Wushu Masters Association

[GeneChing]

There's video on the site with some fight footage. It's an odd looking game.

Wushu Masters Association debuts in China (http://www.cctv.com/program/sportsscene/20090727/102289.shtml)
2009-07-27 10:31 BJT

China's first professional martial arts league, the Wushu Masters Association, opened in Huangshan, Anhui province on Sunday. The event started with the team matches, which saw Guangzhou fighters put in a good performance to bag a 4-1 win over Shandong.Six teams took part in the event.

China's first professional martial arts league, the Wushu Masters Association, opened in Huangshan, Anhui province on Sunday.
China's first professional martial arts league, the Wushu Masters
Association, opened in Huangshan, Anhui province on Sunday.

Guangzhou and Shandong were the first to face off with each other after the opening ceremony. Guangzhou first sent 19 year old Zheng Hui to compete with Shandong's 32 year old veteran Ren Guotong. Zheng use his strength advantage to take the match 7-0 over three rounds.

The climax came when Guangzhou's 2 meter tall Wu Lihan took on 1.77m Leng Lin. Wu led 12-4 over 3 rounds, but due to too many errors and poor technique, the judges gave the fight to Shandong. Guangzhou's Zhang Yanfei was the last to appear. After he fell behind 7-2, his opponent pulled out due to injury, giving him the point. Guangzhou won the opening match 4-1.

The Wushu Masters Association had its inaugural event in Huang Shan, a city steeped in the tradition of Martial Arts. The best fighters in China are taking part in the event as it looks to not only make it's mark here in China, but across the globe. Jonas Gilbart now, takes a special look at the event and its goals moving forward.

For centuries Wushu has held a special place in the hearts of the Chinese people. Now this legend is looking to cross borders and cultures and become a world-wide force.

This is the hope and dream of the Wushu Masters Association.

Ruan Wei, CEO of CCTV sports and entertainment said: "It is a professional league for the Wushu clubs. All the private teams formed the league. The club spends money on the athlete to train them until they can compete in the WMA. That is how the professional league works."

From all across China, six teams have assembled in Huang Shan...the first group of warriors in the first ever professional Wushu League.

"Actually, it was around 1999 when we first came up with the idea and tried to find out how to show the skills."

Now, a decade later it has become a reality.

"I think WMA will be welcomed by the international audiences in the future. "

IMG is synonymous with the biggest stars and biggest organizations in the world. But even Zhu acknowledges the WMA won't necessarily have an easy path to success.

"I think that if we just let the athletes use their skills. There will be stars. "

In traditional combat sports, the knockout is the king the showstopper. But in the WMA, headshots are not allowed.

The scoring is based on points using traditional Wushu moves. While the sudden drama of the KO may not be there, this allows for technique and strategy to play a greater role.

This was not just the inception of a new league,but a new sport with new rules that have to be understood and accepted by audiences. This may prove to be the biggest initial barrier to overcome.

"In order to help it become accepted by the global audiences, we thought we should extract the skills and strategies of one style of fighting. Then, we standardized it. And, we let the athletes to fight with it in the competitions and we would like the whole world share it."

Previously, Wushu was shown as a demonstration of an art as opposed to a competition. But the bruises and the injuries were all too real for those on the receiving end. This is sport, this is not performance.

The WMA is the first professional martial arts league in China. Each club pays their players and is free to seek endorsement deals with sponsors. And already, new clubs are knocking on the league's door.

Within the martial arts community WMA is already making it's presence felt. Now, the league is looking to make it's mark on all of China and eventually, if everything goes according to plan the world.

"I think, most importantly, any game needs to be liked by the audience. First, it should be liked by the Chinese audience. Ultimately, for the success, it should be liked by all the audiences globally."

The first steps have been taken the question is, will the rest of the world come along for the journey?

[taai gihk yahn]

well that was...interesting;

the skill level seems pretty mediocre, and the rules apparently encourage allowing yourself to get palmed repeatedly to the chest with minimal effect so that you can either push or throw someone off the platform...

it's not gonna get very far in the UFC market; why don't they give them MMA gloves, allow head shots and see where that goes?

