Martial Arts | Wushu tournament to return with kickboxing section

The Wushu Masters Challenge 2019 will be held from August 1 to 4, featuring a new competition called the Kickboxing Championship of the Greater Bay Area.

In its fourth iteration this year, the event will present a Lion Dance Championship, Dragon Dance Championship and Wushu Summer Festival amongst others.

The Lion Dance Championship will feature participants from China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam amongst others, as well as athletes from the Dragon Dance Championship.

The Wushu Summer Festival will be held at Tap Seac Square and at Iao Hon Garden, and will feature a series of activities, as announced yesterday in a press conference.

The organizers, the Sports Bureau (ID) and the Wushu General Association of Macau said that the four-day event “not only includes the essence of martial arts but also brings together cultural characteristics of various places.”

President of ID Pun Weng Kun said that he hopes the different Wushu events, which bring together a number of local and foreign Wushu athletes, will allow the event to create exchanges and raise further awareness of the history of martial arts.

“First launched in 2016, the Wushu tournament is becoming [more popular] in Macau among both tourists and local residents,” said Pun.

With a budget of MOP18 million, the official highlighted that the performances and athletes will come from different regions.

“We’ve conducted a series of promotional campaigns recently and we have also approached Wushu masters from other places who are looking forward to the event,” Pun told the press.

“Each year, we have [to] increase the number of participants. […] For the competition and activities that will be featured, the scale is bigger. We’re working with different [local] departments and associations to conduct different competitions,” the official added.

Despite the absence of the Taolu (routine or exhibition) competition in this year’s event, Pun is still expecting the event will be successful.

Commenting on the absence of the competition, the official said, “we’re giving opportunities to other organizations to organize that tournament. We hope that this year’s Wushu event [will] inspire different groups in Macau to organize more events and competitions.”

The Kickboxing Championship of the Greater Bay Area will be held in August at Tap Seac Square with athletes from Macau, Hong Kong, Zhuhai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Jiangmen amongst other municipalities. LV