Toulouse. Discover sanda, Chinese boxing
Less recognized than their Japanese or Korean neighbours, Chinese martial arts are trying to find a place for themselves in the landscape of combat sports in France. In Toulouse, the Wulin Association offers its members the opportunity to practice these disciplines, including sanda and Chinese boxing.
Chinese martial arts still have a long way to go before they can match the speed of their Japanese and Korean neighbors. Judo, karate, taekwondo or jiu-jitsu, these sports have greater recognition in the eyes of the general public than wushu, a term encompassing all Chinese martial arts. However, in Toulouse, the Wulin Association teaches and develops taolu and sandatwo of these disciplines.
The taolu, first of all, is above all an artistic performance resulting from warrior rituals. Modern taolu is therefore a sports choreography, like kata in judo or karate. This discipline can be practiced alone or in a group, with bare hands or with a weapon such as a stick, a saber or a sword. “It will be a question of performing somersaults, 360s to land in a split… In short, sequences of acrobatic figures, presented in a sporty, competitive way “, explains Thomas Da Cruz, member of the Wulin Association.
The other discipline, sanda, is a combat sport, better known as Chinese boxing. This practice is based on the movements of Chinese martial arts, and is mainly characterized by three types of blows: punches, kicks and throws. These last allow to differentiate the sand from the other types of boxes. “A fighter can come and grab the opponent’s limbs to try to make him fall and score points. Points earned if any other part of the body, except the feet, touches the ground”, continues Thomas Da Cruz. A sanda fight is short and intense, with three rounds of two minutes each. The first fighter to win two rounds wins the duel.
Hou Lin, master of taolu and sanda
The Wulin Association seeks to promote and develop Chinese martial arts and its athletes In Toulouse. Created ten years ago, the club continues to grow, reaching today the fifty licensees of all ages.
A man changed the practice of Chinese martial arts in the region: Hou Lin. For 12 years, he practiced wushu taolu at the professional level, winning numerous titles, including that of 2008 Chinese champion. Hou Lin joined the Wulin Association in 2011, then took over the reins of the France team in 2015. For all these years, he instills in the fighters all his knowledge and experience in Chinese martial arts. “He teaches us rigor, work, respect… Typical values of Chinese culture. It’s something extremely interesting and rewarding,” says Thomas Da Cruz.
With such a coach, the results were not long in coming to the Wulin Association, with two 5th and one 7th places obtained by two of his students, Josépha Yang and Loan Drouard, during the 2019 World Wushu Championships, which were taking place in Shanghai. Remarkable performances for European athletes, while the top of the ranking is generally monopolized by Asians.
A benchmark sanda club at the national level
At the national level, the Wulin Association has established itself as a benchmark for Chinese martial arts, particularly during the last National Sanda Championshipin Vitrolles on April 9 and 10, 2022. With six medals won, including three gold, the Toulouse club returned from the Bouches-du-Rhône filled with charms. The most prestigious title is that of Rachid Hamel, member of the France team, who got gold in sanda under 70 kilos. Mathilde Etienne, with silver, and Anne-Marie Tobie, with bronze, both also performed during this competition. Finally, in sanda light, a more technical and less violent version of Chinese boxing, two athletes, Laurent Dat and Marc Godiveau, win the title of champion of France in their respective weight categories. “These are competitors who started this year. For us, it’s very rewarding, it means that they learned very quickly, that they invested a lot, and their results prove it, ”congratulates Thomas Da Cruz.
Besides traditional competitions, the Wulin Association also offers wushu leisure and well-being. “Through this more recreational approach to this martial art, we work on personal development, self-control, mastery of one’s body and of certain movements”, specifies Thomas Da Cruz.
Elioth Salmon