[Eddie]

they have those fights on tv all the time. Its not that new. wonder how old this article is

[Yao Sing]

Too little too late. Unfortunately it will be compared to UFC and other MMA type events when it's more related to point-fighting.

It's going to bomb big time and give Kung Fu/Wu Shu even more of a wimpy image. Change the rules extensively or wave your yuan goodbye.

[Yao Sing]

Eddie, notice it took them 10 years just to get it off the ground.

[lkfmdc]

First, I find it interesting they are claiming this is the first "professional event". I guess since "San Da Wang" went afoul of the government that history has been re-written and they no longer exist? :eek:

Second, Lei Tai has always to some extend encourage people to take shots, run in and try to just push the other guy off. Traditionalists such as Tat Mau Wong have been critical of this aspect for a long time.

Third, the "no shots to the head" thing is just silly. Does CMA not have shots to the head? :rolleyes: Are these "masters" so deadly that they can't compete with head shots? Honestly, these are "masters"?

[SIFU RON]

I was reading about China's view of the MMA recently, MMA in the USA is a ruff and tumble game, MMA is too violent for them to view or participate in. They have their rules in this sport, and it is enjoying to them, and is probably approved by the Government.

[gwa sow]

arent they about to or just have started to broadcast ufc in mongolia? there was an article somewhere recently.

[Scott R. Brown]

Let's just call it what it really is, "Three Stooges Fu"!

Wooo, Wooo, Wooo, Wooo, Wooo!!:eek:

[TaichiMantis]

A friend sent me this link (http://bugu.cntv.cn/sports/other/wulindahui/classpage/video/20100413/100829.shtml)through facebook...looks like lei tai, chen taijiquan version. I guess they have other competitions also, like baji quan, baguazhong, etc. Anyone know more about the premise of this program? This is what I got from the google translation:

Part name: symposium
Premiere Channel: CCTV-5
Moderator: Zhang Yudong

Part Description:


"Symposium" to the Chinese athletes to provide a display of their platform and opportunities for promoting Chinese martial arts weapons and technology and explore the opportunities provided. With authentic Chinese martial arts to build China's independent intellectual property rights of the event, from the race to market, from athletes to derivatives, to form a complete industrial chain, playing
"Symposium" to the Chinese athletes to provide a display of their platform and opportunities for promoting Chinese martial arts weapons and technology and explore the opportunities provided. With authentic Chinese martial arts to build China's independent intellectual property rights of the event, from the race to market, from athletes to derivatives, to form a complete industrial chain, to build China's own national brand

[GeneChing]

WMA in the news again

Commercializing kung fu (http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/sports/2011-03/21/c_13789636.htm)
English.news.cn 2011-03-21 13:41:00
By Li Zhenyu

BEIJING, March 21 (Xinhuanet) -- While fight fans in the Western hemisphere are enjoying the thrill of mixed martial arts (MMA), those in the East can enjoy their Chinese equivalent – the Wushu Masters Association (WMA).

After a debatable inaugural showing in 2009, the latest installment of China's professional kung fu championship was put on the Big Screen in CCTV prime time February 22, 2011.

Filling the void

Like the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which has exploded in popularity in North America over the past several years, the Kung Fu championship pits combatants in various wushu disciplines on leitai, an elevated fighting arena without ropes that first appeared in China during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). The main objective of the championship is to knock your opponent off the platform under a strict set of rules.

However, unlike its Western counterpart, which follows the doctrine of "business first and entertainment second," the Chinese martial arts championship seems to be on a mission to bring more cultural flavor to the big stage.

Kung fu, brimming with ancient wisdom and millennia of tradition that are otherwise unavailable in other parts of the world, is a gem of Chinese culture. There is a saying that one cannot get a deeper understanding of China without comprehending wushu.

Kung fu has put down its roots in Chinese culture. According to Gao Xiaojun, president of the Chinese Wushu Association, in China, there are 130 million people practicing wushu and 121 colleges and universities with wushu majors, along with over 10,000 privately owned wushu schools. The total number of wushu students has reached 500,000. The influence of kung fu literature and movies is profound and far-reaching. Popular kung fu novelists are household names in China and the nation is a major source of kung fu movies on the global map.

