10th World Wushu Games

[GeneChing]

They're in Canada this year, in case you didn't know.

Official 10th World Wushu Games site (http://www.wushucanada.com/10thwwc/)

[GeneChing]

Read U.S. Wushu Team 2009 (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=842) by Sue Woo. Once again, our charitable branch, the Tiger Claw Foundation (http://tigerclawfoundation.org/), is an official sponsor of our American athletes competing in the WWG.

[David Jamieson]

big doin's for wushu peeps this coming week.

check it:

wushu championships (http://www.wushucanada.com/)


KFQG info here (http://kungfumagazine.com/news/index.php)

[GeneChing]

Does woo-hoo for wushu remind you of coo-coo for cocoa puffs?

Thursday, October 22, 2009
Woo-hoo for Wushu (http://www.torontosun.com/sports/othersports/2009/10/21/11471871-sun.html)
It's an ancient Chinese secret -- and a sport
By MIKE GANTER, SUN MEDIA
Last Updated: 21st October 2009, 1:49pm

It rolls off the tongue easier than hockey, football or baseball, yet the sport of wushu remains -- in North America at least -- very much a niche sport.

For those curious about sports other than the ones that dominate the nightly highlight reels, this presents an opportunity for a new experience that includes the best practitioners of this particular sport when the world wushu championships begin Saturday at the Ricoh Coliseum.

Toronto is hosting the 10th world championships, which run through Oct. 29. Over 1,500 athletes from more than 80 countries will compete in the six-day tournament.

AT THE MOVIES

A good number of Canadians probably have experienced wushu at some level, most likely at the theatre where the likes of Jet Li, Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee have exposed the rest of the world to this treasure of Chinese culture. But for most in these parts, the mention of wushu brings only blank stares.

Alan Tang would like to change that.

Wushu, which translated literally means martial arts, is a two-pronged sport. On the one side is the sparring and combative side known as sanshou. The other group of wushu is taolu, which contains more ritualistic elements performed in precise routines. Of the two, Canadians are far more advance in taolu where Canada is considered a top-10 nation. Sanshou is growing in popularity here but remains in its infant stages.

Tang, chairperson of the host organizing committee, is a lifelong practitioner, follower and lover of all things wushu, and being able to bring the world championships to his own backyard speaks to his passion and dedication to the sport.

Tang uses Canada's two main winter sports to best describe the two forms of his choice of sport.

"Like figure skating, taolu is routine-based while sansho, which translates as 'free fighting' -- is more like hockey."

Kitchener's Zack George is Canada's top Sanshou practitioner. This will be his third world championships, but second as a competitor.

"This will really put a face to the sport," George said of having the world's right here in Canada. And while the odds are long for Canada to come away with any medal in the Sanshou side of the competition, George goes in with plenty of confidence.

"We hope the draw goes well -- a ray of light comes down from heaven and you draw a country you match up well against," he said. "But everybody has a puncher's chance. If you can throw a kick and a punch, you do have a chance. Mentally, whoever is confident and prepared to stand in there in front of such intimidating fighters stands a chance."

Realistically Canada's best chance of a medal comes in taolu, where 18-year-old Margherita Cina of Mississauga already has succeeded on the world stage.

She's a two-time world junior gold medallist in the sport and is the current Canadian champion.

"Marguerita is a perfect example that wushu is not about (where you're from) but it's about dedication and training, and she has excelled to the point where she is the top female athlete in our country," says Chan, who has been coaching Cina for the past 15 years.

Tickets for this event are available at Ticketmaster.

[lkfmdc]

The event finally comes back to this side of the planet, but by now, I really don't care, that is sort of sad... well, not as sad as the "US San Shou Team" is going to do, but you know....

[GeneChing]

...but I heard Elaina dropped out.

Here's the U.S. Team:
Taolu Team: Sarah Chang, Ashley Chung, Peter Dang, Max Ehrlich, Elaine Ho, Alfred Hsing, Stephanie Lim, Joana Pei, Colvin Wang, Alan Zhao
Sanshou Team: Gary Chandler, Maximillion Chen, Alex Cisne, Kasey Corless, Michael Lee, Elaina Maxwell, Sonia Mejia, J.R. Ridge, Josh Simpson

[lkfmdc]

Max is the only one with international competition experience, in fact the only one with "real experience" (ie Max has like 60 fights by now)... as I am sure you know, the russian, Iranian, Chinese, Korean, etc teams those guys are all VERY EXPERIENCED, many are actually pro fighters. Putting guys with 2 to 3 fights against them is unethical (though last time they put guys with NO fights in there, which should have been criminal)

[GeneChing]

50,000 spectators? Really?

Major six-day martial event at Ricoh (http://www.insidetoronto.com/sports/article/156859--major-six-day-martial-event-at-ricoh)
10th annual World Wushu Championships opening ceremony Saturday night
And everybody was kung fu fighting, so the old '70s song goes, and that's exactly what they'll be doing over the next few days at Ricoh Coliseum as a major, international martial arts event is set to take place.

Well, actually, it won't only be fighting, as there is also a non-fighting choreographed forms component that is part of the 10th Annual World Wushu Championships, which kicks off at the coliseum on Saturday, Oct. 24 with what organizers are promising to be a spectacular opening ceremonies from 7 to 10 p.m.

Competition then runs from Sunday to Thursday.

Organizers are expecting more than 50,000 spectators to take in the proceedings, which are expected to attract more than 1,500 athletes from more than 85 countries.

Saturday night's opening ceremonies will feature select entertainment artists and martial arts masters with the highlight of the evening a showcase by China's official Wushu performance troupe, a team of hand selected performers chosen from the elite medal winners of the 2009 All China Games.

Besides the competition, the adjacent Direct Energy Centre will be home to an audience friendly Wushu expo including a public display of training by the athletes as well as interactive booths with a special exhibit of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo in addition to a Wushu museum and cultural exhibit from China.

For more info or tickets, visit www.wushucanada.com


Late MEA clearance ousts India from World Wushu Championship (http://www.ptinews.com/news/340427_Late-MEA-clearance-ousts-India-from-World-Wushu-Championship)
STAFF WRITER 15:14 HRS IST

Bhopal, Oct 21 (PTI) A delayed tour clearance from the Ministry of External Affairs has prevented 17 Indian players from competing in the 10th World Wushu Championship starting October 24 in Toronto.

"The Indian contingent got the MEA clearance yesterday and the hard copy of it is expected to reach our office today," Wushu Association of India (WAI) Secretary Manish Kakkad told PTI from Lucknow.

"We sought the MEA clearance two months back. Moreover, we can't get visas and tickets in two days adding that at least 5-10 days are needed for this work," he said.

"It was not so easy to complete these formalities in a short period, especially when trips are taken to US and Canada. We have missed a very important event because of the delay in the MEA clearance," Kakkad added.

He said that 17 players, four coaches and two technical staff were scheduled to go to Canada.


Delay forces Wushu Team to miss tour (http://www.topnews.in/delay-forces-wushu-team-miss-tour-2226829)
Submitted by Jatin Malhotra on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 14:04.

World Wushu ChampionshipIndia’s challenge in the 10th World Wushu Championship slated to be held in Toronto from October 24 ended even before it had begun. A delay in permission to the 14-member contingent to participate in the event, forced the team to miss the event.

The Wushu Association of India had sought clearance from the Ministry of External Affairs for the tour about a couple of months ago but approval came on Tuesday, just four days before the world championship. The delay has made it virtually impossible for the association to arrange for visa and book seats in flights to Toronto.

Manish Kakkad, secretary of the association, said that the travel agent expressed inability to arrange for visa in such a short time.

“Though the approval letter from MEA was received on Tuesday, other requirements for the journey to Toronto including visa and tickets could not be arranged. Which is why the tour for the World Championship has been cancelled,” he said.

The national squad for the championship included Gangapati Chanu, silver medallist of the last event held in Beijing in 2007 and Bimoljeet Singh, bronze medallist in Doha (2006) Asian Games.

The Union Sports Ministry had claimed to have accorded priority status to the sport following success of Bimoljeet Singh in Doha. The players had been camping at the Central Regional Centre of SAI here since September 5.

It's a shame the jiayo forum is down now.

[xcakid]

Is Tiffany Chen not competing anymore? I'm outta touch....

[uki]

so "world games" stems from which time period?? the world has had many of games that were named not... :p

[lkfmdc]

50,000 spectators? Really?



I am guessing, "no, NOT really"... in 1995 in Baltimore I think there was like 40 people in the entire stadium... wow was that a disaster

[David Jamieson]

It depends on how they promote it.

As it is in downtown Toronto and is running over 5 days 50k is not much to expect to be cruising through there.

If the part of the venue with the expo is free,then they will get 50k people easy through there.

GTA has about 5.5 million people and there's a few million more around that.

[uki]

yet news media will not provide honest answers... more people are concerned with the next american idol, let alone who can dance like a fairy with mittens on. :D

[David Jamieson]

yet news media will not provide honest answers... more people are concerned with the next american idol, let alone who can dance like a fairy with mittens on. :D

so what? who cares?

:p

[SPJ]

I am in support of any kind of events that are related to CMA.

no interests in politics.

may the best team win.

I really do not like the nan du things.

here are why:

1. if you are promoting wushu for common people, you would make it easy so more people may learn and enjoy it.

such as Yang tai chi made easier without a lot of kicks, and stomping feet, so that 80 some years old may do it, too.

