Saturday, February 16, 2013

WUSHU: It all started in Rome, sorry - New York City (stock exchange)


Actor Jet Li and China's Wushu Team at NYSE


International Film Star, Jet Li, accompanied by members of the China World Champion Wushu Team, Chinese Wushu Association and International Wushu Federation, visited the NYSE. The World Wushu Champions will be in New York for a performance at the United Nations.  In honor of the occasion, Jet Li, joined by Mr. He Qinglong, Vice President of the Chinese Wushu Association and Mr. Zhang Yuping, Chief of the International Wushu Federation Secretariat and CWA Foreign Affairs Department, along with several Wushu Champions, rang The Closing BellSM.

About Chinese Wushu Association

The Chinese Wushu Association was established in 1958.  It is under the Chinese State Commission for Physical Culture and Sports and is the organization which regulates martial arts training throughout China. In addition to being a national sport in China, Wushu is part of the national program for health and fitness and is taught in high school and university.


About International Wushu Federation (IWUF):

The International Wushu Federation (IWUF) was established in 1990 and holds the World Wushu Championships every two years.  It is also responsible for efforts to qualify Wushu as an Olympic sport. The IWUF's application for Chinese Martial Arts to be recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was prepared in Hong Kong in November 1998. The IWUF was accepted into membership of the General Assembly for International Sports Federations (GAISF) in 1995, which is the first step. The second step to reach the criteria set by the IOC is to have Wushu represented in a minimum of 73 countries, spanning 4 continents. Currently, the IWUF has 78 countries in membership, spanning all continents (Asia, North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Oceanic States). Many practitioners and fans of Wushu have high expectations that Wushu will one day soon be accepted as an official Olympic sport.

Note: “Wushu” is Chinese for martial arts.

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