Many people are not aware that Wushu (including Tai Chi) is an international competition sport. There are Wushu Tournaments, Competitions and Championships held throughout the world every year, including in Australia.
For those of you who are interested in competing, and have the necessary time to invest in training and travelling, we provide special competition training classes. Please contact us for more details.
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The IWUF holds World Wushu Championships every two years. Details of these events are outlined below.
Australia did not participate in the World Wushu Championships until 1995 when the Federation of Australian Kungfu Organisations (now Australian Kungfu - WuShu Federation) joined the IWF. Since then the Australian Kungfu - Wushu Federation has sent official Australian National Teams to the 3rd, 4th and 5th World Wushu Championships and has also been actively involved in all major IWF activities.
The 6th World Wushu Championships were held in Armenia on October 29 to November 3, 2001. Due to the events of September 11 in New York the Australian Kungfu - Wushu Federation decided to withdraw the team from the 6th World Wushu Championships for the safety of the team members.
The 8th World Wushu Championships
The 8th World Wushu Championships was held from December 8 to 15, 2005 in Hanoi, Vietnam with the participation of nearly 520 athletes from 57 countries and regions including Australia:
Team Members:
The International Wushu Federation had decided to apply new competition rules for Taolu at this Championships. Accordingly, movements with degree of difficulty were adopted for the first time in Changquan (long fist), Nanquan (southern fist) and Taijiquan (Tai Chi) competition.
The 9th World Wushu Championships
Since the stadium venue for the 9th World Wushu Championships is under renovation, the Wushu competition shall be held after the Handball Qualification System for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, in early November 2007. The Regulations for the Championships will be circulated to all the IWUF members in April 2007.
The requirements for the competition events, number of participants and entries are the same as those of the 8th World Wushu Championships.
In order to display the highest technical level of Taolu at the Wushu tournament Beijing 2008 and increase the appreciative value of Taolu, requirements for basic content of Taolu have been added such as a music accompaniment for Tai Chi.
Details of the Championships will be posted once it becomes available.
There are two main categories in World Wushu Championships - Taolu competitions for both men and women and Sanshou for both men and women, as follows:
Taolu
For more details please visit www.iwuf.org/rule.asp
Sanshou
There are eleven weight categories in the Sanshou competitions - <48kg, <52kg,="" <56kg,="" <60kg,="" <65kg,="" <70kg,="" <75kg,="" <80kg,="" <85kg,="" <90kg="" and="" +90kg.="" the="" scoring="" system="" is="" similar="" to=""></48kg,>
For more details please visit www.iwuf.org/rule1.asp
The IWF conducts the World Traditional Wushu Festival every second year. To date, the event is held in ZhengZhou, China, near the famous Shaolin Temple - the birthplace of Chinese martial arts.
The Traditional Festival is an opportunity for Wushu Practitioners from member countries to come together and compete in a friendly environment, in all styles and forms of traditional Wushu. The scoring system is similar to gymnastics with scores of up to 10 points given by a panel of five judges based on a combination of technical competence, adherence to style, spirit and time limits.
Australia has attended all the World Traditional Wushu Festivals with very strong results.
A participation medal (Gold, Silver or Bronze) has been given to all athletes for their performance depending on their level of skills performed on the day.
1st World Traditional Wushu Festival
From 16 to 20 October 2004, the IWUF organized the 1st World Traditional Wushu Festival in Zhengzhou, China. More than 2000 participants from 62 countries and regions participated in the event. 1282 competitors from 127 teams took part in the competition. 395 competitors from 39 countries and regions won the 1st prize. The Festival was a great success. The successful organization of the Festival exhibited the glamour of wushu to the world. The Secretariat informed the IOC and GAISF immediately after the conclusion of the Festival.
2nd World Traditional Wushu Festival
The 2nd World Traditional Wushu Championships was held from October 16 to 20, 2006. 2008 athletes from 66 countries and regions participated in the event. The grand opening and closing ceremonies, spectacular welcome ceremony in Dengfeng and the Shaolin Temple, Science Conference and artistic performance of Zen Buddhism in the mountains left deep impressions on every participant. Mr. Hein Verbruggen, Chairman of the Coordination Commission for the 29th Olympiad and Mr. Gilbert Felli, Executive Director of the Olympic Games attended the Championships and watched with interest the wushu demonstration at the invitation of Mr. Yu Zaiqing, IWUF President. They spoke highly of the demonstration.
The 1st World Junior Wushu Championships was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from August 20 to 26, 2006. More than 300 junior athletes from over 40 countries and regions took part in the event. The event was successfully organized. We are very pleased to note that the technical level of junior athletes is continuously on the rise.
