Wushu competitors parade fighting techniques at City Bank Coliseum

You might call it a combination of fighting and performance art.

Wushu is a contemporary martial art from China. Sunday wrapped up the sport's four-day Pan American Wushu Championships.

"It's throwing punches, kickboxing, that type of thing, and the performance aspect," said Jimmy Zhu, a volunteer with the tournament who traveled from his home in California.

Watching the competitors, it's hard to compare their pieces to any other form of performance art. Dressed in traditional Asian-style fighting gear, they paraded in front of a judging panel with fighting moves. Without the defensive posture, their careful choreography might almost remind you of dancing.

The championships brought teams from 23 countries to Lubbock's City Bank Coliseum. North America, South America, Central America and the Caribbean were all represented.

"The goal is to find some of the top Wushu athletes in the Western Hemisphere and award them for their performance," Zhu said.

Ivan Qian, 15, traveled from Canada.

"I like how exciting the sport is, and its culture, and its vision as well," he said in between rounds. "It helps you train your athleticism while performing an amazing sport."

Luis Alberto Pérez Góngora coaches martial arts in Monterrey, Mexico. He likes the sport for improving the mind along with the body.

"You can develop your personality and character," he said in Spanish.

The competition featured two fighting forms: Taolu and Sanda. Taolu contains a choreographed routine and may allow certain weapons; Sanda is an unarmed sport with punching, kicking, throwing and other defensive moves.

The Pan American Wushu Championships are held every other year.

Organizers selected its Hub City hosting site because of the influence of local martial artist Ian Lee.

The United Martial Arts Training Center owner and head coach holds seven national Sanda championships and two international championships in Wushu competitions. He also serves on the board of directors for the United States of America Wushu Kungfu Federation.

"It is an honor and privilege that Lubbock was chosen to host an international event of this magnitude," he said in a news release. "The people of our community will benefit from a variety of cultural exposure from 23 participating countries and world class competition never seen before in Lubbock, Texas."

And while this weekend marked the first time the event was in Lubbock, it was only its second time in the United States. The first was in Washington, D.C., in 2004.

josephine.musico@lubbockonline.com | 766-8796

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