There may still be hope …
I wrote about Wushu and the Olympics here before. The consensus then, as it is now, is that the International Wushu Federation has failed to identify itself clearly on the international stage like other sports have. Not only that, but in trying to do so, organized Wushu associations have done a disservice to the art and the practitioners, by diluting and distorting what wushu really is.
Well, the verdict is in, and wushu was scrubbed from the short list of sports that could be in the Olympics come 2020. Wrestling, squash, and baseball/softball made it past the first round, while wushu, karate, wakeboarding, roller sports, and sports climbing failed to get in.
I would say that wakeboarding, roller sports and sports climbing are real long shots, but its hard to say with the Olympics. They dropped world famous sports like wrestling and baseball, and took on golf, which appeals to a rather small audience. There are 39 criteria that the Olympics look at in order to evaluate whether or not a sport should be in or out.
Reading reports about the selection process are instructive. Most refer to Wushu as something akin to gymnastics, with ceremonial sword and staff movements. Many reports also posit that Wushu’s bid suffered from not using the more well-known term “kung fu” …
When I read things like this, I am just further convinced that the Chinese push to include Wushu is another misguided attempt at soft power without really realizing what sport, Olympics, Wushu, or soft power are really all about.
Thanks for the write up.
“The Chinese push to include Wushu is another misguided attempt at soft power without really realizing what sport, Olympics, Wushu, or soft power are really all about.”
Thats a great quote and one that I basically find myself agreeing with. Given the immense global popularity of the Chinese martial arts its really amazing to me that they never figured out how to structure their sport, or market their bid, in a way that would tap into that enthusiasm. But they really didn’t. Even when I talk with other martial artists here in the States most of them don’t know, or don’t have any really clear idea, what “Wushu” is. Tai Chi, Kung Fu, Wing Chun….that stuff everyone recognizes. Its really amazing.
Not that this news should come as a surprise. The only really surprising thing at this point would be if wrestling isn’t reinstated.
[…] Commentators online and in the press have noted that the setbacks suffered by Wushu point to a larger failure in the Chinese government’s ability to yoke its “soft power” to its larger foreign policy initiatives. What exactly does this term mean? How is “soft power” actually different from any other type of influence in international politics? […]