World Wushu Championships facts for kids

The World Wushu Championships (WWC) is a big international sports competition. It's organized by the International Wushu Federation (IWUF). This event features two main types of wushu: wushu taolu and sanda (also known as sanshou).

Wushu taolu is like a performance. Athletes show off different martial arts moves and forms. Sanda, on the other hand, is a full-contact fighting sport.

The World Wushu Championships have been held every two years since 1991. It's the most important event for the IWUF. This competition also helps athletes qualify for other major events, like the Taolu World Cup and the Sanda World Cup.

Past Championships

The World Wushu Championships have taken place in many different countries around the world. Here's a look at where they've been held and which countries won the most medals.

Year	Edition	Location	Events	First of the medal table	Second of the medal table	Third of the medal table
1991	1	Beijing, China	23	China	Japan	Soviet Union
1993	2	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	24	China	Russia	Hong Kong
1995	3	Baltimore, United States	24	China	Hong Kong	Russia
1997	4	Rome, Italy	25	China	Hong Kong	Russia
1999	5	Hong Kong	31	China	Hong Kong	Vietnam
2001	6	Yerevan, Armenia	41	China	Vietnam	South Korea
2003	7	Macau	39	China	Vietnam	Russia
2005	8	Hanoi, Vietnam	40	China	Vietnam	Malaysia
2007	9	Beijing, China	40	China	Macau	Vietnam
2009	10	Toronto, Canada	40	China	Iran	Hong Kong
2011	11	Ankara, Turkey	40	China	Iran	Hong Kong
2013	12	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	46	China	Iran	Malaysia
2015	13	Jakarta, Indonesia	50	China	Indonesia	Iran
2017	14	Kazan, Russia	44	China	Iran	Hong Kong
2019	15	Shanghai, China	44	China	Iran	Hong Kong
2023	16	Fort Worth, United States	36	China	Vietnam	Macau
2025	17	Brazil	TBD	Future event
2027	18	Philippines
2029	19	Macau

History of the Championships

The idea for the World Wushu Championships started in 1985. The Chinese Wushu Association began hosting invitational events. Their goal was to make wushu a standard sport around the world.

The IWUF was formed in 1990. Soon after, the first World Wushu Championships were held in Beijing, China, in 1991. To make wushu more popular globally, later championships were held outside Asia. For example, the 3rd and 4th events took place in the United States and Italy.

At the 6th WWC in 2001, athletes were tested for doping for the first time. The 9th WWC in 2007 was a special event. It helped athletes qualify for the 2008 Beijing Wushu Tournament. Some championships, like the 9th, 12th, and 15th WWCs, also helped athletes qualify for Wushu at the World Games. The 16th WWC was originally planned for 2021 but was moved to 2023 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

New Events Added Over Time

When the first WWC happened, it included several taolu styles. These were changquan, daoshu, jianshu, gunshu, qiangshu, nanquan, and taijiquan. Men's sanda (sanshou) was also part of it.

In 1993, new rules for taolu were introduced. More events were added in 1999, like taijijian, nandao, and nangun. By 2001, both old and new routine events were held. In 2003, duilian (a paired routine) and women's sanda were added.

In 2005, the rules changed again, and the old compulsory routines were stopped. In 2007, music was added to taijiquan and taijijian events.

More new routines were added in 2013 and 2015. These included special changquan, nanquan, and taijiquan events. The 2015 WWC also brought in traditional events. These included men's xingyiquan and dadao, and women's baguazhang and shuangjian. These traditional events appeared again in 2017 and 2019. In 2019, a creative group performance was also shown as a demonstration. The 2023 WWC also featured a demonstration event.

All-Time Medal Winners

This table shows which countries have won the most medals in the World Wushu Championships. It includes results up to the 2019 World Wushu Championships.

