9th Zhengzhou International Shaolin Wushu Festival

Any forum members there?

Follow the link for photos

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Kung Fu Festival Kicks Off in China
Athletes participate in 9th Zhengzhou International Shaolin Wushu Festival.

Kung fu students perform on the way to the Shaolin Temple to welcome guests at the 9th Zhengzhou International Shaolin Wushu Festival in Zhengzhou, China, Oct. 22, 2012. More than 1500 athletes from 73 countries and regions took part in the five-day festival. (AFP/Getty Images)

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This is a biannual event. For the last one, see 8th China International Shaolin Wushu Festival in Zhengzhou

Ahhh, that Zhengzhou haze...

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9th Int’l Shaolin Wushu Festival held in Zhengzhou
By Gong Yingchun
China.org.cn, October 22, 2012

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The opening ceremony of the 9th International Shaolin Wushu Festival is held at Hanghai Stadium in Zhengzhou City on Oct. 21, 2012.
The 9th International Shaolin Wushu Festival opening ceremony was held in Zhengzhou City, central China’s Henan Province, on Oct. 21, 2012. The festival will last five days, and will include activities such as a welcoming ceremony, Wushu competitions, Wushu seminars and a closing ceremony.

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195 Wushu teams with 1,500 athletes from 73 countries and regions will participate in this event, said Wang Zhe, deputy director of the festival organizing committee, at a press conference held on Oct. 21, 2012. He also emphasized that the festival was themed “Making Friends Through Wushu” and “Expanding Foreign Exchanges, Boosting Economic Development.”

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China.org.cn learned that Zhengzhou has successfully hosted eight International Shaolin Wushu Festivals and two World Traditional Wushu Festivals, where international Wushu masters competed with and learned from each other, and enjoyed the spirit of Wushu. The festivals promoted exchanges and integration of sports, culture, and economy between China and other countries, and enhanced exchanges and dialogue between competitors.

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Mr. Wang told China.org.cn that the festival is significant because it has made positive contributions to the economic and social development of Zhengzhou City. The festival will promote the popularization of martial arts across the world, and expand Zhengzhou’s reputation and influence in the international arena.

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Interesting. It's a Shaolin Wushu festival. Got friends going to the 5th World Traditional Wushu Championships on November 5 to 11 in Huangshan, Anhui, but not this one. Guess there must be lots of these festivals on at the same time. :)

I explained this a little in my post for the 8th Shaolin Festival two years ago.

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Originally Posted by GeneChing

As for the Shaolin Festival, it got combined with the World Traditionals for the first one back in 2004. That's when I did my documentary on it - see Shaolin Trips: The First World Traditional Wushu Festival. They held the second one in 2006 - here's the thread: 2nd World Traditional Wushu Festival. In 2008, they moved it to Wudang, see 3rd World Traditional Wushu Championship.

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As I discuss in my book Shaolin Trips (p.234) the Shaolin Festivals started in 1991. The 8th was originally scheduled for 2003, but it was cancelled due to the SARS epidemic. Since the Traditional Festival left Shaolin, the Shaolin Festival was relaunched.

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Charles Donald, 16, from Wanstead, wins Britain's first gold medal in Shaolin Kung Fu
4:06pm Friday 2nd November 2012 in Redbridge News By Melanie Attlesey
http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/res...ticleLandscape
Charles Donald with his gold medal Charles Donald with his gold medal

A TEENAGE boy has become the first Brit to bring home a gold medal in an ancient martial art after taking up the sport three years ago because he was mugged.

Charles Donald, 16, of Draycott Road, Wanstead, racked up an impressive two medals at the ninth International Shaolin Wushu Festival in China.

Great Britain sent a team of six to China to compete in the competition known as the Olympic of Martial Arts and came home with 10 medals between them.

Charles, who trains four times a week in Shaolin Kung Fu while taking his A-Levels, said: "After I was mugged I said to my mum I didn't want anything like that to happen to me again and so I looked into taking up a martial art and haven't looked back since."

In the lead up to the competition Charles was training up to six days a week in open hand and long weapon routines.

He added: "In the running weeks up to the competition it was very tiring and some days it was hard for me to stay awake in class.

"I was very shocked to win gold. It hasn't really sunk in yet and I don't think it ever really will.

"If I didn't have my elder Kung Fu brothers and my youngers I wouldn't have been able to do it."

Proud mum, Shirley, 48, said: "I am very very proud of him, he has trained so hard for it."

The sport doesn't yet feature in the Olympics, but Charles is hopeful that come the next Olympics in Rio in 2016 he will be able to compete.

Charles added: "The second I hear they are I'll be going in for them."

Head master at the academy Shifu Yan Kun said: "I am very proud of the team, we all worked very hard. Achieving this opens many doors for the students and great opportunities.

"But we won’t stop here, this is just the beginning. I aim to produce many well-known international champions and train them up for greatness."

Shaolin Kung Fu is an Chinese martial art that dates back 1,500 years and consists of ground-based moves focussing on strength, power and stance, sometimes competitors use a staff in routines.

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Shaolin at the Rio Olympics? Here's a classic example of a really uninformed report.