For The Silk Road Kung Fu Friendship Tour Part 7, click here.
August 1 – 2, Days 19 and 20
Interview with Mr. Ganiev Ravshan, President of the Wushu Federation of Uzbekistan And a Visit to the Barakh-khan Madrasah
First of all, I have to sincerely thank Mr. Ravshan for taking the time out of his busy schedule to meet me at my hotel on very short notice. In addition to serving as Uzbekistan’s Wushu Federation President, he is also Deputy Chairman of the Board of FOTON, Open Joint Stock Company, one of Uzbekistan’s electrical power plant industrial giants. In other words, in addition to being the Uzbekistan Wushu President he’s also a heavyweight in industry, thus taking the time to talk with me on very (very) short notice was a special kindness.
The short notice was caused by a miscommunication between me and my former travel agent resulting in a Transit Visa only good for three days in Uzbekistan. Surprise, surprise! My fault entirely, I should have checked it.
So, suddenly I had only one precious day (and a half, because I got a late flight the following day) for my interview. So, the first thing I did was get the hotel front desk lady to call Mr. Ganiev Ravshan (knowing most people here don’t speak English) and see if I could get an appointment right away. Very graciously, he accepted. Also, I needed a translator and fortunately the front desk lady knew one. After a couple of phone calls everything was set. I asked the front desk to send three coffees to my room and we were ready.
“How long has there been a Kung Fu or Wushu Federation in Uzbekistan?”
“From 1998 to 2005 we were called the “Kung Fu and Wushu Federation of Uzbekistan. Then it was renamed more simply to the “Uzbekistan Wushu Federation,” but of course we practice and teach many styles of Kung Fu, including of course Tai Chi .”
Warming to the subject Mr. Ravshan told me they have more than 60 licensed “trainers” (as they say here in Central Asia) attending their Master’s classes. That large a number surprised me. “Where were they trained?” I asked. “Mostly they train in China, and they go back regularly for retraining, expanding and refining their skills.” “How many Wushu students do you have in Uzbekistan at this time?” I asked. “Officially around 5,000, however the actual number is a lot higher, more than 40,000. Every year we host four Republic of Uzbekistan Championships.”
Kyrgyz Kung Fu Fed President Coach Yuriy with Master Fu Biao and Team at Int Wushu Championships in Beijing.
“How many countries has your team competed in?”
“More than I can count” he answered. “Of course we go to the World Championships wherever they may be. All the Asian countries, some places in Europe, and Canada. The Uzbek Ministry of Sports has special funds for the support and development of sports. The President of Uzbekistan has stated that sports are a MUST in all schools and after-school programs. We’re really hoping the IOC accepts Wushu as an Olympic sport because then we’ll get more support. But even as it is, Wushu is growing very quickly in Uzbekistan.” Knowing that in some countries Sanda has more public appeal these days than traditional Taolu training, I asked Mr. Ravshan the relative percentages of Taolu vs Sanda classes and he replied “Wushu classes here in Uzbekistan are about equally divided between Taolu and Sanda. All trainers know both.”
I asked about upcoming events in the Wushu world, and he mentioned that “The International Wushu Federation (IWUF) recently announced that Wushu is one of eight sports nominated to move on to the next stage of the application process for addition to the Olympic Program for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games with the final decision to be made by the IOC in Rio de Janeiro in August, 2016.”
Wow! Why didn’t I know that? That’s really, really great news!
I asked about the 5th Asian Martial Arts Games to be held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan in 2017 and he seemed quite enthusiastic. For those not familiar with this relatively new competition series the First Asian Martial Arts Games were hosted in Bangkok, Thailand in August of 2009. Asked if he knew the Wushu Federation President of Turkmenistan and he said: “Yazmurad(?) well sure, of course!”
At this point Mr. Ganiev Ravshan went on to explain a bit about the government supported Sports Complex: “The Complex takes the best students for about 10-12 years. The minimum age is six or seven years old. The training is extensive because our government takes sports, all sports very seriously. If the IOC accepts Wushu as an Olympic sport then we’ll get even more support. As it is we’re growing at a satisfactory rate, but we, and most people I know really believe Wushu deserves to be counted among the sports in the Olympics.”
