by Interested young men and women, athletes and especially, those with a background in martial arts and combat sports are being sought by Kung Fu Wushu Papua New Guinea (KFWPNG) to join the latest sport to hit the country’s shores.
KFWPNG is recruiting people interested to take up the sport of Sanda which is a full contact sparring competition for Kung Fu Wushu that originated in China.
Sanda is currently the fastest growing combat sport in the world and we are excited to get PNG involved in it.
Geoff Hui, President of KFWPNG
Interested members may also be excited to know that martial artist and international movie star, Jacky Chan, is the patron for Sanda in the Oceania region.
The new sporting body has the support of former athletes and senior members of the sporting community who are also helping to identify talents to pioneer the sport. Among them is Bernard Fong who has been involved in martial arts and boxing in PNG for many years.
Bernard (Fong) is happy to assist us with identifying some boxers and martial artists to join our programme and we are very fortunate and pleased to have his support.
Hui
Hui himself is no stranger to sports or PNG having in the past helped PNG boxers fight in Australia and had two professional Australian boxers fight for a world title. He also has a history with PNG winning gold in weightlifting at the Pacific Games.
He thanked other members of the organization who are working hard to ensure a smooth progress in its establishment and development.
KFWPNG will be bringing expert coaches from China with training and competition gear to run its programmes and Hui invites all interested fighters to be part of this.
The establishment of KFWPNG has the support of the Oceania Kung Fu Wushu Federation (OKFWF) which has set up similar bodies in six other countries in the Pacific.
President of OKFWF, Walt Missingham who visited PNG in 2017 has said that they are pushing for Sanda’s recognition in the Pacific Games and the Olympics.
We have branches around the Pacific and once we set up in PNG we can be able to have tournaments which will raise our standards in the region and the world.
Hui
While it looks similar to Kickboxing and Muay Thai (Thai Boxing), Sanda boasts more exciting and flowing exchanges in its bouts.
In comparison to the other combat sports, Karate (WKF and Olympic rules) has no contact and focuses mainly on speed and technique. In full contact karate, only punches and kicks are allowed and they are mostly targeted to the mid-section of the body.
In Taekwondo fighters mainly jump around with their hands by their side and there are too many long stops mid fight while judges check replays and scores, which bores the audience.
Kickboxing only has punching and kicking while Muay Thai often ends up with clinches for an entire round. It is also too dangerous for all to participate while Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is too brutal for most people.
Sanda, which, in Cantonese means free or mixed fighting, allows just that, a lot of freedom. Stemming from its Chinese Kung Fu roots, Sanda incorporates dynamic boxing techniques which include punches, kicks, clinches and throws. Its competitions are held on a raised open platform rather than a traditional boxing ring.
It is a highly adaptable style of fighting and we are confident that PNG, with its vast talented human resources, can be a dominant force in this sport in the region.
Hui
He is also calling on all Kung Fu clubs in PNG and Port Moresby to get in touch with the organisation so that proper identification and coordination can be done for the sport. Interested people can contact Hui on email; pngpresident@oceaniakungfuwushu.com or Andrew Molen on 708 28 421 or e-mail andrew.molen@gmail.com for more information.
Molen is also a member of the PNG Shaolin Kung Fu Wushu School in Port Moresby which teaches the style under the guidance of KFWPNG.
