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United States of America Wushu Kungfu Federation

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United States of America Wushu Kungfu Federation
SportWushu
AbbreviationUSAWKF
FoundedAugust 21, 1993 (August 21, 1993)
AffiliationInternational Wushu Federation
Regional affiliationPan American Wushu Federation
HeadquartersBaltimore, Maryland, USA
PresidentAnthony Goh
Vice president(s)C. P. Ong
Official website
www.usawkf.org
United States

The United States of America Wushu Kungfu Federation (USAWKF) is the governing body of wushu-kungfu in the United States.[1] 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)[2] and the International Wushu Federation (IWUF).

Background

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Modern wushu taolu started to become popular in the United States after the Beijing Wushu Team's 1974 tour which included performances for President Richard Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at the White House.[3] In 1981, a team was organized by Masters Bow-sim Mark, Anthony Chan, and Roger Tung to help American athletes train in China.[4] More teams were created for the International Invitational Wushu Championships of 1985, 1986, and 1988. Around this time, organizations such as the North American Chinese Martial Arts Federation (NACMAF)[5] and the United States Chinese Martial Arts Council (USCMAC) were successful in promoting purely Wushu-related events throughout the United States, but the general national community was still divided.

History

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After several meetings across the United States, the USAWKF was formed in 1993[5] with the intent of unifying the Chinese martial arts community and promoting Wushu in America. Some of the most renowned practitioners, promoters, and coaches of Wushu in the U.S. were founding members of the organization.[5]

Starting in 1994, the USAWKF started hosting regional and national competitions for Wushu Taolu and Sanhou events, and also developed a national ranking system.[1] In 1995, the USAWKF held the 3rd World Wushu Championships in Baltimore, Maryland, which marked the first time a major international Wushu competition was held outside of Asia.[6] The event was also broadcast on ESPN2. That same year, the Pan American Wushu Federation (PAWF) was founded with the USAWKF having a primary role in the organization.[2]

Management of the US Sanda Team was briefly given to the USA Sanshou Kungfu Federation (USASKF) under longtime USAWKF coach, Shi Deru (Shawn Liu) from 2003 to 2007.[7]

As of 2020, athletes of the US Wushu Team have won two gold medals,[8][9] eleven silver medals, and eighteen bronze medals at the World Wushu Championships [10] and have also achieved many victories in other competitions including the Taolu World Cup,[11] Sanshou World Cup, World Traditional Wushu Championships, World Junior Wushu Championships, and the World Taijiquan Championships. Athletes of the USAWKF have also represented the US in the 2008 Beijing Wushu Tournament, the 2014 Nanjing Youth Wushu Tournament, the World Combat Games, the World Games, and the FISU World University Championships. Members of the USAWKF performed at the 2002 Winter Olympics where the International Olympic Committee recognized the International Wushu Federation.[12][13]

After the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the USAWKF hosted the wushu event at the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama and the 2023 World Wushu Championships in Fort Worth, Texas.

The current president of the USAWKF is Anthony Goh, who is also the president of the Pan-American Wushu Federation and an executive vice president of the IWUF. The organization's headquarters is located in Baltimore, Maryland.[1] The USAWKF was sponsored by Tiger Claw from 1995 to 2011[14] but is now largely sponsored by KungFuDirect who produce the uniforms for members of the US Wushu Team.

The United States at the World Wushu Championships

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United States at the
World Wushu Championships
Flag of the United States
IOC codeUSA
Medals
Ranked 21st
Gold
2
Silver
16
Bronze
31
Total
49
World Wushu Championships appearances
1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 2023

The US Wushu Team has attended the World Wushu Championships since the first rendition in 1991.

The International Wushu Federation does not publish all-time medal tables or medal statistics per each national federation. The IWUF only publishes individual championships results and thus the table below is a combination of those results.

