Today,
Kung fu/
gung fu are terms used to describe
martial training systems of Chinese origin from
Tai Chi to
Tiger. The term Wu Shu, today, would more refer to the
Wu Shu encouraged by the Communist party in China. Shortly after their take-over in 1949, they gathered together all the martial masters who would co-operate with them (the others having fled the country or been imprisoned). Together, they tried to boil these masters' knowledge down to one final, "perfect," fighting system. This system became the basis for the
Chinese military's hand to hand combat training, and utilized only the most effective and deadly aspects of
China's fighting tradition.
The rest, all the nice pretty spins and jumps and flips and stuff -- beautiful, elegant, and harmless -- was called Wu Shu and tought to civilians, especially children. Wu Shu practitioners often participate in international good-will events with demonstrations of their beautiful forms. They look especially good in groups.
While the term Wu Shu can refer to any Chinese fighting art, Wu Shu (as typically practiced in 2000) is beautiful but ineffectual as a real-life fighting style.