Sept. 25 to Oct. 4, freshman Mia Tian and junior Lucy Lee, who are sisters, went to Burgas, Bulgaria with The United States of America Wushu Kungfu Federation (USAWKF).

Along with a team of other talented teens, Tian and Lee missed a week of school to compete in the Sixth World Junior Wushu Championships in Bulgaria. Lee won a gold medal in an nandao and Tian won a silver medal in gunshu and a bronze medal in daoshu. Each event uses a different weapon; nandao uses a southern sword, gunshu uses a staff, and daoshu uses a broadsword.

“Wushu is like gymnastics but it’s actually martial arts based,” Tian said. “You go on the floor and instead of dancing, you punch and kick.”

Also known as kung fu, wushu is a martial and performance art that originated in China and now has spread and increased its popularity in many other countries, such as the United States, Japan and Korea.

“It consists of two parts: taolu and sanda. Sanda is the part that is a combat sport, and competitors fight with contact,” Lee said. “Taolu, on the other hand, is a performance sport where competitors perform a form and judges score them, so sort of like the gymnastics floor routine except with martial arts.”

Both Tian and Lee have been practicing wushu for eight years and love meeting people who share their passion for wushu.

“I’ve been practicing wushu competitively since 2008,” Lee said.
Wushu means more to for Tian and Lee than just the competition and winning awards.

“My favorite part about wushu is the close community. Wushu is a medium that connects people from around the nation and the world,” Lee said. “Everytime I attend a competition, I’m able to meet so many different people who share my passion for wushu.”

According to Tian, she likes wushu because of the people she gets to be around and the friends who she practices it with. Her friends are an inspiration to her.

Even though the sisters are three years apart, they have continued practicing wushu together on the same team, despite competing in different age groups.

“I think the best parts about practicing together are sharing silly and funny experiences while training,” Tian said.