When the bastion of wushu (martial
arts) holds an international competition, Chinese are expected to
dominate unchallenged.
At the Second World Traditional Wushu Championships,
which opened yesterday in Henan Province's Zhengzhou, roughly half of
the 2,000 contestants are from overseas and determined to make
their mark.
One of them is Brown Jamel of the US, who has been doing squats
lifting a 160-kilogram barbell for the past six months to make him
jump even higher.
"My dream has come true now that I am here in China as a
wushu contestant," said the 21-year-old from New York.
The four-day event, the biggest gathering of its kind in the
world, has drawn about 2,000 competitors from 66 countries and
regions.
Henan is the home of the world-renowned Shaolin Temple, long a
custodian of Chinese martial arts. Since 1991, in a successful
effort to raise wushu's global following, seven Shaolin
wushu festivals have been held here.
Chen Guorong, vice chairman of the Chinese Wushu
Association, said: "Traditional martial arts have developed over
thousands of years in China and evolved into 129 types of boxing,
of which 11 have been selected for athletic martial arts
events."
A series of cultural events will also be held during the
festival, including a grand ceremony at Shaolin Temple with 15,000
local kung fu practitioners showing off their skills.
Among those watching in rapt attention will be Jamel. "I am
simply overwhelmed to be here at the motherland of wushu,"
he said.
Jamel, a member of the New York Shaolin Wushu Team,
first encountered the martial arts two years ago when he
accompanied one of his basketball teammates to a Taiji
lecture and was soon hooked. His interest in Chinese culture now
extends to the language, calligraphy and painting.
"Back in my community, many, just like me, have discovered the
benefits of practicing wushu not only for physical, but
also for mental and spiritual health as well," he said.
An eminent monk at Shaolin Temple said more than 300 foreign
disciples had been admitted in the past years.
According to Chen Guorong, the International Wushu
Federation has continuously made great efforts to raise the sport
into the Olympics and kung fu matches will hopefully be held during
the Beijing Olympics as a "specially-set"
sport.
Chen stressed that since the International Olympic Committee
(IOC) has committed to keeping the size and cost of the Olympics in
check, including a cap of 28 sports, 300 events and 10,500
athletes, wushu will certainly not be included in the 28
medal sports, but probably appear as a "specially-set" match during
the 2008 Olympiad instead, as part of China's cultural and sporting
heritage.
Chen confirmed that the entry of kung fu into the Olympics was
still under detailed discussion, with a final verdict expected this
year.
IOC senior officials, including Hein Verbruggen, chairman of the
Coordination Commission for the Beijing Olympics, will also attend
the event in Henan and watch martial arts performances.
(Xinhua News Agency, China Daily October 17, 2006)
