Ever heard of wushu? Most if not all of China's 1.3 billion people have. But contributor Fergus Naughton explains why you may not have. And why China's traditional martial arts are not competing with beach volleyball to snag Olympic spectators during the 2008 Games:
In 2001 when Beijing got the nod from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to host the 2008 Games, it was hoped by many that wushu -- China's traditional practice of martial arts, also referred to as gong fu or kung fu -- would be accepted as a medal event seven years later. After all, South Korea got to introduce its indigenous martial art of taekwondo as an exhibition event in the Seoul '88 games. Surely wushu -- the ultimate synthesis of China's unique sporting tradition, martial ability, philosophy, religion, poetry, calligraphy, music, painting, drama and literature (to name but a few of the inputs) -- would be considered worthy as an exhibition event?
It was not to be. IOC head Jacques Rogge declared in 2005 that wushu would not be added as an Olympic event. "We are not introducing wushu in the Olympic program," state media reported Rogge as then saying. "It will not be an exhibition, not at all," he said. This was an unimaginable kick in the face for the Beijing-based International Wushu Federation (IWUF), the sports governing body.
In an attempt to save itself from louder criticism -- and to save the IWUF some face -- the IOC sugarcoated this humiliating rejection by bending its own rules. It allowed the 2008 Games hosts to hold the Wushu Tournament Beijing 2008 international competition at the same time as the Olympics, and in an Olympic venue.
Thursday China's Wushu Tournament Beijing 2008 kicked off unceremoniously in the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium.That wushu is not a marquee Olympic event may pass unnoticed by most Games enthusiasts. In the run-up to the Olympics, visitors to China have been bombarded with the "five thousand years history and culture" party line which is pummeled into native old and young alike. But if you walk down the street, take the bus or subway, open a magazine or newspaper, or flick on the TV you'll be bombarded with images of sporting heroes in glory, triumph and even in defeat -- but few of these images are that of a wushu practitioner. (Taichi, one type of wushu, did feature in Zhang Yimou's spectacular Olympics opening ceremony though).
Despite the numerous breathtaking silver-screen displays of Chinese martial arts prowess, such as Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or Zhang Yimou's Hero, or any one of the numerous Jet Li or Jackie Chan movies, as well as the local period TV dramas and epics that hit the movie theatres here come holiday season, real-life wushu has yet to capture the imagination of its own homeland, let alone a global audience.
The IOC's official line on its ruling is that the body was trying to trim down the number of events in the Olympics. While baseball has seen itself taken off the ticket, however, many other relatively inaccessible sports such as BMXing, mountain biking, clay pigeon shooting and dressage, to name but a few, appear to remain. Reaction to the IOC's decision by local martial arts practitioners was one of muted bewilderment. After all, this sport is a perfect showcase for China's vast and lengthy history "I really don't understand it," said Mr. Zhang, a former wushu champion and now a teacher of Chinese martial arts in Beijing."The Olympics has Korean Taekwondo and Japanese Judo…..why not our own gong fu?" he lamented.
Perhaps the IOC thought wushu was just not popular enough or international enough to even consider it as an exhibition sport. But according to IWUF chairman Wang Xiaolin, wushu -- which includes two schools, one known as taolu (routines such as taichi) and a second known as sanda (full contact kickboxing) -- has about 200 million practitioners worldwide.
The Wushu Tournament Beijing 2008 aimed at boosting its global appeal. With 128 athletes from 43 countries and regions fighting it out for the tournament's 15 gold medals, it is hard to deny that China's martial arts has a more international and more venerable feel to it than some other sports, such as, say, synchronized swimming (where Spanish competitors were barred from wearing special lights that would have made them look like waterproof Christmas trees).
However, not all agree that bringing wushu onto the world stage would necessarily be good for the sport or for traditional martial arts overall. "Wushu is a competitive sport, both in taolu and sanda," said a foreign traditional-style wushu practitioner who requested anonymity so he could talk freely. "If it becomes more global, it will cheapen the name of kung fu……the reason for practicing martial arts will not be the same."
He admitted it would be good to see more people performing martial arts. But the pursuit of medals, fame and -- in the case of America's pay-per-view Ultimate Fighting Championship -- money, could hurt the core essence of wushu. "People practice it for different reasons. Mostly it's for health, both physical and mental. But it is also a challenge….a life-long challenge," he said.
A life-long pursuit of personal pain and triumph may be too much delayed gratification for some, especially Chinese youth who're continually bombarded with images of Bentley-driving NBA superstars. "Everyone wants to be a Yao Ming," said a taichi teacher in downtown Beijing. "America is hot. NBA is hot. When kids finish school, they can put on these expensive clothes and play basketball with their friends." In fact, Chinese kids seem more willing to wear their Nike and Adidas replica jerseys and play, watch and consume soccer, basketball, and American football than to embrace the ancient and quintessentially Chinese art of wushu (despite all the neo-nationalist jingoism of late).
"What about Beckham?" the teacher's teen-age student piped up. "I want to be a football star like him…Look at his wife!" Perhaps wushu's victory as a global phenomenon will come only after a long struggle, after many lifetimes of dedication, hard work and sacrifice. Then again, perhaps donning tight spandex swimwear might accelerate the process.