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	China	227	12	2	241
2	Hong Kong	51	65	42	158
3	Iran	51	22	23	96
4	Russia	39	33	34	106
5	Vietnam	36	58	58	152
6	South Korea	23	41	49	113
7	Macau	22	36	32	90
8	Malaysia	22	33	44	99
9	Philippines	17	19	33	69
10	Indonesia	15	13	18	46
11	Japan	14	38	40	92
12	Chinese Taipei	8	20	22	50
13	Egypt	8	18	30	56
14	Myanmar	5	9	7	21
15	Singapore	4	11	16	31
16	Netherlands	4	3	7	14
17	India	3	9	16	28
18	Italy	3	8	18	29
19	Brazil	3	7	15	25
20	Turkmenistan	3	1	0	4
21	United States	2	16	28	46
22	Ukraine	2	11	15	28
23	Turkey	2	9	26	37
24	Romania	2	9	13	24
25	France	2	4	24	30
26	Kazakhstan	2	1	7	10
27	Soviet Union	2	0	0	2
28	Spain	1	7	6	14
29	Azerbaijan	1	7	4	12
30	Canada	1	3	15	19
31	Lebanon	1	2	10	13
32	Great Britain	1	2	9	12
33	Armenia	1	2	7	10
34	Tajikistan	1	1	1	3
35	Australia	1	0	2	3
36	Israel	1	0	1	2
37	Belarus	0	5	6	11
38	Sweden	0	4	10	14
39	Tunisia	0	2	5	7
40	Kyrgyzstan	0	2	2	4
41	Venezuela	0	2	1	3
42	Poland	0	1	4	5
	Uzbekistan	0	1	4	5
44	Mongolia	0	1	2	3
45	Bermuda	0	1	1	2
	Czech Republic	0	1	1	2
	Mexico	0	1	1	2
	Morocco	0	1	1	2
49	Argentina	0	1	0	1
50	Algeria	0	0	11	11
51	Germany	0	0	4	4
	Greece	0	0	4	4
	Switzerland	0	0	4	4
54	Jordan	0	0	3	3
	Yemen	0	0	3	3
56	Belgium	0	0	2	2
	Portugal	0	0	2	2
	South Africa	0	0	2	2
	Sri Lanka	0	0	2	2
	Thailand	0	0	2	2
61	Afghanistan	0	0	1	1
	Georgia	0	0	1	1
	New Zealand	0	0	1	1
	North Korea	0	0	1	1
	Peru	0	0	1	1
Totals (65 entries)		581	553	756	1,890

Sometimes, the number of gold, silver, and bronze medals might not add up perfectly. This can happen for a few reasons:

• Sanda events started giving out two bronze medals instead of one in 1993.
• Sometimes, prizes are not awarded or are shared.
• In 1995, taolu events had multiple winners for each prize. Sanda events only gave a gold medal to the winner.
• Medals that were taken away from athletes are also counted in the table.

Top Athletes in Wushu

Many amazing athletes have competed in the World Wushu Championships. Some have won multiple gold medals, showing their incredible skill and dedication.

Top Taolu Medalists

Here are some of the athletes who have won the most gold medals in taolu events:

• Nguyễn Thúy Hiền from Vietnam won 7 gold medals and 15 total medals between 1993 and 2003.
• Park Chan-dea from South Korea won 6 gold medals and 15 total medals between 1993 and 2001.
• Ng Siu Ching from Hong Kong won 5 gold medals and 14 total medals between 1991 and 2001.
• Geng Xiaoling from Hong Kong won 5 gold medals and 12 total medals between 2005 and 2015.
• Liu Xuxu from Hong Kong won 5 gold medals and 9 total medals between 2017 and 2019.
• Lindswell Kwok from Indonesia won 5 gold medals and 9 total medals between 2009 and 2017.

Top Sanda Medalists

These athletes have won the most gold medals in sanda events:

• Mohsen Mohammadseifi from Iran won 5 gold medals and 6 total medals between 2009 and 2019.
• Muslim Salikhov from Russia also won 5 gold medals and 6 total medals between 2005 and 2015.
• Bozigit Ataev from Russia won 5 gold medals and 6 total medals between 1999 and 2013.
• Shahrbanoo Mansourian from Iran won 5 gold medals between 2011 and 2019.
• Hamid Reza Gholipour from Iran won 4 gold medals and 6 total medals between 2007 and 2019.
• Mohammad Reza Jafari from Iran won 4 gold medals and 5 total medals between 1997 and 2005.

More Wushu Competitions

If you're interested in wushu, there are other important competitions to learn about:

• List of international wushu competitions
• World Junior Wushu Championships (for younger athletes)

See also

In Spanish: Campeonato Mundial de Wushu para niños