2. they should have wushu events for different age brackets

such as kids wushu, teen wushu, college or young adult wushu, middle age wushu and senior wushu.

since wushu is a communist idea, then why not make it available to everyone.

and not just for the elite kids chosen since young, hours of rigorous training from 5 to 6 years old all the way to 16 in wushu schools for years, and then compete--

so wushu is for athletic elites and not for everyone?

:confused:

[David Jamieson]

I am in support of any kind of events that are related to CMA.

no interests in politics.

may the best team win.

I really do not like the nan do things.

here are why:

1. if you are promoting wushu for common people, you would make it easy so more people may learn and enjoy it.

such as Yang tai chi made easier without a lot of kicks, and stomping feet, so that 80 some years old may do it, too.

2. they should have wushu events for different age brackets

such as kids wushu, teen wushu, college or young adult wushu, middle age wushu and senior wushu.

since wushu is a communist idea, then why not make it available to everyone.

and not just for the elite kids chosen since young, hours of rigorous training from 5 to 6 years old all the way to 16 in wushu schools for years, and then compete--

so wushu is for athletic elites and not for everyone?

:confused:

all athletic competition is for elites. Or should be.

everyone can do wushu, modified or otherwise.

would you pay to watch old men dotter about and pose? I wouldn't. BUt I would pay to see hot chicks flying through the air and screaming with a spear whirling about their head.

because that has value and is marketable.

If i want to see old people and kids playing martial arts, I'll go to the park. lol

no offense and I agree that it should be for everyone and I think it really is.

but for entertainment value that is worth paying for, I don't want to see anyone who isn't an elite in their sport.

[GLW]

While I have no real problem with the flash and elite aspect of IWuF Wushu competition, I do have two basic issues with how it is being done and the impact it all has on Wushu (as in martial arts) practice on the whole.

First, the IWuF keeps changing the judging rules in their attempt to make it "Better". For example, currently, there is a requirement for TEN judges in a Taolu ring. The duties of the Head Judge were expanded to include actual scoring in addition to the other duties the Head Judge has. It has traditionally been hard enough to get the 5 scoring judges and 1 Head Judge required in the old way. Getting 10 in a competition such as Taiji Legacy or others is almost always going to be out of the question.

Second, they keep changing the scoring ideas in addition to adding things like'extra' movements that have to be approved. Workable in China but not in the US or Canada.

Third, and most importantly, with the move towards harder and harder moves, the injury rate rises. It is not uncommon to see the 'elite' competitors walking around with knee, ankle, back, etc... braces and performing injured.

Personally, I would discourage my daughter from doing such things since : (1) there is no money in it long term and (2) the types of injuries possible are PERMANENT and mean pain for a lifetime.

As for the others, the late Wang Ziping maintained that Wushu should have Lien, Yong, Kan... as in serve for use (martial), have art to it, and promote the health and development of the body and mind.

This new approach throws martial out - and many will argue that Contemporary Wushu always did... but now it also throws the health and development aspect out as well. They simply keep Kan - the look......

[SPJ]

yes. everyone wants to see what is the best among the bests.

everyone may play soccer on the streets, but only the best plays at world games for soccer.

I like to stress 2 points

1. opera vs folk songs. opera for the singing talents, folk songs for common people. everyone may learn easily and start to hum.

I am for making wushu easy to learn and people may remember them for life and enjoy for life for health/fitness or some fighting skills.

wushu should take roots at grass level, or folk arts. if it is only staying among elites, then it will die soon.

shuai jiao has grass roots among mongolian and moslem people. not everyone is the best, but everyone may tumble a bit and enjoy it. any cultural events, or gathering, they will be shuai jiao event as folk activities. are all of them good? probably not, but all have fun.

the continuation of an art relies on the support of the common people.

2. nan du issues

flying kicks, cartwheel, high jumps, tumbling, etc included, not that they do not have martial values. but people may see them in circus and acrobatic shows, too.

where you draw the lines?

the research and development for wushu programs should have 2 tiers

1. make them accessilbe to the general volks.

2. add more and more nan du to make them more and more difficult each year.

for estoric reasons or showiness all you want. b/c you get bonus credits for nan du. everyone has to do it to win.

olympics is going toward beyond human. using technology to make new records, there are limits of human anatomy, we are doing everything to make new records.

yes. we will see what new training regimes, or technology are used to make new records in London in 2012.

let us hope, wushu is not going the same direction of achieving beyond human.

:eek:

[GeneChing]

I got to see my Bermudan friends at Legends of Kung Fu (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47001) this year.


10/23/2009 12:33:00 PM
San shou fighters off to World Championships (http://www.bermudasun.bm/main.asp?SectionID=8&SubSectionID=203&ArticleID=43248)
Bermuda's full-contact mixed martial arts fighters are in Canada this weekend to take on the world's best.

Seven san shou fighters are competing in the World Wushu Championships at the impressively named Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto, starting tomorrow.

It is the second time Bermuda has sent a team to the world championships and Garon Wilkinson, president of the san shou association and one of the fighters, admitted they were facing a gruelling challenge.

He said it would be an 'extraordinary achievement' for any of the seven fighters to come out with a podium finish in the championships which features 1,500 athletes from 85 different countries.

The team, five of whom had strong performances in the Legends of Kung Fu tournament in Texas recently, has gone through months of preparation to prepare themselves, physically and mentally, for the unique challenges posed by the brutal, full-contact fighting style.

"The world championships bring out the 'who's who' in the sport of san shou. This is the absolute highest standard of competition in our sport and all of our training is geared towards performing well in this competition," said Wilkinson.

He said the 'luck of the draw' would determine how far the Bermuda athletes went in the elimination competition.

But heavyweight Jermal Woolridge, who finished fifth at the last world championships in Beijing two years ago, the experienced Sentwali Woolridge and Wilkinson himself are expected to be the island's strongest contenders.

Big things are also expected of Bermuda's lone female fighter Talia Iris.

Wilkinson, who was part of the team in Beijing, said they had modified and improved their training methods since the last competition. "I feel that we are far better equipped than we were two years ago.

"I had the opportunity to train with one of the top U.S. san shou fighters in the 90's earlier this year and I have had a chance to implement some of his training methods into our own training. "We also have had access to more sparring partners with some of the fighters from Skipper Ingham's gym that are taking part in the WAKO World Kickboxing Championships in Austria taking part in a number of our sparring sessions."
Rwanda is out. :(

Rwanda: Cash Strapped Kung-Fu Team Shun World Hampionship (http://allafrica.com/stories/200910230091.html)
Ostine Arinaitwe
23 October 2009

Kigali — RWANDA will not be represented at the world wushu championship in Canada after the national Kungfu team failed to get the required funds to participate in the global showpiece.

The biannual event which starts today and ends next Friday has attracted over 1500 athletes from 121 countries.

The national team was banking on financial support from the Sports ministry but the national Kung-fu federation president Yassin Uramukiye Mubarak yesterday revealed that they had failed to raise the required amount.

"The Sports ministry could not raise the amount needed because they have been stretched a lot by funding Amavubi and the national women basketball team that recently traveled to Madagascar for the Afrobasket tournament."

The team needed Rwf 18m to participate in the competition.

[SPJ]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZM7ZaCPLSA8&feature=related

I picked this song for my son to learn. he is just starting to learn french.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSasU773tzo

my father picked this song for me to learn when I started to learn french in 1960s.

these are children folk songs, but easy enough that we may learn to sing and remember for the rest of our life.

wushu should be made simpler, punch, kick, throw etc

and not to add flashy stuff or too many difficulties nan du.

---

shuai jiao is the same for thousands of years on the great grass plains of China.

boxing is the same in ireland or celtics.

---

:)

[ngokfei]

a performance of the Staff from the games.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-UsP5-VCBM&feature=player_embedded


Yep David, the seats do look empty like baltimore.

[GeneChing]

Not that much coverage online so far...


Iran's Arabi wins silver in World Wushu Championship (http://www.payvand.com/news/09/oct/1259.html)

TORONTO, Canada, Oct. 26 (Mehr News Agency) -- Iran's Farshad Arabi claimed a sliver medal in the 10th World Wushu Championship.

Arabi won the silver in talou (form), scoring 9.72 points. An athlete from Hong Kong finished first with a score of 9.75, and the South Korean participant came third with 9.69.

About 1000 athletes from 73 countries are participating in the tournament which started on Saturday and will end on Thursday in Toronto, Canada.

A total of 20 Iranian men and women athletes represent the country in the event.


Wushu standout takes childhood obsession to world stage (http://www.theliberal.com/News/Sports/article/98436)
October 26, 2009 12:03 PM

Wilson Lui says a good segment of his social life as a youth was far different from others his age.

While many of his friends would go out and play when they weren't attending school, Lui would spend a good portion of his leisure time attending martial arts classes specializing in wushu.

Today, the 19-year-old Markham resident is glad he took that route.

When the 2009 World Wushu Championships commence today at the Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto, Lui will be centre stage.

As one of five athletes representing Team Canada at this six-day event, Lui will compete in the non-combative segment of this martial arts discipline.

Earning a berth on the national team through qualifications at the national championships in Newmarket in August, Lui is entered in three events including barehanded long fist (changquan), short weapon-double edged sword (jianshu) and long weapons-spear (qiangshu).

"This is my first time to compete at the world championships and it's pretty amazing," he said.

Lui is no stranger to international competition having participated last year in the World Junior Wushu Championships in Bali, Indonesia. He felt he gave a good account of himself after placing in the top eight in two events and top 15 in another.

Taking a realistic approach to the upcoming world championships, Lui doesn't expect to come away with a gold medal.

"But I expect to go out and do the best that I can," he said.

