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Paul McNamara

Hong Kong wushu bosses have formed an alliance with their Australian counterparts in a bid to press the sport’s claims for inclusion in the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games.
Wushu has one foot on the Games ladder, after being added to the schedule for the 2026 Youth Olympics in Dakar.
It has been an Asian Games fixture since 1990, with Hong Kong claiming 21 wushu medals, including two golds, in nine Asiads.
The city remains a relatively fertile breeding ground for wushu athletes. Last month, Hong Kong beat China into second in the World Taijiquan Championship medal table. The positions were reversed at June’s inaugural Asian University Wushu Championship.
And Australian wushu has moved to tap into the talent from Hong Kong and mainland China to sell the sport to its natives when the country stages November’s Sanda World Cup.

Ian Fok Chun-wan, the president of the Hong Kong, China Wushu Union (HKCWU), told the Post: “We are working with the wushu federation in Australia and want to get wushu into the Olympics.
“Hong Kong and China are both sending demonstration teams to the Sanda World Cup to introduce other elements of wushu to Australia. The Chinese are very good, but in Hong Kong we practise more traditional martial arts and have a wider variety of styles. [Hong Kong and mainland China] work together for the sport.
“Hong Kong and other Asian countries receive government support. If wushu becomes an Olympic sport, other federations would have access to more resources.”
A wushu championship was held alongside the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, with competitors granted permission to lodge in the athletes village. Fok said the “final nod” was not given to wushu’s Games inclusion because “China and USA fight to top the medal table and wushu would have provided a few more medals for China”.
Fok became vice-president of the Wushu Federation of Asia (WFA) when the body was formed in 1987 partly with an aim of getting the sport into the Asian Games. He subsequently served as WFA president and is now honorary life president.
Boasting a passion for the sport that dates back to reading Jin Yong’s martial arts novels in childhood, Fok is in dialogue with Hong Kong’s Education Bureau about adding wushu to school curricula.
“We want children to learn a Chinese sport and wushu is part of Chinese culture,” Fok said. “It teaches you manners and to respect your teachers and elders.”

Fok is optimistic the Olympic fencing gold medal this summer for Vivian Kong Man-wai, who has an international relations degree from Stanford University, can help solve the age-old problem of Hong Kong youngsters ditching sport to prioritise studying.
“Before, we had talented athletes, but when they reached a certain age they would go another way,” Fok said. “[Kong showed] sport and studying can be complementary. It doesn’t have to be either or.
“Hopefully, Hong Kong’s [four] Olympic medals in Paris will help people appreciate that sport helps individuals develop. Universities value sporting prowess, too.”
Fok, who drove the 2022 inception of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Wushu Alliance, practised judo as a student at Millfield School in England.
Beginning tai chi at university in Vancouver, he discovered something “completely different – there was no force involved, but these were supposed to be the best fighters”.
“That was rather puzzling, but it grew my interest,” Fok said.
Wushu is a Tier A Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI) sport, with between 30 and 40 athletes training full time at the Sha Tin facility. The city has traditionally produced strong performers in non-contact taolu disciplines, but there have been signs of improvement in sanda, the sport’s fighting division.
Li Weijin claimed men’s 80kg silver at the recent Asian Championships in Macau, where Hong Kong won two gold medals, along with six silver and four bronze.
“It is very important for individuals to do well in competition, so they receive [HKSI] support,” Fok said. “You need to be full-time to compete at the highest level. We have around 100 athletes at HKSI [including part-time youngsters]. It takes around 10 years to create a top-class athlete.
“The coaches feel the pressure – if they do not perform, their contracts do not continue. Wushu is about more than competition, though. The ultimate goal is to unify with the universe.”


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Hong Kong Sports Institute

Hong Kong aiding Australia bid to add wushu to Olympics as city’s stars bank Asian medals

Hong Kong is sending a demonstration team to the Sanda World Cup in Melbourne to introduce other forms of wushu to the Australian public.

Taolu is a performance branch of wushu in the image of gymnastics.

Hong Kong is beginning to make an impression in sanda, the contact form of wushu.

Asian Games: Hong Kong taijiquan athlete Mok Uen-ying tears up over father’s help for Hangzhou performance

Mok Uen-ying bursts into tears while talking to the media about her father’s help. Photo: Mike Chan

Taijiquan athlete Juanita Mok Uen-ying plans to show off a different style at the Asian Games. Photo: Handout

Hong Kong is sending five females and two male athletes to Hangzhou. Photo: Handout

Hui Tak-yan is seeking another medal to add to his gold and bronze from the World University Games. Photo: Handout

Asian Games 2023: Salom Yiu and Juanita Mok to carry Hong Kong flag at opening ceremony

Hong Kong flagbearers Salom Yiu (left) and Juanita Mok at Hong Kong International Airport. Photo: Elson Li

The Hong Kong women’s rugby team take a selfie at Hong Kong International Airport. Photo: Elson Li

World University Games: Hong Kong pair bag gold and silver on opening day in Wushu events

Hui Tak-yan won the first gold medal for Hong Kong at the World University Games in Chengdu. Photo: Handout

Samuei Hui Tak-yan performs during his gold medal-winning routine in the men’s taijijian. Photo: Handout

Lau Chi-lung won silver in the men’s nanquan. Photo: Handout

Hong Kong students get off to golden start at FISU University World Cup Combat Sports, with medals in wushu and karate

Sat Pak-long won the first gold medal for Hong Kong at the FISU World Cup Combat Sports. 

Sat Pak-long and Debbie Yeung were on the podium for Hong Kong in Türkiye.

Debbie Yeung won silver in the women’s Taijiquan. 

Lau Po-yan in action at the FISU World Cup Combat Sports.

Sport

Local wushu chief Ian Fok, who was instrumental in sport gaining Asian Games status, is also championing its addition into school curricula


Local wushu chief Ian Fok, who was instrumental in sport gaining Asian Games status, is also championing its addition into school curricula.


Martial arts

Olympics