Although the local art has a large following, wushu has never been a mainstream sport in China, whereas Western sports such as soccer, basketball and tennis have dominated the domestic market.

Some insiders agree that the sorry state of Chinese martial arts was partly due to the industry's low level of commercialization and lack of a platform for wushu events. For several decades, there have hardly ever been any professionally managed kung fu league matches.

The WMA aims to fill the void in the traditional art's market, with a brand new business model and a series of modern sports business concepts.

Brand new model

"WMA is the first professional sports league in China with a complete industrial chain," says Ruan Wei, managing director of CCTV Sports Entertainment Co Ltd, the company that runs WMA.

Although China adopted the notion of professional sports from the West and brought in the league system just over 20 years ago, a professional sport that is built entirely upon the system of the free market economy has yet to come into existence. China's sports federations that own their respective sports leagues, such as the Chinese Super League (CSL) and Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), are all State-owned.

"For the industry to reach its full potential, Chinese sport must free itself from the centrally planned regime and be centered around independent, professional sports leagues and also develop its own industrial chain," Chen Shaofeng, director of the Sports Industry Research Center of China, told the Global Times.

The WMA brings a unique business model to the table in that the league is owned by CCTV and run by its affiliate company, an entity that is independent from the General Administration of Sport. CCTV holds all the privileges, from hosting rights to intellectual property. The league owner and its clubs are also equal entities, belonging to a community of interest, rather than of administrative relations.

Clubs possess the athletes under contracts and focus on talent selection and cultivation in order to produce the best fighters for the league. Some clubs aim to build their own wushu schools, with the purpose of expanding their talent pool as well as making money off it.

"Many parents and students applied to attend our school because of the WMA," one club owner said. "We'll set up our movie studio, and incorporate the club, school, and studio to forge an industrial chain."

"In terms of its business model, the WMA is a step forward," Chen commented. "The WMA is actually 'a Chinese man in a Western costume.'"

Conversely, looking at the big picture, China's entire sports community is a Westerner dressed in a Chinese outfit.

To date, most of the best sports programs on CCTV have come from overseas, such as NBA games, which the network has been airing for more than 20 years.

"No sports fans in any other countries are as starved as those in China, in the sense that they depend so much on other countries for sports content," Ruan said.

According to Jiang Heping, director of CCTV Sports, 80 percent of the first run on CCTV's sports channel, which accounts for over 80 percent of the audience market, relies on copyright purchases, and domestic events take up only a tiny proportion. More than half of the channel's budget is spent on purchasing copyrights of overseas events every year.

"China abounds in cultural resources," said Chen. "What the nation should import is business models, not cultures, in the way that the WMA does."

[pateticorecords]

WMA ( Wushu Masters Association)is organized, operated and popularized by CCTV Sports and Entertainment Corporation Ltd. Co. and CCTV-6. The first WMA was held in Huangshan from July to August. And in the next year, the competition will have two periods including home and visiting grounds followed by an elimination round in Qingdao in the second half of the year. WMA aims to show the essence of Chinese Traditional Wushu.

A WMA match is between two persons from the red team and black team in an open ring with no ropes. The results are decided by the total points. The team draws lots to determine the match ups. Every team is composed of five athletes. Because the competition doesn’t divide athletes by weight, the athletes of two teams who fight each other are randomly selected. Each match consists of three rounds of two minutes with a one-minute break in between.

http://www.in-kungfu.com/upload/200912/122916282990.jpg
Xu Anqing Vs. Zhang Weichen

http://www.in-kungfu.com/upload/200912/122916281396.jpg
Zhu Yonglong Vs. Li Pan in the All Stars Game on 23 Dec


In the first competition, there are six clubs from five provinces participating it. The fighters wear protectors for upper body, crotch and calves instead of any fists. And only the attack which complies with the 30 standard sets of actions and also makes the opponents be influenced in three forms will help the fighter gain the points. The three forms includes making opponents move, slip up or fall out of the arena. And the 30 standard sets action is extracted from Tai Chi by the WMA specialists group. The specific introduction and videos can be found here. And the athletes can’t attack the body above neck. Any actions like pushing or dragging is not allowed in the action. Every athlete should do the clenched-fist salute at the beginning and end of the match.

