Do children who regularly practise Wushu, a martial art, stand straighter, fitter and see better than classmates who only do routine PE? That is what this study in Frontiers in Public Health set out to explore. The Wushu programme was standardised and included built-in eye-relaxation exercises.
Researchers looked back at existing school physical and vision screening records for 196 primary-school students, collected between July and December 2025. According to after-school activity records, 98 children had consistent Wushu training and 98 did routine PE only. Each group's results were followed over 16 weeks. The researchers did not run any training themselves. They adjusted for age, gender and daily screen-reading time. The summary does not name the country or give the children's exact ages.
Wushu children stood straighter and scored higher on fitness
After 16 weeks, the Wushu group had better body alignment and fewer posture problems, such as uneven shoulder height and trunk tilt (the upper body leaning to one side). They also scored higher on stamina (cardiorespiratory endurance), core strength, flexibility and balance. The two groups changed differently over the 16 weeks, and the researchers reported this as statistically significant (p < 0.01).
Better distance vision and eye recovery, possibly thanks to the eye drills
The Wushu group also did better on three eye measures:
- Uncorrected distance visual acuity, meaning how clearly a child sees far away without glasses.
- Accommodation capacity, meaning how well the eye's focusing muscle adjusts.
- Recovery from visual fatigue, meaning how well tired eyes bounce back.
Children who took part more often and for longer tended to show better posture, fitness and eye function, and this held independently of the other factors (p < 0.01).
The authors add a note: the vision gains may partly come from the eye-relaxation drills built into the programme, rather than from Wushu movements alone. The study cannot separate the two.
The catch: records show a link, not a cause
Because this was a look back at school archives, the authors state that causal conclusions cannot be drawn. Children were not randomly assigned to groups, so Wushu may not be the reason for the differences. The study also covers only 16 weeks and does not tell us whether the benefits last. The summary does not say where it was done, and it did not test Singapore children, so we cannot say the same results would appear here.
If you are weighing up Wushu classes
- Favour regular, sustained attendance over a one-off trial, since more frequent and longer participation went with better posture, fitness and eye results.
- If choosing a programme, ask whether it includes eye-relaxation exercises, since the authors suggest these may explain part of the vision gains.