A second-year computer science student at York University when he's not practicing, Lui's introduction to the martial arts took place 14 years ago when as a youngster, he had a fixation to the TV set whenever any martial arts programs were on the airwaves.

"I wouldn't blink an eye whenever those action movies came on," he recalled. "My parents thought it would be a good idea to attend those classes because it would teach me some discipline."

Attending the Sunny Tang Martial Arts Centre in Scarborough since Day One, Lui said he would spend a whole day, providing there was no school, nurturing his craft.

For the upcoming world championships, Lui said his daily training schedule goes from 6 to 8 a.m. before going to school and then returning home to train for a few more hours.

In explaining his love for wushu, Lui said there's always something new to be learned.

"There's no way to be completely perfect at it because there's always something you can work on," he explained.

- Michael Hayakawa


Pinoys miss weigh-in for wushu worlds (http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/sports/17776-pinoys-miss-weigh-in-for-wushu-worlds.html)
Written by Reuben Terrado / Reporter
Monday, 26 October 2009 19:29

THE Philippines would not be taking part in the 10th World Wushu Championships in Toronto because the national team members failed to make the weigh-in.

The team actually flew to Toronto, but missed the weigh-in by six hours, according to Wushu Federation of the Philippines secretary-general Julian Camacho.

Camacho said the organizers earlier agreed to conduct a special weigh-in for the Filipinos because their flight schedule would not allow them to arrive in Toronto at an earlier time.

But to the surprise of the team, Camacho said, the organizers did not grant special weigh-in.

“They [organizers] even e-mailed us that they will allow a special weigh-in for us. The team was six hours late but there was no weigh-in,” Camacho said.

He said Germany also arrived late but was granted a special weigh-in.

“They perhaps are afraid of the Filipinos because we are traditional winners there,” said Camacho.

This is the first time that Filipinos, who have an enviable reputation in the event, will miss the world championships. One of the more notable Filipino world champions is Willy Wang, who won a gold medal in 2007 in Beijing.

The team that flew to Toronto was composed of Mary Jane Estimar, Mariane Mariano, Mark Eddiva, Eduard Folayang, Jessie Alidadag and Stephanie Alday. Estimar clinched a silver medal in the 2008 Beijing Wushu Tournament and a gold medal in the 2009 Asian Martial Arts Games. Mariano, on the other hand, bagged a bronze medal in Beijing also in 2008 and a silver in the Asian Martial Arts Games.


Enter the wushu dragon (http://www.thestar.com/sports/article/716122--enter-the-wushu-dragon)
Competitors from 72 countries vie for gold in 10th world contest of Chinese martial art
Image
By Oakland Ross Middle East Bureau Chief
Published On Mon Oct 26 2009

Canadian Timothy Hung, 20, competes Sunday in a men's event at the 10th World Wushu Championships being held at the Ricoh Coliseum.
RICHARD LAUTENS/TORONTO STAR

If Timothy Hung had a more imposing frame, he might not be where he is today – Canadian men's champion in a sport called wushu, competing for international gold.

"I'm a small guy," the slim but remarkably fit Torontonian explained Sunday, "and my mom didn't want me to get picked on at school."

And so, at the age of 11, he began training at the Sunny Tang Martial Arts Centre in Scarborough.

Hung managed to keep the bullies at bay, and now, at age 20, he is part of a Canadian team that's taking on the rest of the planet at the 10th World Wushu Championships.

With more than 600 competitors from 72 countries, the event is the largest sporting contest to be held in Ontario this year, and it's continuing till Thursday at the Ricoh Coliseum. It's the second time the sport's premier competition has made its way to North America and the first time it has been in Canada.

"I just love the sport," Hung said as he prepared to compete in his discipline, a noncombat martial art called taolu. "You meet people from all over the world."

The word wushu simply means "martial arts," and if that doesn't evoke a clear image of the sport, then try to picture a combination of gymnastics and boxing – a marriage of grace and power, on the one hand, with physical mayhem, on the other.

"Hong Kong action movies are all wushu," said Jackson Pellatt, a Canadian coach attending the championships this week.

The sport was effectively born in 1949, when the new, revolutionary government of the People's Republic of China sought to meld more than 300 martial arts disciplines into a single coherent athletic pursuit, a sport that now goes by the name of wushu.

In the form on display in Toronto this week, however, there are really two pursuits: one, taolu, which does not involve fighting, and another, sanshou, which does.

Just ask the Peruvian competitor Sunday who went up against a heavily favoured Chinese fighter.

One thudding kick to the side of the head, and it was lights out in the Andes. The South American went down like a stone, and they carried him off on a stretcher. Out cold.

The Peruvian subsequently regained consciousness, before medical workers transferred him to a downtown hospital for a precautionary CT scan.

"Now you know why it's 18 to 35," said Eileen Fauster, president of Wushu Ontario, referring to the allowable age range for sanshou fighters.

In taolu, it's different. A demonstration sport in which the athletes compete individually, the discipline bears considerable resemblance to floor exercises in gymnastics, only with a lot more grunting.

There seems to be no lower age limit in taolu.

Nalei Chang, an 11-year-old taolu specialist representing Estonia, gave a spirited performance when his turn came, unleashing flips, twirls and spins, all the while brandishing a long, flashing sword, as his coach roared approval.

But the judges handed the boy a mark of just 6.65 out of 10.

"They don't understand!" the coach raged, meaning the judges. "No good!"

Still, he gave his rather disheartened-looking protégé a big hug and bore him off on high, just as you would carry a champion.

Although they may begin young, taolu specialists don't tend to remain in competition much beyond their mid-20s, a result of the sport's punishing physical stress.

Asian countries dominate both the combat and noncombat aspects of the sport, but Canada is a strong contender among non-Asian countries.

"In North America and South America, we're number 1," Fauster said.

For a sport that did not have an international governing body till 1990, wushu has grown fast and travelled far.

"It's in the top five sports in Iran," said Ibrahim Fathi, a taolu specialist from that country, who was watching his teammate, Shamim Mahrdipoor, deliver an almost miraculous performance in a women's taolu event called taijiquan, better known as tai chi.

Clad in yellow robes and wearing a white head scarf, Mahrdipoor seemed to float across the floor.

The judges gave her a score of 9.55, and both she and her teammates seemed pleased.

[GeneChing]

I went over the character count limit with the last post...

Wushu a guiding light (http://www.torontosun.com/sports/othersports/2009/10/26/11524461-sun.html)
By STEVE BUFFERY, SUN MEDIA
Last Updated: 26th October 2009, 3:06am

Eight years ago, Mohammad Ziaei and his family moved from Iran to Canada.

For the 12-year-old, who could not speak English and was unfamiliar with the culture, life in the new land was difficult.

However, the one guiding force, other than his family, which kept the youngster on the straight and narrow was martial arts.

And now, eight years later, Ziaei is representing Canada in the sanshou discipline at the 10th World Wushu Championships at Ricoh Coliseum, and he couldn't be prouder.

"It feels amazing," said Ziaei, who will begin his competition in the first round today. "Yesterday, walking through the crowd (during the opening ceremonies), hearing everybody chant for us, was the best feeling in the world."

Wushu is a sport derived from traditional Chinese martial arts with two main disciplines, sanshou, a combative style which matches two fighters in a contest that includes kicks, strikes and throws, and taolu, a performance discipline, which includes artistic routines with and without weaponry.

The 20-year-old Ziaei hopes to win a medal at the Wushu championships and some day represent Canada at an Olympic Games, if the International Olympic Committee ever decides to include wushu on the program for future competitions. That is definitely possibly as the sport is becoming more international every year and is certainly becoming more popular in Canada. The Canadian team is ranked No.1 in the Americas.

More than 600 athletes from 80 countries will take part in this week's event.

Yesterday, as Ziaei prepared for his first match, a couple of Canadian teammates, Andrea Hung and Margherita Cina prepared for their first competition in the taolu discipline of northern long fists. Cina, 18, finished fifth in a field of 41, while Hung, 17, tied for 11th. Full results will be tabulated at the end of the competition.

Mississauga's Cina, a first year arts and sciences student at McMaster University, began wushu when she was five and last year placed first overall with two golds and a silver at the Pan American championships.

She is also is hoping for a medal this week, but acknowledged that many of the top athletes competing at the worlds are basically full-time athletes who receive funding from their respective governments. Still, being able to compete at a world championships is reward enough for Cina, who enjoys teaching others about her sport.

"It's like gymnastics with the choreography and stuff, but it's a martial art," she said. "It combines fluid movements with aggressive ones. And, yes, it is beautiful. I don't have any problem with anyone saying that."

NATIONALIZATION

Wushu was created in China in 1949 when the central government attempted to nationalize the practice of traditional Chinese arts.

One of the most popular practitioners of the sport is Jet Li, who won 15 gold medals in the Chinese championships, eventually translating his martial arts skills to a successful career as an action movie star.

[lkfmdc]

weigh in promises broken and other "dirty tricks" on the part of the IWUF are just standard stuff sadly... Anyone remember when US team member was told he was not fighting in third segment, and when he wasn't thre they DQ'ed him :rolleyes:

[GeneChing]

I just read Alfred's FB (http://www.facebook.com/alfredrocks) page and he said he captured a gold in straight sword.

[lkfmdc]

I just read Alfred's FB (http://www.facebook.com/alfredrocks) page and he said he captured a gold in straight sword.

that is amazing considering how competitive the taolu is

any news on the sanshou?

[David Jamieson]

a performance of the Staff from the games.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-UsP5-VCBM&feature=player_embedded


Yep David, the seats do look empty like baltimore.


