Sanshou Athlete Died

China -- A 23-year-old Sanshou/wushu fighter, Shangguan Pengfei,has died in hospital, 42 days after he was knocked out during a competition in in Haikou, Hainan Province, according to english.cri.cn.

On October 31, the athlete was rushed to hospital after he collapsed following a blow to the head. The fighter remained in coma thereafter until he was declared dead on Monday, the paper says.

Questions have been raise how Shangguan could have passed the medical check given he had already been knocked out in the recent two months before the fatal competition.

A Kung Fu Welcome

China -- As guests from 56 countries recently arrived for the Eighth International Shaolin Martial Arts Festival, they were welcomed by more than 60,000 students of wushu performing Chinese kung fu along the 10-kilometer road leading to the famous Shaolin Temple, according to english.peopledaily.com.

Banned Substances

China -- A cyclist and wushu competitor have tested positive for banned substances at China's City Games, according to canadianpress.google.com.

The competitors were suspected of using stimulants and anabolic agents. The two were identified as a gold medal winner in wushu, representing the northern city of Shijiazhuang; and a cyclist from Yinchuan in the northeast, who competed in the men's team pursuit event.

No Olympic Monks

The general manager of the Henan Shaolin Temple Development Co. Ltd - Qian Daliang, has been quoted saying: "Chinese wushu belong to competitive sports, whereas Shaolin wushu belongs to traditional martial arts. The two have different natures, standards and connotations," said Qian.

This coems after it has been reported that Shaolin Temple itself will not send people to take part in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Wushu competition.

Read this and other martial arts related news at:
your-martial-arts-resources.com

Confuse-Us Speaks #15

Wushoo? Taekwando? What about 'krotty' and 'youdo'? Someone here has things things mixed up real good - and no, we're not talking Mixed Martial Arts :-)

Wushu is a beautiful art, but seriously, it would be the last art I would send anyone to if they were after self-defense ...

Story:
Malaysia -- In today's world when unpleasant incidents like abduction, rape, chain snatching and teasing are on the rise, a martial art named 'Wushoo' is popular among girls in Jharkhand's Dhanbad District. Girls are being taught new self-defence tricks.

According to a coach, whoever is trained in Wushoo, can defend oneself effectively.

"Wushoo is a Chinese martial art. Karate, Judo and Taekwando are incorporated in it. Kicks, punch and throwing are all the works in it. So, it is a complete martial art," he said.

Wushoo is national martial art of Chinese origin and can be learnt and practiced as a recreational sport, similar to Judo and Karate. Interestingly, Wushoo is one of the events at the next Olympiad being hosted in Beijing.

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Not better

Not better, but as good as...

The author here asks what can be better than karate training for children. Make no mistake about it - quality karate training under an experienced teacher is absolutely great for kids.

But - and this is my point - the same goes for judo, taekwondo, jujutsu, hapkido, aikido, kung fu, wushu and a host of other martial arts.

It is not the art, but rather the way an art is taught and presented, that makes it potentially good (or not good) for a kid.

Story:
Today’s children are the leaders of tomorrow. What could be better if they are taught the good virtues of life and are instilled with the spirits of comradeship, friendship and positive attitude so that they become good and helpful members of the society when they grow up?

Children like to play, shout and create a nuisance most of the time. These unharnessed energies can be controlled and directed for the betterment of the society and for the child itself. What can be better than karate training at this young age?

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Wushu/kung fu

Here's an interesting article from Chinadaily about the growing use of wushu/kung fu training in Chinese schools. It also points to the use of wushu rather than kung fu in China.

The way I understand it the term wushu (or wu shu) means martial arts, where as kung fu simply indicates being proficient at a skill (which can be other things than martial arts).

Story:
The ancient martial art developed by an Indian monk is now compulsory in central Chinese schools. And both pupils and parents love the idea.

Kung fu has now been made compulsory in secondary schools in central China. Participation is generally voluntary and extra-curricular.

The first kung fu disciples in the autumn will be in Henan province, home to the legendary and ancient Shaolin temple.

Kung fu is actually a generic term for many different skills, used mainly in the West. In China, people use the word wu shu to refer to martial arts.

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Wushu in the Olympics

What is your thought about wushu in future Olympic games?

Most certainly this will not happen without judo and/or taekwondo being taken away since the IOC are trying to cut down on the total numbers of sports.

