On August 5th, Wushu athletes showed their routines at the media meeting. On the same day, the media meeting of "Beijing 2008 Wushu Competition" was held in the main press center of Beijing Olympic Games (Sohu Lenovo 2008 Olympic Games, Lenovo official website). It is understood that "Beijing 2008 Wushu Competition" will be held in Beijing Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium from August 2/KLOC-0 to August 24, with a total of 10 gold medals and 5 gold medals in Sanshou. Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Ziheng photo

Lack of promotion and publicity, low popularity and influence are the biggest shortcomings of Wushu entering the Olympic Games.

With the approval of the International Olympic Committee, "Beijing 2008 Wushu Competition" will be held in the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium from August 2/KLOC-0 to August 24.

Wang Xiaolin, secretary-general of the International Wushu Federation, director of the Wushu Management Center of the State Sports General Administration and chairman of the Chinese Wushu Association, said: "It is the first time in the history of the Olympic Games that non-Olympic events can hold competitions during the Olympic Games, and it is also the first time for China Wushu."

Wushu enjoys "special treatment", but what Chinese people are most looking forward to is that Wushu can enter the official Olympic Games. When did Wushu enter the Olympic Games? Outlook and Newsweek recently visited some "Wulin people" to listen to their views on the development of Wushu.

"Special treatment"

This special treatment that Wushu enjoyed during the Beijing Olympic Games was hard-won.

"1936, China Wushu first appeared in the 1 1 Olympic Games in Berlin. In fact, martial arts is neither a competition nor an official performance in Berlin, but a group of old martial artists such as Zhang Wenguang held a series of performances outside the stadium and caused a sensation. " Wang Xiaolin said, "Now, many people still think that this achievement is not enough, and say why not have a formal competition. It is understandable that 72 years have passed since 1936, and everyone is looking forward to China Wushu entering the official competition field of the Olympic Games one day. "

"But if you understand the constitution of the International Olympic Committee, you will find that this result is not easy." Wang Xiaolin said: "First, in the past, unofficial Olympic events were not allowed to enter the Olympic Games. The same is true for the performance events set up in the Olympic Games before 1992. For example, the Beijing Olympic Games opened on August 8th, and the performance events ended on August 7th. 1988 This is the case with Taekwondo, the performance event of Seoul Olympic Games. Secondly, the venue is the official venue of the Olympic Games-the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium. Previously, handball was an official event of the Olympic Games. Third, the official events, including gold medal, silver medal and bronze medal, were set up. There are altogether five medals 15, routine gold medals 10 and five Sanshou gold medals in this competition. The material and shape of the medals are the same as those used in the Olympic Games, but the words engraved are different. There is no Olympic word, but it is also recognized by the International Olympic Committee. "

Wang Xiaolin also stressed: "The name of this Wushu competition is' Beijing 2008 Wushu Competition', not the name of Beijing Wushu Invitational Tournament. Anyone who engages in sports knows that using such a name has special meaning. "

The athletes who participated in the Beijing 2008 Wushu Competition were the top 6 men's and women's routines, the top 8 men's and women's Sanda, and 20 wild card athletes approved by the International Wushu Federation, which were selected by more than 300 athletes from 89 countries and regions in 2007.

"During the 2008 Olympic Games, Wushu had a good opportunity to show. Now that the stage has been set up for us, we must seize this opportunity. It is necessary to further promote the Olympic spirit through this competition, indicating that Wushu originated in China and spread all over the world, and has already possessed the distinctive characteristics of sports competitions, laying a good foundation for the next development of Wushu. " Wang Xiaolin said.

The advantages of Wushu entering the Olympic Games outweigh the disadvantages.

All efforts are paving the way for Wushu to enter the Olympic Games, but the voices of China Wushu circles are not unified as to whether Wushu should enter the Olympic Games.

According to the experts interviewed, Wushu can be divided into competitive Wushu and traditional Wushu. Traditional Wushu is developed according to the traditional style of Wushu and its own development law. Competitive Wushu is developed on the basis of traditional Wushu and drawing lessons from the principles and modes of Olympic competition. It has obvious competitive sports characteristics and its development goal is to strive for entering the Olympic Games.

In recent years, some people have pointed out the disadvantages of the rapid development of competitive Wushu, and think that the essence of China Wushu lies in traditional Wushu, and the focus of popularization should be on traditional Wushu.

However, Wang Xiaolin believes that traditional martial arts and competitive martial arts should not favour one over the other, but should develop harmoniously.

"Traditional Wushu is the root of China Wushu, and competitive Wushu is the branches and leaves. Without roots, there would be no lush foliage. Therefore, traditional martial arts can't be lost at any time, which is the foundation of the development of martial arts in China. " Wang Xiaolin said: "But it must be admitted that the modern Olympic Games is the highest hall of sports competition. If a project enters the Olympic Games, the impact will be great. The support of sports departments and Olympic committees in different countries, the attention of people, merchants and media will be different. Let's compare judo and taekwondo in China in the past. If judo and taekwondo were not Olympic events, would there be such a situation today? "

Wang Xiaolin stressed: "Participating in the Olympic Games is good for the development of Wushu in China. And from a big perspective, this is also very beneficial to enhance China's' soft power'. "