That is a wickedly good wushu staff routine!

seats behind the judges are full.

[lkfmdc]

seats behind the judges are full.

can't watch the clip at the gym, but does it look like 10,000 people :rolleyes:

[David Jamieson]

can't watch the clip at the gym, but does it look like 10,000 people :rolleyes:

ricoh only seats about 8000.

Anyway, why didn't you send any guys up for the san shou?

[GeneChing]

or I should say they will be on the official site.

Here's the window to their results page. (http://www.wushucanada.com/10thwwc/Results.html)

At this posting, they have some pdfs of the sanshou results so far and the promise of some taolu results to be posted tonight. I didn't go through the sanshou results yet.

[lkfmdc]

ricoh only seats about 8000.



it was sarcasm, they said they were going to have 50,000 spectators and didn't you say that was possible over 5 days? :rolleyes:




Anyway, why didn't you send any guys up for the san shou?



In the US, the real sanshou teams gave up on the IWUF and the USA WKF a long time ago.. it's corrupt, the people running it are clowns, it's dangerous and there is no recognition for even doing it

[lkfmdc]

Two immediate observations from the limited san shou info Gene put up

1) WOW! lots of the same figures from the past still in there... which is BAD NEWS for newbies... Majorly experienced very tough guys still in there banging away

2) Only US result I saw was a LOSS by technical victory to France. Losing by TV is pretty bad to begin with, losing by TV to France is like being gang raped by parapalegics...

[David Jamieson]

so, if the real teams gave up, why haven't they formed their own sanctioning body?

I don't understand?

The wba doesn't really care about the wbf, they do their business with or without each other and why can't that be the same.

I speculated that getting 50k passing through wouldn't be a biggie especially if they opened up the exhibit next door as free.

50k in paying people for any ma event that isn't sanctioned boxing, ufc or ufc level of competition is a rough go for anyone really I would think.

not saying it isn't possible, it is, just saying that it isn't common because people go with the flow for the most part.

this kind of stuff is niche and not mainstream at all.

[GLW]

In dealing with the IWuF, you have to keep in mind you are dealing with a Chinese organization.

Connections and history - face and mutual respect have a lot to do with what happens.

So, in that light, any new organization in ANY country coming up and taking the recognized organization spot from an existing organization in a country is highly unlikely.

Now, this CAN be done...and has been attempted in at least one South American country about 10 years ago. The recognized organization there had some major ethics and legal problems from everything I had heard. However, it was not and probably would never be proved in a court.... So the IWuF took the approach that such a disagreement was an internal issue to the country and that unless that was settled legally by that country, the recognition of the governing body would not change.

Along with that decision was also an under the table implied discussion that sort of went like "We feel your pain...and for a PRICE, anything is possible..."

But then the idea of an auction with recognition going to the highest bidder comes up.

What Ross is talking about is that the IWuF recognition only really buys you something if you want to compete in the IWuF events - typically one event every 2 years. Since Wushu and Sanshou did not make the Olympics, there is not much beyond that to be gained by the outlay of cash.

[SPJ]

Politics aside.

you may also have your own grassroot organisations.

you may adopt similar rules or modified them.

even thou you may not be "recognised".

it is your crowd and your own 'hood (town and country).

still have fun.

In Taiwan, there are more civilian/folks organisations and events than government sponsored org or events.

In China, yes most if not all org and events are government "sanctioned".

sports or any physical activites belong to the people.

It would be nice to have wushu academy, wushu at college, wushu at university, wushu at graduate school etc etc. It is a highly "controlled" system in PR China.

but again, Wushu comes from the people and belongs to the people.

---

[lkfmdc]

In dealing with the IWuF, you have to keep in mind you are dealing with a Chinese organization.


and everything involved in dealing with a Chinese organization :rolleyes:






the IWuF took the approach that such a disagreement was an internal issue to the country and that unless that was settled legally by that country, the recognition of the governing body would not change.



I think you meant NORTH AMERICAN country, like *cough*USA*cough*anthonygoh*cough*shawnliu*cough*b s*cough

oh, the dust in here ;)

[GeneChing]

Here's a new found article that covers an earlier article.

Blunder costs RP wushu team’s world meet ticket (http://www.tribune.net.ph/sports/20091027spo1.html)
By Julius Manicad
10/27/2009

Wushu, the sport which gave the country a brief moment of glory for winning the gold medal as a demonstration sport in the 2008 Beijing Olympics — came up with a humiliating, world-class blunder this time.

A strong six-man contingent is expected to be sent back home anytime soon after it was barred from seeing action in the 10th World Wushu Championships in Canada for its leaders’ failure to beat the deadline for the submission of official entries.

According to a prominent wushu insider, the team got to the meet very late, prompting organizers to bar it from joining the official weigh-in, and the entire tournament for good.

The team also went there without a “real coach.”

It will be the first time for the Filipino wushu artists return from the prestigious tourney empty-handed as they have been consistently clinching gold medals since 1993.

The source, a ranking official in the Wushu Federation of the Philippines (WFP), said the team could have been a sure winner despite the absence of Willy Wang — the gold medalist in the Beijing Games.

Wang, who retired shortly after his triumphant effort, wasn’t able to train after he was branded unsupportive to the group of erstwhile wushu boss Julian Camacho.

Olympic silver medalist Marian Mariano and bronze medalist Mary Jane Estimar led the delegation along with Edward Foloyang, Jesse Aligaga, Mark Ediva and Stephanie Agbay, who had to dig into her own pocket to finance her trip.

“They reached Canada, but because their team official is not knowledgeable in wushu, they arrived late for the weigh-in and the whole team of sanshou was disqualified,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“This will be the first time we won’t be able to join despite the huge expense from the federation due to (the) inefficiency and technical ignorance of the (WFP) president and Camacho,” the source said.

No government money was spent on the trip.

“It’s a good thing that the PSC (Philippine Sports Commission) did not extend financial assistance for this trip,” PSC chairman Harry Angping said, expressing disappointment over the fate of the squad tasked to deliver medals in the 25th Southeast Asian Games.

Some Taolu results are up. Here are some U.S. results:

Alfred Hsing did take gold in Jianshu. It's his year. He was also in Deadliest Warrior (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=53721) on Spike earlier this year.

Colvin Wang took silver in Qiangshu. He also placed 8th in Jianshu.

Sarah Chang placed 8th in Changquan and Joanna Pei 5th in Daoshu.

Sanshou finals don't take place until 10/29.

On a final note, I'm pleased to say that if you search "world wushu games" on Google, this very thread comes up 4th, right after www.beijingwushuteam.com, wikipeida and www.iwuf.org. This thread also occupies the 7th & 8th slots on that first Google search page and the official site (http://www.wushucanada.com/10thwwc/) doesn't appear.

[GLW]

No...I WAS actually referring to two instances of SOUTH American countries that had issues with their recognized IWuF organization.

In both instances, the recognized groups did NOT have the support of the major Wushu competitors in the country - or their coaches. There were improprieties in the way the teams were selected - indications of collusion, bribes, and so forth.

The IWuF was informed and took the "That is an internal matter to your country." approach.

[lkfmdc]

There were improprieties in the way the teams were selected - indications of collusion, bribes, and so forth.



well, you know me, I don't hold back, that is exactly what has happened in the US where the sanshou team trials were concerned...

[GeneChing]

He beat a Brazilian. He's up against an Iranian next.

[lkfmdc]

He beat a Brazilian. He's up against an Iranian next.

Brazil followed by Iran, what a rough draw...
what's after that? Russia and China :eek:

[GeneChing]

Max Erhlich placed 7th in nandao.

Alex Cisne defeated Khalid Pitcher of Bermuda in Men's 80KG, but then lost to Hossein Ojaghi of Iran.

Max lost to Sajjad Abbasiamir of Iran in Men's 70KG. Not sure who the Brazilian was.

Note that I'm just scanning the results from the official site. I got word of Max's win off his FB page.

[lkfmdc]

Hossein Ojaghi is a very bad man.....

[Lucas]

apparently them persians dont mess around

[lkfmdc]

apparently them persians dont mess around

the power houses in sanshou have always been the IRanians, CHinese, Russians and Brazilians...

in the lighter weights Vietnam and South Korea as well

[GeneChing]

Looks like Malaysia is the only country reporting on this, at least according to the web news feeds.


Wednesday October 28, 2009
Wushu: Mun Hua bags Malaysia’s first-ever nanquan gold at world meet (http://thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2009/10/28/sports/4986792&sec=sports)
By LIM TEIK HUAT

PETALING JAYA: Malaysian wushu exponent Ho Mun Hua struck paydirt on his debut appearance in the world championships, claiming the men’s nanquan (southern style bare hands) gold medal in Toronto on Monday.

The 19-year-old chalked up a score of 9.74 to come out tops in a field of 48 exponents and became the first-ever Malaysian to take gold in the discipline at the biennial championships.

China-born exponent He Jing De took silver for Hong Kong on 9.72 and Timothy Hung of Canada was third on 9.69.

Mun Hua, who is also bound for the Laos SEA Games in December, is also the first Malaysian male in four years to emerge as the gold medallist in the championships.

Chai Fong Ying was the only Malaysian gold medallist in the last championships in Beijing, winning in the women’s taijiquan event.

The Malacca-born Mun Hua gave indication of his steady rise when he took bronze in the nangun and nanquan combined event yesterday.

It was Mun Hua’s biggest achievement since he first donned national colours in the 2007 Korat SEA Games.