There are great changes next competition mainly on the rules. The 30 standard sets of actions are totally abolished so that the fighter can attack the opponents by any ways except attacking the head by fist. Any knock leads to three forms mentioned above (making opponents move, slip up or fall out of the arena) will gain points. Further, the fighters are not allowed to bite or hit the opponent by head. The sets of action will bring additional several points to the fighters, if the sets of action are considered as Chinese traditional Wushu skills. And there appears KO, if the one fighter have dominated the other one by grappling for more than 5 seconds.
http://www.in-kungfu.com/news/view.aspx?id=318

[lkfmdc]

is this that pitiful fake crap where they wear chest shields under the kung fu uniform and there are no strikes to the head? :rolleyes:

[lkfmdc]

is this that pitiful fake crap where they wear chest shields under the kung fu uniform and there are no strikes to the head? :rolleyes:

yeah, I guess it was LOL :p

[iron_silk]

I recall watching a video of this (if this is the same no hitting head) fights.

It was sad.

and I'm the opposite of a person who is able to fight at all and I think this is sad.

[Lucas]

if you take people who are supposed to be 'fighters' and attach pillows to their tummy and dont let them hit each other in the head....guess what happens? funny stuff.

regardless of skill involved...could be the most skilled martial artists, but under that setting they look like they are only playing games.

people would rather watch no skill barbarians beat each other with hammer fists.

so guess what happens when you have real fighters with real skill really fighting? everyone watches that instead. especially fighters.

seriously if China wants CMA to be big and known for real fights, bring back bare knuckle, raised lei tai matches televised. dont make chinese ufc dont try and copy, be traditional. take it back to the old ways. sweat, blood, and a raised plat form.

u listening CHINA? im right. :p

[GeneChing]

Wu Biao becomes news Wushu champion master (http://www.cctv.com/program/sportsscene/20090416/104988.shtml)
WATCH VIDEO (http://xml.vod.cctv.com/html/media/sportsscene/2009/04/sportsscene_300_20090416_4.shtml)
Source: CCTV.com
04-16-2009 11:13

Wushu Masters Association, or WMA, is a made-for-TV Wushu competition in China. Practitioners of different schools of Wushu display their skills to a wide TV audience. Wu Biao has won the title of Champion of the Year in the grand finals of a boxing discipline called Xinyi Liuhequan.

http://www.cctv.com/program/sportsscene/20090416/images/1239851585252_1239851585252_r.jpg
Wu Biao has won the title of Champion of the Year in the grand
finals of a boxing discipline called Xinyi Liuhequan.

Wu Biao was runner-up 2007, losing to Luan Xingguang by a slim margin in the finals. But after more than a year of hard training, Wu Biao came back this year for another shot at the title. He boxed his way out of the preliminaries and advanced to the final 8. In the quarterfinal he met his archrival Luan Xingguang again.

This time it was Wu Biao who gained the upper hand and finally entered the championship bout with Zhang Tingjie. Zhang was taller and had strong legs, but Wu Biao used his wrestling technique to foil Zhang's leg movements, and won the match to fulfill his wish to become a champion Wushu master.

http://www.cctv.com/program/sportsscene/20090416/images/1239851601318_1239851601318_r.jpg
Wu Biao has won the title of Champion of the Year in the grand
finals of a boxing discipline called Xinyi Liuhequan.
I'm not going to condemn a new game just because it isn't full contact kickboxing. Look at TKD and judo - both Olympic. Look at sumo. A new sport is just that - a new sport. Most sports are just symbolic combat. Look at tennis or golf. At least they strike each other. ;)

[Lucas]

i know, i know....and not to discredit any of hte players, but at the same time i had really high hopes for this when i first saw it, but i got really dissapointed after a few of the matches. :o

i like that it showcases styles, and that the format allows for 'refined technique' to be displayed...but i want blood! lol i dont want symbolic fighting in my fight sports!

