older, fighting arts of China, what we generally refer to as "kung fu". Modern Wushu as a performance art is more commonly associated with the term "wushu" by itself.
Modern Wushu was developed in tht 1950s by the Chinese government as a performance art. It was recognized from the beginning that it was a separation from the fighting arts, even tho it is based in the fighting arts. While it is an amazing art with some top-notch athletes, it is not, and never was, considered to be a fighting art. However, that is changing. There are proponents of Modern Wushu today who feel that it is important to return to the traditional roots and re-establish the fighting base of the traditional wushu, and make that part of modern wushu. I believe people like Jet Li are among them. Whether or not this will ultimately make modern wushu a viable fighting/self-defense art remains to be seen. That will probably also depend on the teacher. A teacher who also has a solid background in the traditional wushu is in a better position to make this a reality.
While my sifu teaches both traditional and modern wushu, my preferences have always been with the traditional. When I first began studying with him I made that very clear, and he has always respected that and taught me nothing but traditional wushu.
While the movements of Modern Wushu are impressive, I always felt it was too obviously a performance, and I never liked the trend toward lighter and lighter weaponry. Speed and technique developed with a featherweight weapon is not real. It is designed to impress a judge or an audience, but is completely unrealistic. It is very misleading because a featherweight weapon allows you to cheat on your technique for the sake of speed and flash. A real, properly weighted weapon requires the use of the entire body to employ proper technique. It will also go a long way in developing your strength in a natural, useful way. A wushu weapon allows you to use only your hand and arm due to its lightness, and does little to develop your strength. This is true of both short weapons like sword and broadsword, and long weapons like spear and staff.
If someone is interested in the acrobatic aspect of Modern Wushu, I would recommend studying an art like Capoeira instead. This will teach a wider array of acrobatics, and will also teach you to utilize your acrobatics spontaneously and creatively. While some of these movements are contained in the Modern Wushu forms, it is important to remember that Modern Wushu forms are not necessarily based on solid fighting technique or theory. As has been mentioned before, it is essentially a gymnastic and performance routine.
Modern Wushu has its place, but it is important to understand what that place is. Some people love it, and for them it is good. For others, who are more interested in understanding the fighting techniques of China, Modern Wushu is not the right thing to study.
michael