The former Asian junior champion did not win any medal in the Games but went on to bag the gold medal for Negri Sembilan in Sukma (Malaysia Games) in Terengganu last year.

Malaysia also had much to savour on the opening day in Toronto as fellow debutant Tai Cheau Xuen took bronze in women’s nandao (broadsword).

The 18-year-old Negri Sembilan lass finished on 9.52 behind Russian Tatiana Ivshina (9.74) and Hong Kong’s Yuen Ka Ying (9.60).

Cheau Xuen was a gold medallist in the youth world championships last year and the Asian Juniors this year.

Another Malaysian respresentative, Diana Bong Siong Lin, finished seventh in the event on 9.40.

Team manager Chong Kim Fatt was ecstatic over Mun Hua’s performances and said that he had boosted the team’s campaign.

“The changquan (northern) and nanquan are the two basic disciplines and they are the most difficult events to win,” he said from Toronto yesterday.

“I am happy that we have produced a world champion and it is good for the future as Mun Hua comes up from the back-up squad.”

Chai Fong Ying, the 2006 Doha Asian Games champion, will be out on stage for the defence of the world title in taijiquan today while there is also hope on World Games bronze medallist Lee Yang in men’s taijijian (taiji sword).


Thursday October 29, 2009
Lee Yang delivers second gold for Malaysia (http://thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2009/10/29/sports/4996283&sec=sports)
By LIM TEIK HUAT

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian male wushu exponents continued to put up hot performances in the World Championships in chilly Toronto and Lee Yang delivered a second gold for the country on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old finally got his act right in his third world championship campaign to secure first place in the men’s taijiquan competition with a score of 9.74.
Lee Yang won the men’s taijiquan gold.

South Korea’s Jang Young-ho won the silver on 9.73 and the bronze went to Malaysia’s Loh Jack Chang, who chalked up 9.72.

Lee Yang, the bronze medallist in the World Games in Kaohsiung in July, finished fourth in his debut in the world championships in Hanoi in 2005 and claimed the bronze in Beijing two years later. His golden effort in Toronto is worth RM40,000 under the National Sports Council (NSC) reward scheme.

The 21-year-old Jack Chang had a splendid debut when he took silver in the men’s taijijian (taiji sword) earlier. The Sarawakian scored 9.80 to be placed behind Huang Qing Yi of China (9.83).

Malaysia also earned a bronze in the women’s nanquan (southern style barehands) discipline through Asian junior champion Tai Cheau Xuen, who finished on 9.42.

It was the second medal for Cheau Xuen in the championships after a bronze in the nandao (broadsword) event on Monday.

Lee Yang’s performance brought relief to the Malaysian camp after Chai Fong Ying failed in her defence of the women’s taijiquan title.

The 2006 Doha Asian Games gold medallist finished in a disappointing 11th spot on 9.47 in the competition won by Indonesia’s Lindswell (9.80). Another Malaysian, Ng Shin Yii, missed out on a medal in fourth place on 9.75.

Malaysia have a medal haul of 2-1-3 after two days of competition and team manager Chong Kim Fatt is glad the team have managed to better the achievements of the last championships in Beijing.

“We had a total haul of 1-2-4 two years ago. This is also the first time we won gold in men’s taijiquan,” he said from Toronto yesterday.

“We have a team of more youngsters following the retirement of several seniors. I am so happy we are doing much better than we expected.”

[David Jamieson]

last day is tomorrow.

[GeneChing]

All I've found this morning was this:

Wushu officials to file protest (http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideSports.htm?f=2009/october/29/sports3.isx&d=/2009/october/29)

FILIPINO officials will file a protest after organizers of the 10th World Wushu Championships in Canada failed to include members of the Philippine national team in the tournament’s schedule.

Officials of the tournament earlier promised the Wushu Federation of the Philippines that the national squad will still be accommodated after they were informed that the Filipinos will be arriving late for the meet.

WFP representative Julian Camacho said they have informed the world body of their plight after Filipino athletes were not able to join the tournament.
There's got to be some Canadian coverage somewhere. It's just not going up on the web...

[GLW]

Gotta love it.

Filing a protest with the IWuF is sort of like wetting yourself in a dark brown suit. You get a warm feeling - but no one seems to notice.

So..the protest will mean - their team will still not be able to compete since in all likelihood, the protest will not be settled until long after the competition is over.

The athletes denied their chance will still not be allowed their chance - you can't restage the competition.

The group filing a protest may find itself unofficially blacklisted and have their scores mysteriously lowered in future competitions ... Wait, surely the judges and officials from the IWuF would never engage in revenge for complaints....

Yes indeed...just another same old same old day.

[Skip J.]

The group filing a protest may find itself unofficially blacklisted and have their scores mysteriously lowered in future competitions ... Wait, surely the judges and officials from the IWuF would never engage in revenge for complaints....
Surely not???

Really???

[GLW]

Well, back in 1995 in the games in Baltimore, Canada fielded a very talented team in Taolu. In fact, one of their members did a spear routine that was probably one of the cleanest and technically correct I have ever seen.

Then another 2 countries followed them. The Canadian's score was over something like 0.25 lower than the two that followed. All the spectators, competitors, and coaches had a major WTF look and the displeasure was noted. The other two people came in with medals and the Canadian got squat.

I had the opportunity to speak with several people - some on the Canadian team, some on other teams, others... And it came out that the Officials from China were not really happy with one of the people who was listed as a Coach for Canada.

That was the year they went in with the idea that there would be 1 Gold, 1 Silver, and 1 Bronze for each event unless there were actual ties. On the first day, they had a LOOONG meeting that evening. Another the following day.

Then, they were presenting multiple Golds, Silvers, Bronzes for each event. The dais looked like the curtain call for a Broadway show after all of the medals for each event were done....many many people on the stage.

That one was due to the IWuF officials noting that there were a number of new countries with teams involved and they wanted to be "generous" with medals to hopefully grow the teams in the new and prospective countries. Politics in motion.

[lkfmdc]

protests will get you exactly NO WHERE in the IWUF... it will be completely ignored AND they will take "retribution" on your team some time later

[Xiao3 Meng4]

I wonder if these politics are linked to the fact that San Shou hasn't taken off in NA in a big way. I mean, there are so many San Shou tournaments without full contact, or without head contact... if full head contact was allowed, you'd see more wins outside of decision... which would mean less control over the outcome by the judges...?

[GeneChing]

Once you bring in the boxing commission, that's going to be costly for the promoter.

But there are other reasons for sanshou's tepid growth in America. Over to you, lkfmdc. ;):p

[David Jamieson]

protests will get you exactly NO WHERE in the IWUF... it will be completely ignored AND they will take "retribution" on your team some time later

Lol. They act like an evil cabal.

Wait a minute... According to 'enter the dragon', that's exactly how the tournament promoters are supposed to be.

:D

[Skip J.]

Well, back in 1995 in the games in Baltimore, Canada fielded a very talented team in Taolu. In fact, one of their members did a spear routine that was probably one of the cleanest and technically correct I have ever seen.

Then another 2 countries followed them. The Canadian's score was over something like 0.25 lower than the two that followed. All the spectators, competitors, and coaches had a major WTF look and the displeasure was noted. The other two people came in with medals and the Canadian got squat.

I had the opportunity to speak with several people - some on the Canadian team, some on other teams, others... And it came out that the Officials from China were not really happy with one of the people who was listed as a Coach for Canada.

That was the year they went in with the idea that there would be 1 Gold, 1 Silver, and 1 Bronze for each event unless there were actual ties. On the first day, they had a LOOONG meeting that evening. Another the following day.

Then, they were presenting multiple Golds, Silvers, Bronzes for each event. The dais looked like the curtain call for a Broadway show after all of the medals for each event were done....many many people on the stage.

That one was due to the IWuF officials noting that there were a number of new countries with teams involved and they wanted to be "generous" with medals to hopefully grow the teams in the new and prospective countries. Politics in motion.

Ah well, ok, hmmmm.... so CMA events anywhere may be subject to some of the same backroom deals as other sport events???????

[David Jamieson]

Ah well, ok, hmmmm.... so CMA events anywhere may be subject to some of the same backroom deals as other sport events???????

cma events are often tragically mired by face games which are due to some cultural quirk I guess.

meh, what are you gonna do. You can always bribe your way to the top or ingratiate yourself to the judges.

:p

[SPJ]

yes, these events are social.

it is more important to make friends than worrying about medals.

everyone is a winner just to attend or be part of it.

medal can only be awarded to one person.

but winning friendship or comradeship is more important.

Philipino team is good. no need a medal to "prove" it.

even thou they are late.

I know the committee will make it up to them one way or another.

it is more important that you know yourself that you are good.

than seeking the approval or recognition of biannual events.

:cool:

[David Jamieson]

yes, these events are social.

it is more important to make friends than worrying about medals.

everyone is a winner just to attend or be part of it.

medal can only be awarded to one person.

but winning friendship or comradeship is more important.

Philipino team is good. no need a medal to "prove" it.

even thou they are late.

I know the committee will make it up to them one way or another.

it is more important that you know yourself that you are good.

than seeking the approval or recognition of biannual events.

:cool:

if this were true, there would be no such thing as olympics, or war, or sport. lol

If you are to present something as a competitive tournament, then competition is the name of the game.

Social events are for meeting friends and drinking tea and chatting etc.
Social events aren't held under the banner of competitive tournament.

In short, what has been done and what the IWUF seem to continue to be doing is wrong, unethical, and out of line with the spirit of competitive sport.

