Members of a local wushu club perform in Kayonza, Eastern Province, Rwanda, on 12 November 2021

Wushu, or Chinese martial arts, is set to make its Olympic debut in the Youth Olympic Games 2026 in Dakar, the first Olympic competition to be staged in Africa.  

Wushu, which featured at the All-Africa Youth Games in 2018, has gone through a tortuous process in being accepted as an Olympic sport event. The International Wushu Federation (IWUF) first submitted applications for inclusion to the International Olympic Committee in 2001, followed by two more failed bids in 2008 and 2011. Finally, it tasted success in Africa, which is also a testament to its popularity in the continent. 

As a sport, wushu is popular all over the world, especially in Africa. According to the IWUF, as of 2020, among the 155 national wushu federations, 39 are in the African continent, and approximately 3 million athletes are practicing some variety of wushu in Africa. They find it interesting because it keeps their body in shape, and it teaches them self-defence and self-control. 

A popular sport 

In Dave Dan Wushu and Kickboxing Training Centre located at the heart of Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, over 70 trainees aged from 7 to 65 practice wushu, which shows the popularity of the sport in Africa’s second-most populous nation. 

Sixteen-year-old Haleluya Dawit is one of the over 70 students at the centre who practises wushu, with a range of physical activities including splits, upward bow pose, high knees, horse stance and kicking along with her fellow classmates. “I enjoy learning Chinese martial arts because it combines different techniques and gives me enlightenment,” said Haleluya in an interview with Xinhua News Agency.  

The wushu upsurge is sweeping the continent thanks to the friendly relations between China and Africa, cemented through the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the Belt and Road Initiative, among others. 

According to a recent report by the Ethiopian Martial Arts Federation, there are over 800 Chinese martial arts training centres across Ethiopia. Among them, 60 are found in the capital city of Addis Ababa, and each appears to offer Chinese martial arts training to about 70 students in each season. At least one wushu club exists in every small town of Ethiopia, the report said.  

Also, the number of Chinese martial arts clubs in Rwanda organised under the Rwanda Kung-Fu Wushu Federation, founded in 2007, had reached 31 by 2021, including 14 in the capital city of Kigali, with a combined total of 4,000 members including 2,500 performers.  

In Kenya, an increasing number of young individuals have embraced Chinese martial arts, through joining local kungfu clubs or learning from experienced locals who received training at the renowned Shaolin Temple in China’s Henan Province. 

Fitness, not fighting 

In wushu, one of the important principles is that opponents always bow towards each other at the beginning and end of a bout, which is the embodiment of wushu’s philosophy and spirit. 

“The aim of wushu is to prevent the use of force,” said Zhang Qiuping, secretary general of the IWUF, who is also president of the Chinese Wushu Association. “In the promotion of Chinese martial arts, we emphasise that it is not for fighting, but for fitness,” said Zhang. 

In the Shaolin Temple in Zambia, located in the capital city of Lusaka, students of wushu believe that it promotes healthy living. 

“Learning wushu helps me to become strong and healthy, stay in good shape and develop excellent concentration,” said 13-year-old Henry Memba, a disciple in the temple. The temple opened its doors to the public and started offering training courses in January 2022, with around 50 children aged 6 to 16 from very vulnerable backgrounds. Masters in the temple not only teach disciples Chinese martial arts, but also conduct daily meditation classes.  

“The daily meditation classes help the African students to better understand Chinese martial arts, gain wisdom and enlightenment, and learn self-control as well as how to resolve problems through peaceful means,” said Max Yollando, an African monk at the temple in Zambia, who has studied wushu in Shaolin Temple in Henan Province in China. “The aim of practicing wushu is not to harm other people, but to teach self-control and respect,” he noted. 

Children showcase wushu moves in the suburbs of Nairobi, capital of Kenya, on 5 June 

Passing the baton 

Many Chinese martial arts teachers in Africa have received training in China and are promoting the art in their respective countries. Luc Bendza is one of them.  

Bendza, from Gabon, was the first African to go to Shaolin Temple to learn Chinese martial arts. He fell in love with the Chinese martial arts when he was young after watching Chinese wushu movies. In 1984, at the age of only 15, he made up his mind and left for China to pursue his dream. He studied Chinese martial arts in Shaolin Temple in Henan during the 1990s, and then won several prizes in both international and Chinese national martial arts championships. 

To better promote Chinese martial arts in his home country, Bendza established a wushu association in his country. But during the process, he encountered countless difficulties. Many government officials in the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Leisure of Gabon used to practice taekwondo, judo and karate, and they did not care for Chinese martial arts. After countless efforts, Bendza finally managed to convince the minister of the value of Chinese martial arts. In 2006, the ministry finally agreed to set up the Gabonese Wushu Association. 

Besides Bendza, many participating African students in Shaolin Temple in Henan become a China-Africa cultural exchange ambassador upon returning home. In 2012, a programme on Shaolin wushu training for African disciples was launched by the Chinese government to strengthen cultural exchanges between China and Africa. Every year, about 20 African martial art aficionados are invited to the three-month training programme.  

After returning home, some students are working as Shaolin wushu instructors while some have opened clinics or “regimen pavilions” based on the Chan medicine techniques they learned in the temple.