From my conversation with Mr. Ravshan I got the impression that Wushu in Uzbekistan is relatively well funded and very well organized and my guess is that Mr. Ravshan’s corporate expertise probably has a lot to do with this. Unfortunately my interview with Mr. Ravshan was short as he’s a busy man, but one thing I did learn: Uzbekistan probably has the largest number of Kung Fu Trainers of the Central Asian nations I’ve visited on this trip so far, though I suspect Iran may have more, something I learned from the Kung Fu masters in Kabul a few months ago, who were mostly trained in Iran back in the 1980s. None-the-less, Uzbekistan clearly has a very lively, professionally well-developed Wushu program, with a very organized and informed gentleman for its Federation President. Fortunately I had most of another day in Uzbekistan as my flight reservation was for 10:20 the next evening so I got learn a bit more about this fascinating nation, its rich history and cultures.
Ali - Friend and translator who helped me through the borders out of Kyrgyz, through Kazakh to Uzbekistan.
After the interview, I had dinner with the translator, Nazira, who also works for a Travel Agency, and is very well educated in the history and languages of the region. Among other things I learned that historically Uzbekistan was a much larger nation, but wars in the last century and a half reduced it to its current size and location. The current geographic boundaries of Uzbekistan were drawn by more powerful foreign nations. Uzbekistan is considered by many to be the cradle of culture in the region and is probably the most frequently visited Central Asian nation by foreign tourists.
Uzbekistan has a 100% literacy rate and is recently transitioning from 10 to 12 years of compulsory education. The tapestry of cultures along the Silk Road is complex owing to complex histories, with all having been influenced greatly by the former Soviet Union. All are ethnically very, very diverse. For example, the President of Uzbekistan, a Muslim is married to a Russian Christian.
The Roman Catholic Church of Tashkent.
From what I saw during my three days there is that Uzbekistan is a very well managed country with huge numbers of beautiful new and ancient buildings representing a smorgasbord of Western and Eastern architectural styles. Uzbekistan doesn’t want or need loans from the IMF or World Bank unlike some other Central Asian nations I found out. Economically they are booming. In fact I mentioned the high number of Chevrolet cars here to my most excellent taxi driver and new friend, and found out Chevrolet manufactures cars in Uzbekistan. Driving around the city my last day there I saw a huge Christian (Protestant) church, a Catholic Church, a Jewish Synagogue and even had lunch at a Buddhist Temple. Generally speaking Uzbeks are very tolerant and easygoing people. Most people I met have Russian, Christian, and Jewish friends and don’t think much about it. Diversity is just part of the culture as it has been since the Silk Road started some 2,000 plus years ago.
Also on my last day before heading to the airport, I visited a traditional bizarre and picked up a few souvenirs. After that my newest friend, translator and taxi driver named Faizi and I went to the amazing and awesomely beautiful Barakh-khan Madrasah, the 16th Century Islamic School and Spiritual Administration Center for Muslims in Central Asia, and it’s fabulous library with magnificent ancient manuscripts including the world-famous Quran of Caliph Osman meticulously and beautifully hand written in the mid-Seventh Century on deerskin. The ancient manuscript is very huge with 353 parchment pages. This is a World Cultural Heritage and Islamic treasure beyond any measure and I got to see it on my 59th birthday. Indeed, the Lord does work in mysterious ways.
Barakh-khan Madrasah, the 16th Century Islamic School.
While at the Madrasah, Faizi and I were invited to have tea with the owner of an amazing shop where I bought the most fabulous hand carved and painted chess set I’ve ever seen, for about 200,000 Uzbek Som, or about $75 according to my rough calculations. After that we went to have dinner at restaurant across from the Madrasah, specifically “Plov” an Uzbek favorite, consisting of a mixture of rice, beef, carrot, onion, garlic and an unusual spice called zira, which was altogether outta-this-world-delicious! Luckily new translator, teacher, travel agent, friend Nazira had coached me on Uzbek cuisine the evening before so I knew what to ask for.
Unfortunately that was about all the time I had in Uzbekistan so Faizi drove me to the airport where we said farewell, and I got ready for my flight to Beijing via Inchon, South Korea.
I’m very much looking forward to picking up my Silk Road Kung Fu Friendship Tour next year starting right here in Tashkent, with the next stops Samarkand, Bukhara, and from there on to Turkmenistan. I may well break up the final stages to this tour to give myself more time for interviews and sightseeing. After all, the Silk Road has been here for a couple of thousand years, so no reason to just rush right through.
