A campaign has been launched to include cricket in the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Labour Assembly member Murad Qureshi has set up an online petition and Facebook page. He wants the sport to be included in its Twenty20 form, in which matches normally take between two and three hours.
Traditionally, each Olympic host nation includes a national sport as a "demonstration" event. China showcased Wushu, a full-contact sport derived from traditional martial arts.
Mr Qureshi said: "If the Chinese can show Wushu to the world, I can see no reason why London shouldn't have cricket in 2012. It is this country's summer game after all." He will present the petition to the International Olympics Committee and London Organising Committee next month. To sign it go to: www.twenty20for2012.com
Last Updated on Wednesday, 10 September 2008 23:30
Wushu in new fashion
Written by By Lei Lei Chinadaily.com.cn
Wednesday, 03 September 2008 23:47
China's wushu team demonstrated not only fierce fighting and dazzling technical moves during the Olympics, but also stylish new uniforms.
Participants in the Beijing 2008 Wushu Tournament, which ran concurrently with the Games, wore black suits made of Dri-FIT, a new material designed by Nike, which draws sweat away from the body.
"I used to think it was impossible to design fashionable clothing for such an ancient sport, but their work surprised me," said Ma Lingjuan, China's gold medalist at the 2008 tournament.
"The new outfit is attractive and comfortable compared with the old silk one, which would stick to the skin when it got wet," she said.
The sport of wushu has sought to be included in the Olympic Games for many years. Organizers seized the opportunity of the Beijing Games to hold a tournament nearby.
"The tournament was a good opportunity for wushu to be seen at the Olympics. In the Opening Ceremony, we also displayed taiji to the world," said coach Wang Erping.
Last Updated on Tuesday, 07 October 2008 11:45
Wushu - The Movie
Written by www.wu-jing.org
Friday, 29 August 2008 16:50
On January 30, the media was allowed visit to the set of Wushu, which is about 5 kids training rigorously at a wushu school, eventually making some accomplishments in the field, and spreading wushu ethos.
Director Antony Szeto, who's also choreographing the action scenes, says that the film employs only realistic combat scenes, with almost no doubling or special effects. They will show be showing a diverse range of Chinese wushu on the screen, including Southern Fist, Sanda, etc.
Szeto himself was once a member of the Australian Wushu Team, and has trained in the prestigious Beijing Sports University. He began his career as a stuntman for various television shows in Australia, before moving on to Hollywood where he also had small parts in action films. He then moved to Hong Kong to direct television episodes. His feature debut was in 2005, when he directed a CGI-animated martial arts tale titled Dragon Blade. Wushu marks his first attempt at directing a major motion picture.
Besides Anthony Szeto, there is other major talent at work in the production of Wushu. Sammo Hung, who will only be with the production for 1/3 of the principal photography, will get to direct one of the action scenes personally - the scene in which Sammo Hung rescues his son. Apart from Sammo Hung, newcomers Liu Feng Chao and Wang Wen Jie are also starring in the film.
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Sammo Hung says that he's old and should let the younger people shoot martial arts scenes while he does drama films. And indeed, he has more drama scenes in this film than action scenes.
Anthony Szeto says that while there are plenty of martial arts stars in their 30s and 40s, there isn't anyone else who is special. His hopes are on these young guys, "They are gifted, have good wushu foundation, have modern looks. I hope they would become the successors." Filming will be completed by end of February, and is being planned for release in around July.
Wushu features Wang Wen Jie, who has previously worked with Tsui Hark on Seven Swords, and Liu Feng Chao, who is a former member of the Hebei Wushu Team. Here is Liu Feng Chao in action:
After Beijing bronze, Croydon martial artists dreams of London glory
Written by www.thisiscroydontoday.co.uk
Wednesday, 03 September 2008 22:59
Unless you've been living under a rock for the past month, you can't fail to know about Great Britain's triumph at this year's Olympics.But you may not know about one Epsom athlete whose bronze medal has not been so widely reported.
Nick Evagorou won his medal in the Wushu tournament, which although not yet an official Olympic sport, was one to be showcased this year.
This gave Nick, 27, an instructor at the Epsom Nam Yang Pugulistic Association, the thrill of being part of the Games and also of demonstrating an ancient sport participants hope will eventually be included in the main event.He is just as proud of his medal as the rest of the champions in Team GB – of which he hopes he will again be a member in 2012.
He said: "I competed in the World Wushu Championships 2007, where the top eight competitors would gain the opportunity to compete in the Wushu Tournament featured in the Beijing Olympics. The International Olympics Committee sanctioned the tournament as a specially-approved demonstration event."
"It took place at the Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium and featured alongside other events in the hope the demonstration would cement a bid to make the Wushu Tournament an official event at a future games, including the 2012 Olympics in London."
You've seen it in the Matrix. Bruce Lee was its most famous proponent. An animated panda tickled audiences this year. Now practitioners hope that wushu, more commonly known as kungfu, will be contested at the Olympics.
Wushu's backers are trying to cram the millennia-old art on to a packed Olympics calendar, arguing a growing following. They claim a victory for a sport that for the first time held an unofficial competition on the sidelines of the Games in Beijing.
China's growing clout, hit films such as Kung Fu Panda and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and international stars Jet Li and Jackie Chan have helped the martial art lure devotees from Vietnam to Sweden.
"They have boxing at the Olympics. They have taekwondo. This is all that in one package," Sarah Ponce, 32, said after a sparring match. She took three months off her job to train and paid her own way from the United States to China.
But it might take more than a decade before wushu's signature whirling kicks and lightning punches will be seen at the Games.
Sports for the 2012 Olympics have been decided and wushu is not shortlisted for 2016. Its advocates are holding out for 2020.
The Games in Beijing showcased 28 sports. In London, the number will fall to 26 after the exit of baseball and softball. And a slew of other sports will be vying for a place in 2016, such as squash, rugby, golf and karate.
The International Wushu Federation is one of the IOC's 31 recognized federations along with cricket, golf, karate, rugby and squash, meaning a spot on the program is not impossible.
"Wushu will need to prepare for submitting a strong file in 2011," Jan Fransoo, president of the Association of the IOC Recognized International Sports Federation, said.
The 2020 Games will be determined seven years before.
The original wushuonefamily.com website was created in 2002 when Ray and Houman returned from their summer trip to Beijing, China. The intention of this website's founders was (and still is) to raise the profile of Chinese Martial Arts, Kungfu/Kung Fu, Taiji/Taichi, Qigong and all related Chinese arts by building an online community, and providing videos (including our famous W1F trailers), downloads, photos, competition results, forums, diaries, blogs, articles, stories and reference.
The Ultimate Jet Li website is no longer available, however if you are a Jet fan it might be good to check out W1F for more information on Jet's art, Wushu.
Unless you've been living under a rock for the past month, you can't fail to know about Great Britain's triumph at this year's Olympics.But you may not know about one Epsom athlete whose bronze medal has not been so widely reported.
"They have boxing at the Olympics. They have taekwondo. This is all that in one package," Sarah Ponce, 32, said after a sparring match. She took three months off her job to train and paid her own way from the United States to China.