[GeneChing]

I feel ya, Lucas. My sentiments exactly when it comes to MMA. I mean seriously, when are MMA fighters going to get real and start using weapons? Let's go real gladiator with this. No more of that sissy kicking, punching and choking. Chopping, stabbing and slicing is where it's at. ;)

[Lucas]

you have a grand idea sir!!!!!

lets see, this isnt ancient rome, so freedom isnt an option as an award, we need something substancial enough to make men die and become dismembered for....supermodel servants!!!!!!!

[B.Tunks]

It's made for the Chinese market and i don't think they really care about foreigners perceptions of it. As far as the no head contact and favouring the 'off the letai' stuff, it suits the intended audience and is traditionally viewed as more skilfull than pummelling someone's face in. The average Chinese mum and dad would most likely find the UFC barbaric, though this stuff is safe and digestible, plus it's indigenous - hence it's popularity. I got a bit excited about it a few years ago too after seeing a couple of decent early hung quan and bagua bouts which gave me false expectations. But after sitting through hours and hours of it I was spewing. Apart from the fact that many matches were obviously rigged and partially choreographed (particularly between the older masters) in the initial stages, there is tonnes of sterotypical cr.ap such as using mantis hooks as the guard for Tanglang practitioners (absolute bullsh.it), walking the circle for bagua practitioners etc. Probably a step in the wrong direction, but at least a step away from modern wushu in that it's putting the focus back on the fighting aspect (as poor as that fighting may be).

Having said that, there are actually some excellent sanda practitioners on the Qingdao team and a few other squads. There is also apparently decent money involved which is drawing some real fighters so I guess it won't be long until the head contact comes in.

BT

[SPJ]

I like the name lei tai better

you can be lei tai owner or lei tai zhu.

you open challenge to any one that wants to come and challenge.

you have records of how many wins and losses.

of course, if you lose, the winning opponent becomes the new owner or lei tai zhu.

and continue open challenge.

wushu masters kind of wierd

lei tai and lei tai zhu are better names.

in fact lei tai is used for any forms of open comp, such as singing lei tai, dance lei tai, talent show lei tai, on and on

we do not hear people saying singing masters, dancing masters, or talent masters do we?

master or da shi or great teacher should be reserved for the very best and very good only, which means not that many at any given time

--

:)

[lkfmdc]

It's made for the Chinese market and



apparently the Chinese market likes obviously staged, clumsy and impractical things??????

[JamesC]

I'm confused...

So the sport of wushu isn't mainstream there, but they're hoping that this will be?

At least I can be impressed by the physical feats of people who do wushu.

[Syn7]

I feel ya, Lucas. My sentiments exactly when it comes to MMA. I mean seriously, when are MMA fighters going to get real and start using weapons? Let's go real gladiator with this. No more of that sissy kicking, punching and choking. Chopping, stabbing and slicing is where it's at. ;)

fukc yeah... we need mma stick fighting to start... come one, come all, and get your head smashed in for public consumption...

[Syn7]

I'm confused...

So the sport of wushu isn't mainstream there, but they're hoping that this will be?

At least I can be impressed by the physical feats of people who do wushu.

wushu is the chinese national sport.... at least thats what i was told... but they do solo and multi man forms with and without weapons... but they dont actually have real fights or matches... and thats what the wma is trying to achieve...

[Lucas]

raised platform bare knuckle fighting comes from china so im not asking them to do anything new :p

[SPJ]

WMA

sounds like women MA, wrestler MA---

do not like it.

:D

[JamesC]

wushu is the chinese national sport.... at least thats what i was told... but they do solo and multi man forms with and without weapons... but they dont actually have real fights or matches... and thats what the wma is trying to achieve...

I know what wushu is...

Basically I was saying that this new gimmick isn't even as entertaining as watching solo forms by some non-elite performers.

[B.Tunks]

wushu is the chinese national sport.... at least thats what i was told... but they do solo and multi man forms with and without weapons... but they dont actually have real fights or matches... and thats what the wma is trying to achieve...

Yeah they do. Sanshou.

T

[B.Tunks]

apparently the Chinese market likes obviously staged, clumsy and impractical things??????

Maybe that's just what they're used to. MMA is becoming popular in certain sectors fairly quickly though, so who knows how long this will last. Maybe it exists to keep the myth of fighting supremacy of kungfu alive?

BT