Medals by Championships

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Games Gold Silver Bronze Total Gold medals Total Medals References
China 1991 Beijing 0 1 2 3 11 7 [15]
Malaysia 1993 Kuala Lumpur 0 0 0 0 - - [16]
United States 1995 Baltimore 0 2 4 6 13 6 [17]
Italy 1997 Rome 0 0 1 1 20 17 [18]
Hong Kong 1999 Hong Kong 0 1 2 3 14 9 [19]
Armenia 2001 Yerevan 0 2 1 3 14 14 [20]
Macau 2003 Macau 1 1 1 3 11 14 [21]
Vietnam 2005 Hanoi 0 2 4 6 13 8 [22]
China 2007 Beijing 0 0 0 0 - - [23]
Canada 2009 Toronto 1 1 0 2 13 16 [24]
Turkey 2011 Ankara 0 2 2 4 13 12 [25]
Malaysia 2013 Kuala Lumpur 0 1 2 3 19 17 [26]
Indonesia 2015 Jakarta 0 2 5 7 17 9 [27]
Russia 2017 Kazan 0 1 1 2 18 18 [28]
China 2019 Shanghai 0 0 3 3 23 16 [29]
United States 2023 Dallas 0 1 3 4 16 9 [30]
Total 2 16 31 49

Notable athletes

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Alfred Hsing

Brian Wang

Colvin Wang

Cung Le

Elaina Maxwell

Pat Barry

References

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  1. ^ a b c "USAWKF - Home". www.usawkf.com.
  2. ^ a b "PAWF - Home". www.pawuf.org.
  3. ^ Kalamian, Raffi (April 10, 2002). "History of the Beijing Wushu Team". www.beijingwushuteam.com. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  4. ^ Alpanseque, Emilio (May 2018). "Close Encounters of the Canine Kind - Wushu Pioneer Kenny Perez and His Pursuit of Dog Boxing". KungFuMagazine.
  5. ^ a b c Borkland, Herb (March 1994). "Kung Fu is Finally a Family". Black Belt Vol.32 No.3.
  6. ^ "History of the World Wushu Championships".
  7. ^ "USASKF". www.usaskf.org. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  8. ^ Roberts, Anthony (November 17, 2009). "Has American Wushu Finally Arrived?". Kung Fu Tai Chi.
  9. ^ "Elaina Maxwell | MMA » Sanshou | Awakening Fighters". awakeningfighters.com. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  10. ^ "Competition Results". www.iwuf.org.
  11. ^ Kimmons, Sean (December 11, 2018). "MIT cadet earns two bronze medals in elite martial arts competition". www.army.mil.
  12. ^ Theeboom, Marc; Zhu, Dong; Vertonghen, Jikkemien (April 28, 2015). "'Wushu belongs to the world'. But the gold goes to China…: The international development of the Chinese martial arts". International Review for the Sociology of Sport. 52: 3–23. doi:10.1177/1012690215581605. S2CID 145064538.
  13. ^ "IWUF's Path to the Olympics". IWUF. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  14. ^ Ching, Gene (2012). "Claw Marks: Tiger Claw Ends Sponsorship of USAWKF".
  15. ^ "1st World Wushu Championships - Results" (PDF). International Wushu Federation.
  16. ^ "2nd World Wushu Championships - Results" (PDF). International Wushu Federation.
  17. ^ "3rd World Wushu Championships - Results" (PDF). International Wushu Federation.
  18. ^ "4th World Wushu Championships - Results" (PDF). International Wushu Federation.
  19. ^ "5th World Wushu Championships - Results" (PDF). International Wushu Federation.
  20. ^ "6th World Wushu Championships - Results" (PDF). International Wushu Federation.
  21. ^ "7th World Wushu Championships - Results" (PDF). International Wushu Federation.
  22. ^ "8th World Wushu Championships - Results" (PDF). International Wushu Federation.
  23. ^ "9th World Wushu Championships - Results" (PDF). International Wushu Federation.
  24. ^ "10th World Wushu Championships - Results" (PDF). International Wushu Federation.
  25. ^ "11th World Wushu Championships - Results" (PDF). International Wushu Federation.
  26. ^ "12th World Wushu Championships - Results" (PDF). International Wushu Federation.
  27. ^ "13th World Wushu Championships - Results" (PDF). International Wushu Federation.
  28. ^ "2017 World Wushu Championships - Results" (PDF). International Wushu Federation.
  29. ^ "2019 World Wushu Championships - Results" (PDF). International Wushu Federation.
  30. ^ "HYX 16th World Wushu Championships Results Book" (PDF). International Wushu Federation. November 20, 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
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