It needs to be cleaned up and the corrupted officials of same need to be tossed out the door on their asses.

It is difficult to be friends with people who steal from you, lie to you and cheat you.
If they reform , perhaps that can be a new beginning, but otherwise, they will continue to fail in their events if they continue to behave in their childish, self absorbed ways.

[SPJ]

let me back up a bit.

yes. these are competition events for the competitors.

may the best win on the floor (taolu) or stage (san shou).

but social for the coaches.

when not competing, the students may make friends with fellow students from near and afar.

---

[GLW]

It is unfortunate but there is a slightly different concept of what is and is not ethical in China.

China has a number of contradictions. For example, there are many stories of historical and literary heroes standing up for the weak, the poor, the nation as a whole, etc.. Yue Feh is one example. So, there is this ideal of one should be a hero like Yue Feh... Yet at the same time, there is the very common saying about standing up and out "The nail that stands up gets beaten down" that compared to the hero idea can make one totally bipolar.

Similarly, there is the idea that you should be honest.... and smart. Yet if you get cheated by a professional con man who cheats the best of 'em, you are talked about as being "stupid - Gan Do"

So, should we be surprised that in Chinese Competitions, they go to great lengths to have certified and qualified judges. Yet at the same time, the different colleges for wushu send judges from their school...and it is understood that if the beginner judge does not score in favor of their home team, they probably won't get the chance again.

So, we take that idea of "look the other way" and built in retribution and expand the sport out of China...and big surprise...it works the same way.

Shouldn't...but it DOES.

As for Sanshou's problem in the US started with politics. The Boxing Commission and licensing issues have been a plague since 1995 in Baltimore.... So, the possibility of building a sport that has no way of getting going unless those interested in competition obtain a license and the ones putting on an event are licensed with quite often corrupt Boxing Commissions...and then the required insurance...

Well, let's just say Custer had a better chance at the Little Big Horn than Sanshou did of taking hold.

[GeneChing]

This is sort of a human interest story, not really a report.

Crouching Tigers & Hidden Dragons: Chinese Wushu flourishes in Canada (http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-10/30/content_12357944.htm)
www.chinaview.cn 2009-10-30 07:27:09

By Huang Xiaoyun

TORONTO, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- Jonathan Leung had a very different childhood from others of his age. He started the wushu training at five at the Ji Hong Wushu & Taichi College in Canada's western city of Edmonton. And he had to practice certain movements every day while his peers went out to play.

The 18-years-old Leung just represented Team Canada in the non-combative Taolu discipline at the 10th World Wushu Championships (WWC) at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto, which was held from October 24 to 29. More than 600 competitors from 72 countries participated in the event held by International Wushu Federation every two years.

Wushu, the Chinese term for Martial Arts, is divided into two groups. The combative elements of Wushu are known as Sanshou and feature spectacular full contact fighting. The non-combative, ritualistic elements are known as Taolu and consist of highly artistic and precise routines.

It is the first time the event has taken place in Canada, and the second time in North America. This year Canada is represented by 20 athletes including Leung, 10 in Taolu discipline and 10 in Sanshou segment. Some of them are in the top rankings in the world and already won some international medals including Pan American Wushu Championships, Junior World Championships.

"We see it is a great opportunity to raise awareness about Wushu in Canada and in the world," Sunny Tang, President of Wushu Canada, said of the championship in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Though this sport was officially born in 1949, when the People's Republic of China melded over 300 martial arts disciplines into a single athletic pursuit, Wushu was not introduced as a sport to Canada until 18 years ago.

Before that, Canadians only knew Wushu as a traditional Chinese martial art from action movies starring Wushu masters like Jack Chan or Bruce Lee.

Tang, also president of Sunny Tang Martial Arts Center in Toronto, organized Canada's first national Wushu team for the 3rd World Wushu Championships in 1993.

"Our team was very weak," recalled Tang. "There was not a tiny chance for us to win a medal, not to mention a gold!"

Situation is totally different now. Margherita Cina, one of Tang's students, brought the first gold medal for Team Canada in Taolu Women's Jianshu (double-edged sword) on October 26. Cina, a first year student of Arts and Sciences at McMaster University joined Sunny Tang Martial Arts Centre when she was five years old.

"Canada is ranked No. 1 among the non-Asian countries in Wushu competition!" Eileen Fauster, President Wushu Ontario, said with pride.

The number of registered members of Wushu Canada has increased to more than 5,000 in five years, including 3,600 in Ontario. Since 2006, Wushu Ontario has received funding from the provincial government every year to further increase awareness of the sport.

Last year, Canadian Wushu athletes brought home 13 medals - including three gold medals in the Taolu competition - from the World Junior Wushu Championships in Indonesia. Canada finished fifth in overall medal standings at the event. This is the highest ranking for a North American country in this traditionally Asian-dominated sport.

"Students not only learn how to defend themselves, but also learn how to be self-disciplined, humble and good team players," said Fauster, also a student of the Sunny Tang Martial Arts Centre. Fauster has practiced Ving Tsun, one of the Wushu disciplines, for10 years and won the Bronze medal at the 2nd World Traditional Wushu Championships in Zhengzhou, China in 2006 at an age of 44.

Hongyuan Luo, President of Ji Hong Wushu & Taichi College, attributed the growth of Wushu in Canada to the increased international exchanges of talents and theories.

Wushu is an official sport in Asia. Many Asian countries have professional Wushu athletes, while all the athletes in Canada are amateurs. China, where Wushu is originated, has always the highest level of Wushu performance and competition.

In recent years, many professional Wushu coaches and gold medal winners from China and other Asian countries came to Canada to coach students in Wushu schools, or set up their own Wushu schools. The most up-to-date Wushu teaching practices they brought to Canada helped the country's Wushu practitioners a lot at both theoretical and technical level.

Luo's own experience is a good example. Luo and his wife Daijuan Gu were both Wushu majors at the University of Guangzhou, China and practiced Taichi since childhood. They had been instructors and lecturers at the South China Normal University in Guangzhou before they moved to Edmonton in 1988 and set up Ji HongWushu & Taichi College in Edmonton in 1989.

Now Luo's college has three branches in Edmonton, Calgary, and Toronto, with a total of more than 1,000 students. Some of their students in Edmonton have been learning Taichi from them since 1989 because they found out there is always something new to learn.

"Wushu can push people to work hard and be the best," said Fauster. "I see our Wushu athletes have won scholarships and bursaries from universities. They always want to be the best."

[David Jamieson]

The cake is a lie.

:p

[lkfmdc]

It is unfortunate but there is a slightly different concept of what is and is not ethical in China.



I forget the exact quote, but in Cantonese there is a saying that basicly goes "the clever one cheats people out of money and avoids paying his debts"

PS: san shou was doing fine without the USA WKF and the IWUF but the commissions in NY and CA killed the two promotions that were driving the sport

[GeneChing]

At least Malaysia cares

Wushu: Say Yoke and Diana bag medals in Toronto (http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/20091030081145/Article/index_html)
2009/10/30
Ajitpal Singh

NG Say Yoke and Diana Bong added two bronze medals to Malaysia's haul in the Wushu World Championships in Toronto on Wednesday.

Say Yoke, after failing in two earlier events, produced a splendid performance to secure the bronze in the men's daoshu (sword) discipline with 9.72 points.

The Kedah-born exponent had finished fifth in the changquan (northern style barehands) and gunshu (stick) events earlier in the week.

It was Say Yoke's first world meet medal since his debut in the 2002 edition in Beijing.

Meanwhile, Diana, a 2007 Sea Games gold medallist, earned 9.64 points for third place in the women's nangun (cudgel).

The Sarawak-born exponent had earlier finished fifth in nanquan (southern style barehands) and seventh in nando (broadsword).

The bronze is her second World Championship medal after taking the silver in nanquan in the Beijing edition two years ago.

The two bronze medals boosted Malaysia's haul to two gold, one silver and five bronze after Wednesday's proceedings.

The two gold medals came from men's exponents Ho Mun Hua and Lee Yang in nanquan and taijiquan events respectively.

The silver was delivered by Loh Jack Chang in taijijian (taiji sword). The national squad newcomer also secured a bronze in taijiquan.

Fellow debutante Tai Cheau Xuen earned bronze medals in women's nanquan and nandao


Friday October 30, 2009
Say Yoke and Diana end stint with podium spots (http://thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2009/10/30/sports/5003473&sec=sports)
By LIM TEIK HUAT

PETALING JAYA: Wushu exponents Ng Say Yoke and Diana Bong Siong Lin signed off from the world championships in style with bronze medal-winning performances in Toronto on Wednesday.

After coming out empty-handed in the changquan (northern style bare hands) and gunshu (stick) competitions, both in fifth place, Say Yoke secured a place on the podium in the men’s daoshu (sword) event with a score of 9.72.

It was the first world championship medal for the Kedah exponent since he made his debut for the national team in the last edition of the biennial series in Beijing.
Fruitful outings: Diana Bong Siong Lin and Ng Say Yoke (inset) won bronze medals at the world wushu championships in Toronto on Wednesday.

Korat SEA Games gold medallist Diana will come home with a world championship medal for the second time.

The Sarawakian earned 9.64 for her display in the women’s nangun (cudgel) competition.

Diana, who won the silver in nanquan two years ago, had ended out of the medals in seventh place in nandao (broadsword) and fifth in nanquan (southern style bare hands).

The two bronze medals from Say Yoke and Diana brought Malaysia’s tally to 2-1-5 with one day of competition remaining.