Athletes:
According to the IWUF Constitution, the Sanshou World Cup is held every two years - the year after the WWC just like the Traditional Festival. Only the top four place winners of each category of Sanshou Competition (men and women) of the last previous World Wushu Championships are eligible to participate in the Sanshou World Cup.
The 3rd Sanshou World Cup
The last World Cup was the 3rd Sanshou World Cup which was held in Xian, China from September 22 to 24, 2006. 59 athletes from 23 countries and regions participated in the competition. They were the top three place winners of each category of Sanshou competition of the 8th World Wushu Championships. With everyone's efforts, the competition was organized with great success.
Australia conducts National Championships annually. In the past the Championships have been held in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra on a rotational basis.
The National Championships are only open to students and instructors of Australian Kung Fu (Wushu) Federation member schools. They are a great opportunity to see other practitioners and other styles of wushu, not to mention get in there and compete.
The National Championships feature a combination of Rules and Regulations from both World Championships (2003 New Rules) and World Traditional Festival (1999 Rules) plus have a division for semi-contact sparring.
If you are interested in training to compete at the Australian National Championships please contact us.
2007 Australian National Wushu Championships
The 2007 Australian National Wushu Championships were held on 17 and 18 February 2007 in Canberra. Nearly 70 athletes from WA, SA, QLD, NSW, VIC and ACT participated in this special event. Four TCA athletes competed at the Championships:
What fantastic results!!!
Each Australian Eastern-seaboard State holds Wushu Titles annually.
The State Titles are open to students and instructors from all Wushu Schools within that state. They are a great opportunity to see other practitioners, other styles of wushu, and cheer on your school.
The State Titles feature a combination of Rules and Regulations from both World Championships (2003 New Rules) and World Traditional Festival (1999 Rules) plus have a division for semi-contact sparring.
If you are interested in watching the State Titles or training to compete please contact us.
The IWUF Secretary General Mr Wang and two staff of the IWUF Secretariat visited Melbourne during the Commonwealth Games from March 12 to 16, 2006. It was a pleasure and honour for our TCA Chief Instructor Master Han Jin Song to host their visit on behalf of the AKWF.
The IWUF officials held talks with the officials of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) regarding the possibility for Wushu to be admitted into the sports program of the 2010 and 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Mr. Kee Yong Wee, President of the Wushu Federation of Malaysia assisted the IWUF Officials in meeting with Mr. Michael Hooper - CEO of the CGF, Prince Imran - Chairman of the Sports Committee and Vice President of the Commonwealth Games Federation, President of the Olympic Council of Malaysia and Mr. Singh, Secretary General of the Organizing Committee of 2010 Commonwealth Games and Secretary General of Indian Olympic Association. They all especially emphasized that in order to increase the opportunity to be admitted into the Commonwealth Games, Wushu should be widely spread in the 6 commonwealth regions.
Last August, Mr Wang accompanied IWUF President Mr. Yu Zaiqing to visit India. They had a discussion with Mr. Suresh Kalmadi, President of Indian Olympic Association and Mr. Singh once again. During the 1st World Junior Wushu Championships, Mr. Yu Zaiqing met with Mr. Imran and discussed matters concerning the Commonwealth Games. The Secretariat has submitted official application to the CGF. In mid-November 2006, the CGF Sports Commission and Executive Board meeting was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
They invited the IWUF to make a presentation at the meeting and arranged a wushu demonstration for the CGF officials. IWUF and the Chinese Wushu Association selected the best athletes in China. Together with Malaysian athletes, they demonstrated wushu for the CGF officials. Generally speaking, with the efforts of President Yu and mighty support of IWUF members, active progress has been made.
The 9th World Games will be held in Gaoxiong, Taiwan from July 16 to 26, 2009. On behalf of the IWUF, Mr. Wang Xiaolin, Secretary General of the IWUF has been discussing with the President of International World Games Association and CEO of the Organizing Committee of the World Games about Wushu issue on many occasions. The Gaoxiong Organizing Committee officially informed the IWUF that it was agreed Wushu would be an invitational event at the Games. Detailed information will be posted in due course.
Mr. Gilbert Felli, Executive Director of the Olympic Games sent a letter to all the NOCs of the Olympic family on December 7, 2006, notifying that there will be a Wushu Tournament in Beijing 2008 during the Olympic Games, but will be outside of the Official Sport Programme. The IOC and the NOCs will have no responsibility concerning this event. The dates are August 21-24, 2008. The venue will be the Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium. There will be 120 participants from 25 National Federations. The events will include Taolu and Sanshou for both men and women.
