Great Britain Wushu Championships

The Great Britain Wushu Championships was one of the first Wushu Championships to be held in Europe in order to help promote the sport of Wushu.
This competition has been held annually for over 20 years and organised by the British Council for Chinese Martial Arts (BCCMA).
The competition has been run in accordance with International Wushu Federation (IWuF) rules and follows the same format of categories.
* Chang Quan - Northern Open Hand
* Nan Quan - Southern Open Hand
* T'ai chi ch'uan (or Taijiquan) - Internal/Soft style Open Hand
* Daoshu - Broadsword
* Jianshu - Straightsword
* Gunshu - Staff/Cudgel
* Qiangshu - Spear
* Tai Ji Jian - Taiji Sword
* Nandao - Southern Style Broadsword (added in 2002)
* Nangun - Southern Style Staff/Cudgel (added in 2002)

These categories were divided into male and female for senior athletes (over 18 years old).
Up until 1990 the categories were listed as "optional" or "free-form" events. Meaning the athlete may choreograph their own routines using techniques within the rules of the IWuF.
From 1990 to 2000 each category was assigned a standardized Taolu routine by which each athlete competed with. This was to enable fair participation among all levels of competitors.
In 2000, the IWuF sanctioned a new set of standardized Taolu routines to Chang Quan, Daoshu, Jianshu, Gunshu and Qiangshu. With an new inclusion of two Southern style weapons events Nandao and Nangun.
These new standardized routines remained in effect for senior competition until 2004 when "optional" routines were once again brought back.
Since 2004, optional routines are used for all categories at senior level competition. The emphasis on this style of performance is to increase the level of difficulty in each routine by performing (and being strictly judged on) varying degrees of aerial and balancing techniques.
Wushu competition in Great Britain and around the world is now vastly different from the 1970s to 2000. Before the inclusion of "nandu" (otherwise known as difficulty techniques), routines were marked on their technical and performance standard. Today, the "nandu" is what reaps most of the score and failure to achieve the requirement results in an extremely low result.
Great Britain Wushu Championships All-Round Champions
1990 - ?
1991 - ?
1992 - ?
1993 - Ray park and Emma Frimston
1994 - Ray Park
1995 - Ray Park
1996 - Ray Park
1997 - ?
1998 - ?
1999 - Christian Vine
2000 - Christian Vine
2001 - Christian Vine
2002 - Christian Vine
2003 - Steve Coleman
2004 - Steve Coleman
2005 - Steve Coleman
2006 - Steve Coleman
2007 - Steve Coleman
2008 - Steve Coleman
2009 - Richard Devine
2010 - Steve Coleman
The BCCMA also holds an annual Junior National Wushu Championships alongside the senior competition. This is again run in accordance with IWuF rules. Each category is defined by age and has a standardized routine for the athletes to use for competition.

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