The two gold medals were won in men’s competitions by Ho Mun Hua (nanquan) and Lee Yang (taijiquan). The silver came from Loh Jack Chang in taijijian (taiji sword) and the national squad newcomer also secured a bronze in taijiquan.

Debutant Tai Cheau Xuen earned two bronze medals in women’s nanquan and nandao.

The 2006 Doha Asian Games gold medallist, Chai Fong Ying, who finished a disappointing 11th in taijiquan on Tuesday, will be hoping to make amends in the taijijian competition, which is one of the three events contested on the final day.

The other two are the men’s and women’s dual events.

And Iran comes in second after China, beating out HK.

Iran comes 2nd at Wushu World Championships (http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=110011&sectionid=3510211)
Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:05:31 GMT

The Iranians came second with five gold, six silver and one bronze medal in the event, IRNA reported on Friday.

China won the championships after earning fourteen gold and one bronze medal while Hong Kong were third with three gold, six silver and three bronze medals.

The 10th Wushu World Championships was held at Ricoh Coliseum and the Direct Energy Centre, October 24-29.

About 1000 athletes from 73 countries took part in the event organized by the International Wushu Federation every two years.

Twenty Iranian athletes, both men and women, participated in the six-day event.

[lkfmdc]

quickly glanced at what was posted online

1. WOW! China beat Ataev! WOW

2. Were there only 2 Americans this time? Max and Kasey??

3. Final results, a lot of the same power houses but a few relatively new nations in the finals, nice to see that at least

[Xiao3 Meng4]

This Youtube poster has nicely uploaded a bunch of the competitors' performances.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNjv1dui6jQ&feature=related

[Xiao3 Meng4]

Here are some of the San Shou matches.

10th WWC San Shou - 70kg - ITA. vs. LIB.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwAEzebSpSo

75kg - RUssia vs. Iran
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bJoQIvkbb8&feature=channel

Brasil Vs. Bermuda round 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8TDsS2t_5w

[GeneChing]

We got an earful of reports already - nothing we can share from our position, I'm afraid. But I'll look forward to any rumors/tales any of you might have heard.... ;)

Costly wushu oversight (http://sports.inquirer.net/columns/columns/view/20091031-233339/Costly-wushu-oversight)
By Beth Celis
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 23:32:00 10/31/2009

Did you know that weigh-ins are also required in some wushu events?

I only found this out recently after the Filipino contingent in the recent 10th Wushu World Championship
in Toronto, Canada, was not allowed to participate for arriving late for the weigh-in, which is required in the Sanshou event.

Only one athlete
, Stephanie Agbay, was able to compete. Taolu, where she finished 11th, did not require a weigh-in.

It was a waste of time, money and effort but no one blamed the NSA since it was the association that shouldered all the expenses.

Insiders said the costly oversight never happened before. Tan Si Ling, who led the RP group in Toronto, is one of two new presidents elected by the federation. The other is Tai Lian.

[GLW]

I do have to ask a question of Gene here.

While I will 100% agree with you that the magazine should not indulge in repeating rumors, innuendo, gossip, or sour-grapes complaints...

I would differ in the idea that the magazine, as a somewhat journalistic endeavor that is not simply publishing articles written by freelance submitters...but also publishing articles of news and interest to those in the community of Chinese Martial Artists - there is an obligation to report on the news - good and bad - and do at least some level of analysis.

Granted, when you actually do the job of reporting on a competition - whether it be an IWuF international event or a US only event - you can very easily find yourself pi$$ing off the promoter or the organization doing the event if you actually report fairly on problems.

But, at the same time, if problems are brought to light, there is a much higher chance that they will be addressed.

It would seem that an interview with the folks from the Phillippines - combined with an interview or responses from the IWuF officials who made the decisions concerning them would be reasonable...and balanced reporting.

Similarly, if there were any other issues, covering both sides of the story would seem appropriate.

So, if you were to do it journalistically, Why Not?

[lkfmdc]

I support Gene, he's in a unique position

I was recently offered a "political postion" that I turned down, it would require a certain positon, certain conflicts of interest, etc... I prefer to be me, willing to say anything no matter who gets pizzed off ;)

back in the day, MANY of the us sanshou folks basicly said "you can't say and do those things!" yet they privately agreed with me :D and ultimately, I was right

if I hear anything more, I'll be willing to share!

[GeneChing]

...hold the phone, GLW. It's me you're talking to. When have I shied away from reporting what I see at a tournament or event? Remember what we did when reporting the Wushu Tournament Beijing (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52785)?

The rumors so far are your typical bellyaching so far - nothing substantial yet, nothing a journalist would act upon. Perhaps I phrased that too provocatively. I didn't mean to do so.

[lkfmdc]

what happened to my original "I support Gene" post?

[David Jamieson]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/kunglek/godzillawin.jpg

[GeneChing]

The forum has been a little unstable today. I blame all those pesky ninjas (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=55370). Anyways, thanks for the support. ;)

[lkfmdc]

The forum has been a little unstable today. I blame all those pesky ninjas (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=55370). Anyways, thanks for the support. ;)

the following appears and disappears all day? :confused::eek:



I support Gene, he's in a unique position

I was recently offered a "political postion" that I turned down, it would require a certain positon, certain conflicts of interest, etc... I prefer to be me, willing to say anything no matter who gets pizzed off

back in the day, MANY of the us sanshou folks basicly said "you can't say and do those things!" yet they privately agreed with me and ultimately, I was right

if I hear anything more, I'll be willing to share!

[GLW]

I was reacting to the phrasing. I agree that rumors are rumors. Reporting is reporting. I do not want to read articles about rumors... (of course, like most, I am not above listening to them :) )

If the IWuF deserves a good report on this...please do it.

[GeneChing]

GLW, sorry to have been so provocative. That wasn't my intention. My understanding - and this is solely based on hearsay - is that the IWuF is very sensitive to the situation since they received the brunt of the issues - stuff like missed pick ups of VIPs at the airport and various logistical problems. It's nothing earthshattering so far - sorry to disappoint. ;)

As you know, I surf the newsfeeds every working morning for more grist for our forum mill. I'm very struck by how much coverage wushu is getting at the Asian Indoor Games (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=53777) in comparison to 10WWG.

[lkfmdc]

Gene, I think you are having database issues, that's all, no giant conspiracy ;)

My personal take, a lot of the "deatails" are hard to get right in an event like this when it isn't done in a country where sport is taken seriously and supported by the host country. We know when the world championships are done in China, they have massive support for the events. I actually understand that Italy was very well run. The USA, well, that was a disaster LOL :D

I haven't heard any substantial yet, and since the US team looks like it was 3 people (I mean sanshou) maybe I won't?

[GLW]

Logistics problems always happen. Some VIPs are more VIP than others...but these kinds of things are not the big issues.

More important are things that have to do with how the judging and officiating was done. For example, no one ever reported on the meetings at the WWG in Baltimore in 1995 that took place late into the night. The end result was that many more medals were awarded for Taolu events than one would expect. Even this obvious observation of the number of medalists was never really mentioned in any magazine in the US - presumably to save face for some people.

So...for me, I am in agreement about the VIP logistics issues. No big thing...but if there are any issues in scoring, weigh-ins, officiating, rule bending, etc... Now, those things are what I would be interested in seeing reported openly.

[lkfmdc]

IN all seriousness, how do you expect a culture and a government system that has no concept of western ideals of fairness to be fair?

In sanshou, the officials have to march in around the stage like it's a CCP party meeting.. ONE PERSON, the head judge has absolute power, ie 5 judges can have red win, but ONE PERSON, the head official can change that to black, and there is NO APPEAL for that

It took them more than a decade to realize women do sanshou!

IE they just don't grasp ideas that seem obvious to us...

[David Jamieson]

IN all seriousness, how do you expect a culture and a government system that has no concept of western ideals of fairness to be fair?

In sanshou, the officials have to march in around the stage like it's a CCP party meeting.. ONE PERSON, the head judge has absolute power, ie 5 judges can have red win, but ONE PERSON, the head official can change that to black, and there is NO APPEAL for that

It took them more than a decade to realize women do sanshou!

IE they just don't grasp ideas that seem obvious to us...

lol. That's ridiculous.

[lkfmdc]

lol. That's ridiculous.

In the good old Shawn Liu days, he'd line everyone up to do the marching crap, I have no idea why perfectly normal Americans agreed to strut around high heeling like red guard, but they'd do it, except for me, I'd just walk to my seat and sit down. Shawn always got upset

Jeff Bolt's 1997 event (the night was the pay per view) but during the day, 5 judges had RED winning, Shawn reversed it for BLACK, who happened to be his student! Best of all, according to the rules, he doesn't have to explain, he has absolute power as head judge

Remember, China doesn't even translate the rules into other languages (maybe they do now? I am talking about the past?) ands the brilliant guys in charge of USA WKF never bothered to translate them into English...

Have you ever heard of a legit international sport where they can change the rules the SAME DAY at a major international event, and better yet, NOT have an open meeting to tell the competitors it happened?

[David Jamieson]

Yeah, it's pretty much a joke.

Keep working at it Dave.

[lkfmdc]

Yeah, it's pretty much a joke.

Keep working at it Dave.

There is nothing left to work at

China mucked up things so badly, there is basicly NO CHANCE that either taolu or sanshou will be "Olympic" despite the charade they engaged in during the Beijing olympics

In the US, no one gives a crap anymore about IWUF style sanshou. The 7 major US based teams don't participate in it at all anymore, and in fact most have transtitioned to Muay Thai and MMA events.

That's why the past two "world championships" the only thing the US could do was send raw newbies who had basicly no chance of medaling....

