The recent announcement by the president of the KWA (Kung Fu Wushu Australia) that the 2020 SANDA World Cup (SWC) is going to be held in Melbourne next September opens up a wealth of opportunities for martial arts fighters, supporters and enthusiasts. It's envisaged that the event will be the largest martial arts event ever held in Australia, as well as the first world championships that will have been organised and ran by the KWA, in partnership with the well-known martial arts events organiser, KLF. These championships are going to be a prestigious occasion and one which is likely to significantly raise the profile of martial arts in general across the country.
KWA goes from strength to strength
The announcement of the championships is another encouraging sign of the success which the KWA has had in raising awareness of the sport and striving to make it as accessible as possible. Incorporated in 2010, its aim was to both develop an accredited, widely recognised coaching scheme as well as to make the case for Wu Shu to become an Olympic sport. Although the discipline has been practised in Australia since the mid-1800s, it's only recently that the KWA has brought a higher level of organisation to both training and competition work.
Australia is a strong Wu Shu contender
The Australian team that attended the Shanghai SWC in 2019 managed some incredible performances during their time in the city. With a fourth-place finish in Xing Yi Quan, joint fifth in female Duilian and a sixth in female Daoshu, the team are clearly in a strong position to make their mark at the 2020 events. Support from the home crowds will hopefully spur them on to even more efforts in this highly competitive series of events.
Having been held in China in recent years, it's good to see that Australia is now getting ready to welcome international athletes to what promises to be one of the highlights of the martial arts year in Oz.
Further information about the event, as well as the opportunity to purchase tickets a little nearer the time, can be found here.