Personally I would rather see wushu/kung fu or karate instead of taekwondo. Nothing wrong with TKD as per se, of course. It is just that to a non-TKD pratitioner like myself (and many others I've spoken to) the matches have been as fun to watch as a group of cows eating grass - nothing ever happens...

Story:
Beijing: Though wushu, a traditional Chinese martial art, will feature at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games for the first time as a non-official medal sport, China is determined to push for its inclusion in future games, the state media reported today.

"As of now, we know that wushu will be included in the Beijing Olympics, though not as an official medal sport," director of the Wushu Administration Centre under the China State General Administration of Sport, Wang Xiaolin said.

"Through numerous efforts, we will finally take wushu to the Olympic stage," Wang was quoted as saying by China Daily.

"It won't be an official event like the 28 other sports, but it won't be called a demonstration either. It will be called the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Wushu Competition," Wang said.

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Not correct

I hope this is just another case of media messing with the facts - not some ill-informed master doing the same.
Without a doubt taekwondo and karate are the two largest martial arts worldwide. But to claim that these are the only two martial arts to be practised "all over the world" is a pretty bold statement!
I would strongly suggest the same goes for (at least) judo, kung-fu/wushu, tai chi, aikido and jujutsu.
Anyhow, at least this article states the truth about the age of taekwondo, not the "2000 years old" hype.

Story:
Although the history of taekwondo is sketchy at best, Koreans generally credit General Choi Hong-hi as one of the earliest pioneers of the sport. In 1954, Hong-hi required the Korean army to train in Taekwondo, meaning the very first Taekwondo students were Korean soldiers. Coupling a heavy influence from the Japanese, the actual martial art known as taekwondo was developed between 1945 and 1955 and only became known as Taekwondo in 1955.

Nowadays, taekwondo is one of only two martial arts systems (the other being karate-do) to be practiced all over the world, boasting an international membership in the millions combining over 140 countries — making it the most practiced martial art style in the world.

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Her real passion

Milla Jovovich is an actress, designer, and musician. But she tells Lesley O'Toole that martial arts are her real passion.

Jovovich says that her preparation for Ultraviolet was akin to "training for the Olympics". Were it an Olympic sport, her discipline would be wushu.

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Mandarin and wushu

Singapore -- Learning the Chinese martial art of wushu doesn't just have to be about training your body, it can also spark interest in learning the Chinese language.

One wushu school is organising a learning camp during the June school holidays to combine the best of physical and linguistic training.

This five-day Wushu Mandarin camp has attracted more than 30 secondary, primary and even kindergarten students. The youngest participant is 5 and the oldest 15.

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Rolling, rolling, rolling

Several people I have talked with over the years have used breakfalls from aikido, judo , jujutsu, wushu etc. To avoid possible (serious) injuries.

Story:
"I was like a stuntman in a movie and they just kept driving," Park exclaimed. He said he was able to roll from the car as he was thrown avoiding major injury.
"I learned that because I was in martial arts for three years," he said.

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Grandmartial artist

Great to hear that many septuagenarians are working out out in Viet Nam!
Being elderly does not have to make you confined to watching TV, knitting and playing cards.

Not everyone can do karate, judo or taekwondo of course - but there is always the possibility of wushu or tai chi. Hey, someone has even created Slokwondo - a slow, low impact form of taekwondo - which may be just what the doctor ordered.
'Grandparate' anyone :)

Story:
At 76, there are several things that warm the heart of Nguyen Thi An, such as seeing her grandchildren smile when she slams her fist through wooden tiles.

An is one among the group of 20 elderly women, all of whom who are 70 and over, practising the martial arts, tai-chi chuan and wushu, early every morning at the residential play ground of Ha Noi's Quynh Mai Ward.

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Muay Thai officially recognised

This is good news for Muay Thai. Still I doubt very much that the sport will gain Olympic status. It may however be given a demonstration status, just like wushu is in the Beijing/China games.

To be let in on a permanent basis is something quite different, all the time the IOC is trying to cut down on the number of sports in the Olympics.

Story:
Muay Thai got the nod of approval from the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) yesterday, becoming an international sport like soccer and tennis and getting a good chance of being included in future Olympics.

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Olympic Wushu - With a Catch

Wushu is expected to scale new heights when the sport makes its debut at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

There is a catch though.

The sport will be held in the Chinese capital during the same time as the Olympics but the medals be held will not be taken into consideration.

Source