adminBuwa projects co-ordinator Simbarashe Simango said on Thursday the association was at its infancy but dreaming big as already they had secured training bases across Bulawayo while they were engaging the Ministry of Education, Art, Sport and Culture to introduce the discipline in schools.
“We have been given four halls to train at—Nkulumane, Old Pumula, Emakhandeni and Sizinda—by the city council and in Sizinda training started last month while in the other halls we will be starting next week.
“We are also engaging the ministry to allow us to take the sport into schools so that we teach the young generation the discipline since they are the custodians of our future,” he said.
The co-ordinator said wushu is a discipline like karate and was a way of life as it helped in terms of discipline and self-control.
Simango said they had established youth centres that were already functional and these were Inyathi at Mpopoma, Isilwane at Old Pumula, Dolphins at Barham Green and Siziba in Njube.
He said the association is already registered with the Sport and Recreation Commission (SRC).
The association is a splinter group of the Zimbabwe Wushu Association.
Wushu is similar to kung fu and is an exhibition and full contact combat sport but uses protective gear like headgear, gloves and leather armour.
It is of Chinese origin and wu means military while shu is art in Chinese hence the art has military inclinations.
The similarities with kung fu are that it is characterised by blunted weapon techniques and animal styles like tiger, monkey, the crane and eagle manouvres in lightning speed motions.
This modernised hybrid of kung fu will be competed in the 2012 Olympics for the first ever time.
Online Reporter