[David Jamieson]

There is nothing left to work at

China mucked up things so badly, there is basicly NO CHANCE that either taolu or sanshou will be "Olympic" despite the charade they engaged in during the Beijing olympics

In the US, no one gives a crap anymore about IWUF style sanshou. The 7 major US based teams don't participate in it at all anymore, and in fact most have transtitioned to Muay Thai and MMA events.

That's why the past two "world championships" the only thing the US could do was send raw newbies who had basicly no chance of medaling....

uh, take it away from them?

teh 7 major teams would gravitate to something that was more in line with what you're saying?

It's your passion, isn't it?

take it away from the IWUF, build it back up and don't allow a single snakehead into any of it. If people wanna play, they play by THE rules and not according to the weird behaviours of people obssessed with face games.

Seriously, just take it away from them. Couldn't be that hard. :)

[GLW]

not hard...but expensive....

[lkfmdc]

I think you are missing the point

No one cares about the IWUF anymore, the events are crap, you get no recognition, etc....

the USKBA was doing its world championships with its own format, etc, we had major international teams coming, these will probably return at some point... And there are modern style san da matches on a lot of KB cards around here...

The real fighters just don't deal with the Chinese and their organizations anymore

[GLW]

Exactly what I was getting at...

It WOULD be possible to take control of the Sanshou competitions from the IWuF...

but it would cost a lot of time and money for promotion...

And when you are done, what have you got?

ANOTHER venue that is seen as damaged goods by many in the biz...and worth much less than the effort and money spent to get it in the first place.

China pretty much blew it in 2008 with both Taolu and Sanshou. They should have gone in KNOWING what it took to make both Olympic sports...and having it all a done deal long before 2008..actually long before they got the nod to host the Olympics. Then, the hosting country doing an exhibition event that then leads to full inclusion would have been the worst that would happen...

But China blew it on that count and then they were unlucky on the count of the scandals and burgeoning number of "sports" in the Olympics...and the IOC's attempt to reign that all in....

So...when they did not get the Olympics for Sanshou or Taolu, both were relegated to the dinosaur bin.

Taolu may make a comeback in the far future...but Sanshou....well there are other equally as good or even better venues for fighters...so why bother.

[GeneChing]

...and we can shelf this topic until Turkey...:cool:

11/6/2009 12:05:00 PM
Wushu fighters learn from championship losses (http://www.bermudasun.bm/main.asp?SectionID=8&SubSectionID=203&ArticleID=43394)
Four out of seven of the Bermuda Sanshou team members took the platform on the opening day of competition on October 25 at the World Wushu Championships in Canada.

Despite the Bermuda team putting up formidable challenges to their opponents they all went down 2 rounds to 0.

Talia Iris lost to Gulsah Kiyak from Turkey, while Garon Wilkinson went down to Saidullayev Adilzhan from Kazakhstan. Iris landed some great head punches, however, she was unable to neutralize in the clinch and suffered a number of takedowns which helped her opponent to outscore her.

Wilkinson started off the match well flooring his opponent within the first 10 seconds with a counter punch and then taking him down later in the round. Wilkinson's much taller opponent used his reach advantage to score a number of straight left punches that would help him secure the match.

Shannon Ford was defeated by Adgeferson Diniz Da Silva from Brazil, and Jermal Woolridge was defeated by Patrick Schmid from Switzerland.

Ford was up against the same opponent that san shou fighter Leroy Maxwell fought in last year's Pan American Championships in Brazil.

"We all knew that Da Silva was a takedown artist and we came up with a strategy for Shannon to avoid the takedowns."

Ford caught him with some good punches to the head and a few good kicks to the body however it was not quite enough to beat the skilled Brazilian. Woolridge's match against Switzerland was very close and could have gone either way in the first round.

In the second round, the Swiss fighter landed more strikes and outscored Woolridge for the win.

On the second day of competition Sentwali Woolridge took on Ismail Aliev from Russia in an exciting two round match with the Russian coming out as the winner at the World Wushu Championships in Canada.

Woolridge attacked his opponent with some vicious leg kicks and took him down at the final buzzer at the end of the first round with a back leg sweep, however, the Russian forced Woolridge off of the lei tai (platform) twice in the second to win the round and consequently the match. On the third day of competition Khalid Pitcher battled Alex Cisne from the U.S. in a well fought two round match that ended with the American forcing Pitcher off of the lei tai twice in the second round.

Pitcher also forced his opponent once off the platform, but this was not enough to secure the victory.

Next the youngest member of the seven member squad, Reyel Bowen, took on Taras Gorobets from the Ukraine in a very tightly contested match that ended in a TKO victory for the Ukranian after Bowen took a hard leg kick to the outside of the knee and was unable to continue the match.

The 11th World Wushu Championships will be held in 2011 in Turkey.

The Bermuda team is also planning to compete at the eighth Pan American Wushu Championships in Argentina next year.

Bermuda Sanshou Association President Garon Wilkinson said: "I am very pleased with our athletes' performances during these championships.Every single one of us executed the game plan that our coaching team came up with and it was a simple matter of our opponents being better than us.

"There was not an issue of our athletes falling short of their standard.

"We will be paying very close attention to the semi-final and final matches trying to pick up as much expertise as possible. We continue to make ground on the rest of the world and eventually there has to become a point where the playing field evens out and then further down the road we leave everyone else behind."

[GeneChing]

The moral of these stories is that Malaysia is really into wushu.

Saturday October 31, 2009
Shin Yii bags a surprise silver for Malaysia in Toronto (http://thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2009/10/31/sports/5017792&sec=sports)

PETALING JAYA: Ng Shin Yii capped an impressive finish for the Malaysian wushu team when she delivered a surprise silver on the final day of the world championships in Toron*to on Thurs*day.

Shin Yii earned a score of 9.79 in the taijijian (taiji sword) discipline to bring Malaysia’s final tally in the biennial world meet to 2-2-5 — bettering the previous haul of 1-2-4 in Beijing.

The 20-year-old Malacca girl showed marked improvement to secure her first-ever world championships medal – a welcome boost after the fall from grace of Doha Asian Games gold medallist Chai Fong Ying.

Fong Ying finished out of the me**dals in the taijijian and also failed to defend her title in taijiquan when she came out a disappointing 11th.

Shin Yii, who was fourth in taijiquan, has stayed in the shadows of the more illustrious Fong Ying since switching to the taiji disciplines three years ago.

She was previously trained in the taolu disciplines – chang*quan (northern style boxing, jianshu (sword) and qiangshu (spear) – and even won medals at the SEA Games.

However, a serious ankle injury, which resulted in her being on crutches for six months, forced her to switch to the taiji disciplines.

Only three of the 10 exponents who competed in Toronto will come home empty-handed – Fong Ying, her sister Fong Wei and 2003 Vietnam SEA Games gold medallist Ang Eng Chong.
Nice pic
http://thestar.com.my/archives/2009/10/31/sports/p70-yii.JPG


Sunday November 1, 2009
Male exponents can now be counted on to deliver honours (http://thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2009/11/1/sports/5020459&sec=sports)
By LIM TEIK HUAT

PETALING JAYA: The women wushu exponents have brought glory to the country in the last three years but now there is hope of the men delivering honours as well going by the results at the just concluded World Championships in Toronto.

Despite fielding mainly youngsters because of the retirement of several seasoned campaigners, the Malaysian squad surpassed their previous haul from Beijing with a total of 2-2-5.

The two gold medals came from Ho Mun Hua (men’s nanquan – southern style barehands) and Lee Yang (men’s taijiquan), the first time Malaysia produced winners in these disciplines.

In the previous world meet in Beijing two years, Chai Fong Ying delivered the only gold medal in women’s taijijian (taiji sword) as Malaysia also secured two silver and four bronze medals.

However, Fong Ying, the Asian Games gold medal in Doha in 2006, did not fare well this time.

She not just failed to retain her title after settling for a disappointing 11th but also finished empty handed after coming in fourth in taijiquan behind her Malaysian team-mate Ng Shin Yii.

She will get the chance to bounce back onto the podium at the SEA Games in Laos next month and it is going to be exciting days ahead as Malaysia can also count on the men to chip in this time.

Team manager Chong Kim Fatt said there is hope on the two gold medallists to live up to expectations in Laos.

“Apart from the women, we have better chances in the men’s competition as well. Besides Mun Hua in nanquan, there is also Loh Jack Chang and Lee Yang to challenge for honours in the taijiquan and taijijian disciplines.

“Jack Chang did well in his debut world championships to take two medals (one silver in taijijian and one bronze in taijiquan).

“It will not be easy, however, as the gold medals at the SEA Games will be decided from combined disciplines.

“Taking this into account, we will still keep our target at two gold medals,” he said.

At the last SEA Games, Malaysia claimed two gold medals from Fong Ying and Diana Bong Siong Lin, who took bronze in women’s nangun (cudgel) in Toronto.

[lkfmdc]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlltI-Wh3tk

they tried....

[taai gihk yahn]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlltI-Wh3tk

they tried....

nice report; I guess they made sure to tape it when no spectators where in the arena to keep the noise levels down...:rolleyes:

[lkfmdc]

like Gene, I am starting to hear "rumours" or maybe just "gossip", nothing news worthy...

[sanjuro_ronin]

wow, I haven't seen that many empty seats since the brasilian spartan larping contest !
:D

[GeneChing]

...and it's from our ezine.

Has American Wushu Finally Arrived? A Report on the 10th World Wushu Championships (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=859) by Anthony Roberts