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Abbreviation | IWUF | ||||||
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Formation | October 3, 1990 Beijing | ||||||
Type | Sports association | ||||||
Legal status | Federation | ||||||
Purpose | Development of wushu worldwide | ||||||
Headquarters | Lausanne, Switzerland Beijing, China [1] | ||||||
Region served | International | ||||||
Membership | 155 nations | ||||||
Official language | Chinese and English | ||||||
President | Gao Zhidan | ||||||
Main organ | IWUF Congress | ||||||
Website | www.iwuf.org | ||||||
Chinese name | |||||||
Simplified Chinese | 国际武术联合会 | ||||||
Traditional Chinese | 國際武術聯合會 | ||||||
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The International Wushu Federation (IWUF) is an international sport organization and the governing body for wushu in all its forms worldwide. The IWUF is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and is also a member of the ARISF, GAISF, FISU, IWGA, and the ISF.
The main governing bodies of the IWUF are the President and the Executive Board, the Secretariat, the Congress which meets every two years, and various technical committees. The IWUF's headquarters are located in Lausanne, Switzerland and Beijing, China. The current president is Zhongwen Gou of China (2019-present).
As of 2020, there are 155 national federations affiliated with the IWUF which are organized under the following continental federations: [2]
On October 3, 1990 in Beijing during the 11th Asian Games, the IWUF was established after four years of development by a preparatory committee from the Chinese Wushu Association (CWA). [3] Since 1991, the IWUF has held 15 World Wushu Championships and has helped over 100 federations (List of member federations External) around the globe to organize their own championships and national tournaments. [4] The IWUF has also been in an active pursuit of olympic wushu after being fully recognized by the IOC in 2002. [5] The IWUF fell short of having wushu becoming an Olympic sport in 2008, but the IOC allowed them to host an international wushu competition alongside the 2008 Summer Olympics, which was known as the 2008 Beijing Wushu Tournament. [6] During the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China, wushu was an official demonstration sport, [7] and wushu will return to the Youth Olympics in 2026. [8] The IWUF hoped for inclusion in the 2020 Olympics but wushu was shortlisted in 2013 and again in 2015. [9] Despite this, wushu has been included in several multi-sport events such as the Asian Games, East Asian Youth Games, Southeast Asian Games, World Games, World Combat Games, and the Universiade.
The IWUF has redefined the definition of sport wushu, dividing it into two main disciplines: taolu (forms), and sanda (unarmed combat).
Sanda, formerly Sanshou, is the official Chinese boxing full-contact combat sport. In Chinese Language, "Sanda" originally referred to independent and separate training and combat techniques in contrast to "Taolu".
A Nandao is a kind of dao, or single-edged sword, that is used in contemporary wushu taolu. Ratified for use by the International Wushu Federation in 1992, it has gained widespread popularity worldwide and has become one of the main events at wushu competitions.
Wushu, or kung fu, is a competitive Chinese martial art. It integrates concepts and forms from various traditional and modern Chinese martial arts, including Shaolin kung fu, tai chi, and Wudangquan. "Wushu" is the Chinese term for "martial arts", reflecting the art's goal as a compilation and standardization of various styles. To distinguish it from Traditional Chinese Martial Arts, it is sometimes referred to as 'Modern Wushu'.
The World Wushu Championships (WWC) is an international sports championship hosted by the International Wushu Federation (IWUF) for the sports of wushu taolu and sanda (sanshou). The tournament has been held biennially since 1991 and is the pinnacle event of the IWUF. The World Wushu Championships also coincides with the IWUF Congress and various committee meetings. This competition additionally serves as the qualification event for the Taolu World Cup and the Sanda World Cup.
The World Junior Wushu Championships (WJWC) is an international wushu competition organized by the International Wushu Federation (IWUF) for competitors below 18 years of age. There are three age groups for the Taolu events and there is also a Sanda category.
The 2008 Beijing Wushu Tournament was a wushu competition which was held from August 21 to 24, 2008 at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium in Beijing, China. The tournament was organised by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG), the International Wushu Federation (IWUF), and the Chinese Wushu Association (CWA), and was held in tandem with the 2008 Summer Olympics.
The United States of America Wushu Kungfu Federation (USAWKF) is the governing body of wushu-kungfu in the United States. The USAWKF manages and selects the members of the US Wushu Team to compete in various international competitions including the World Wushu Championships, World Junior Wushu Championships, World Kungfu Championships, and the World Taijiquan Championships. The USAWKF also develops regional and national activities relating to Wushu, and has had great influence on how wushu taolu and sanda events are run in the United States. The USAWKF is a member of the Pan-American Wushu Federation (PAWF) and the International Wushu Federation (IWUF).
The 2023 World Wushu Championships was the 16th edition of the World Wushu Championships. It was held at the Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, from November 16 to 20, 2023.
The wushu (taolu) competition at the 2022 World Games took place in July 2022, in Birmingham, Alabama, at the Bill Battle Coliseum. Originally scheduled to take place in July 2021, the Games were rescheduled for July 2022 as a result of the 2020 Summer Olympics postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Zhao Qingjian is a retired professional wushu taolu athlete who is originally from Shandong. Through his numerous successes in national and international competitions, he established himself as one of the greatest wushu taolu athletes of the 2000s.
The 2014 Nanjing Youth Wushu Tournament was a wushu competition which was held from August 22 to 24, 2014 at the Gaochun Gymnasium in Nanjing, China. The name "Nanjing Youth Wushu Tournament" was used to specify that wushu was only an invitational sport at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics and not an official event.
Daria Tarasova is a former competitive wushu taolu athlete and coach from Russia.
The Chinese Wushu Association (CWA) is the governing body of wushu in all of its forms throughout China. Since its founding in 1958, it has been credited with the development and standardization of modern wushu and sanda throughout the world.
Jia Rui, is a retired professional wushu taolu athlete from Macau. He was one of the most dominant wushu taolu athletes of the 2000s and the early 2010s, and won the first gold medal for Macau at the Asian Games.
Ma Lingjuan, is a retired professional wushu taolu athlete from Anhui. She is a two-time world champion and Asian champion, and a gold medalist at the 2006 Asian Games, 2008 Beijing Wushu Tournament, and the World Games.
The Asian Wushu Championships is a continental wushu championship hosted by the Wushu Federation of Asia (WFA), the official continental representative to the International Wushu Federation. The competition is open to the 37 member nations of the WFA and their respective national teams. Unlike other continental wushu competitions which are held every two years, the Asian Wushu Championships is held every four years to make way for wushu at the Asian Games.
The Pan American Wushu Championships is a continental wushu championship hosted by the Pan American Wushu Federation (PAWF), the official continental representative of Pan America to the International Wushu Federation (IWUF). Since 1996, the Pan American Wushu Championships have been held every two years. The PAWF also hosts the Pan American Kungfu & Taijiquan Championships.
The International Invitational Wushu Championships, also known as the International Wushu Festivals, were a series of international wushu competitions held from 1985 until the formation of the International Wushu Federation (IWUF) in 1990. These competitions were the first ever international wushu competitions, and preceded the World Wushu Championships which started in 1991.
The 2024 Taolu World Cup will be the third edition of the Taolu World Cup. It will be held at the Yokohama Buntai in Yokohama, Japan, from October 26 to 27, 2024. Qualification was done through the 2023 World Wushu Championships and the 2024 Wushu International Invitational Tournament.