Special thanks must again be made to all those who made this trip pure pleasure for me, especially the Masters of Kung Fu from Xian to Tashkent, and a large number of other new friends that always seemed to arrive at just the right times to help with translations and directions. Special thanks too, to Miao Hui for making hotel reservations along the way and that short notice flight reservation back to Beijing. The past few weeks have been some of the best of my life and I owe it all the extraordinary kindness and friendship of all whom I met along this portion of the ancient North Silk Road.
As I’ve said before, a place is after all just a place, its friends that make it special, and now the Eastern half of the North Silk Road is very special indeed for me, thanks to each and every person I met along The Road. Also, just for the record, I always tell my friends, “Never say goodbye; just see you later.”
Afterthoughts
Mistakes? I don’t think I made too many.
I should have probably paid a bit more attention to visas and all that, and a little less to ancient history and philosophy, but all’s well that ends well, so enough about that. Also, I should have probably learned a bit of Russian language as that’s the one everyone in Central Asia seems to know.
It’s truly remarkable how diverse all those countries are. Indigenous people certainly appear to live peacefully with immigrants, first, second, and third generation etc., from all over the world. I met many people not mentioned in these stories, and I’ve got to say the peaceful friendly multiculturalism of the nations I visited hugely impressed me.
I’ve also got to say a huge thanks to a couple of young Chinese students I knew back in the early 1970s at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Jimmy Yong and Simon Chen. It was them that really started me on the Kung Fu quest resulting in this series of stories. They taught Tai Chi, Shaolin and Wing Chun, and many students from mainly Hong Kong came to their classes with advanced skills in innumerable other styles of Chinese martial arts. They were my first Shifu, and I owe them both a huge debt of gratitude. They charged only a dollar per class, and if I didn’t have that, they’d accept a piece of fruit. They’re great guys. Wherever they are, I wish them well. What now? Relax? Never! Gotta call Shi Yan Pei as he’s currently in Thailand overseeing the shipment of three large Buddhas for the North Shaolin Buddha Hall. When exactly are they arriving?
Monks in the Tashkent Buddhist Temple.
Some of my Muslim friends have asked how a nice Muslim like me can have such an interest in Buddhism?!? My answer is this: In my opinion Buddhists should not be “worshipping” the Buddha. In my opinion that’s “leak” from the monotheistic religions into Buddhism. Buddhism is, again in my opinion, about the attainment of enlightenment and one can be a more, or less enlightened Jew, Christian or Muslim.
The Muslim world experienced an “enlightenment” era beginning with Caliph Harun al-Rashid (786 - 809), a time when arts and sciences flourished. At that time, the “House of Wisdom” was built in Baghdad where scholars from all over the world gathered to collect and translate all of the world’s classical knowledge into Arabic. I would very much like to see a new Enlightenment in the Muslim world and think looking for and building upon the more positive things is much more likely to bring that about than focusing on the problems. Thus, I have multiple motivations for studying “Chan” – Zen – ordinary mind - methodologies for enhancing clarity in perception and communication - and exploring the Silk Road, as I see the new efforts to develop this ancient pathway as a very positive foundation for growing good things throughout the (mostly Muslim) region and world. Chinese medicine is about balance and harmony, and these attributes are seriously needed in this world today.
In my first Kung Fu classes some 40 years ago, Simon Chen (who went on to become a doctor) said: “Learning Kung Fu is more about unlearning, than learning. Simplify, simplify. See things as they really are without all the filters and debris that cloud perceptions and direct action. This is how you win, first by defeating your “self,” your ego and all the problems that go with it. The greatest warrior never has to fight, but if he does he will win with the minimum force necessary…” What a teacher!
Finally, a piece of advice: You can tackle all the problems in the world all day and all night forever and they might not go away, but rather get worse. Usually in my opinion, it’s better to find something positive and build on that.
Now, where exactly is Shi Yan Pei?
Yeah, well wait a second here… I think I’ll bike to the lake and swim for a while first. That’s the really enlightened thing to do.
Scholars at an Abbasid library. Maqamat of al-Hariri Illustration by Yahyá al-Wasiti, Baghdad.
For The Silk Road Kung Fu Friendship Tour Part 9, click here.
