An Indonesian team is currently taking part in the World Junior Wushu Championships in Brazil, which kicked off on July 9. Six athletes -- Joceline Candra, Jevon Lionel, Nadya Permata, Nelson Louis, Patricia Geraldine and Thalia Marvelina – won silver and bronze medals in their respective categories on the first day of the tournament.

Wushu originated in China and blends martial arts with contact sports. The sport was developed to standardize the practice of traditional Chinese martial arts and structures various decentralized martial arts traditions.

Wushu is divided into two main categories. The first one is called sanda, which is a modern fighting method that incorporates full contact sport. It contains boxing, kickboxing and wrestling, featuring all the combat aspects of wushu. Being similar to other types of full contact sports like boxing or muay thai, wushu differentiates itself through its use of grappling techniques.

The second one is called taolu, which involves martial art patterns, acrobatic movements and techniques that follow a set of specific rules. The patterns comprise basic movements -- stances, kicks, punches, balances, jumps, sweeps and throws -- based on the aggregate categories of traditional Chinese martial art styles. The judges score participants’ performances by the precision of their movements.

The team -- comprising 20 junior wushu athletes in two categories: taolu (12) and sanda (eight) – had an official send-off on July 9 from Indonesia Wushu Federation president Airlangga Hartarto who is also Indonesia’s industry minister.

To accompany them, the federation sent two taolu coaches, Wandy Tandun and Fready Hartono; two sanda coaches, Muhammad Monginsidi and Salim, as well as two wushu referees, Subekti Saputro Wijaya and Agung Alamsyah. The athletes are being accompanied by team manager Rosy Nurasjati and assistant manager Achmad Idrus.

“We have selected the athletes for Brazil on the basis of the results of the senior and junior King’s national championships, which took place in Yogyakarta in March,” Airlangga said.

Indonesian Olympic Committee secretary-general Hellen Sarita De Lima also escorted the young athletes to the airport.

Airlangga said the athletes were pioneers and they could help groom younger wushu athletes who would continue their legacy.

The athletes also attended workshops at the Industry Ministry’s training center to upgrade their skills.

“Providing an opportunity for junior wushu athletes to get training and experience at the world championships is necessary to close the gap between junior and senior athletes,” said Airlangga who is also the chairman of the Golkar Party.

“We did not pressurize the junior athletes to achieve any targets at the tournament; rather, we motivated them to gain as much experience as they can during the matches,” he added.

The wushu team is also grateful for the support of the Indorama Corporation, which manufactured its uniforms from recycled PET filament.

Indorama Corporation is currently listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) and it is one of the world’s leading petrochemical producers, with a global manufacturing footprint across Africa, Asia, Europe and North America.

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