On October 28th in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia the 12th Wushu World Championships will be held. The events will run for more than a week, ending on November 7th. Organized by the International Wushu Federation (IWF), the event has been held biannually since 1991. Kuala Lumpur becomes the only city besides Beijing to hold the event twice, having hosted it once before in 1993.

Thousands of the world top wushu competitors from all around the globe will compete in this year’s events, which are divided into two parts, the Taolu and the Sanda. The Taolu is more of an exhibition of skills with competitors performing a predetermined routine. These performances can be done individually or in groups and either with or without weapons. The Sanda is the fighting portion. The fight is similar to kickboxing, but also allows for standing grappling, takedowns and forcing your opponent off of the raised platform.

In last years Championships China ended up taking the most overall medals including 19 gold. In second and third places overall were Iran and Hong Kong with Russia not far behind.

To get a taste of what this incredible sport is all about, make sure to check out wushu on Fightbox! Check the schedule for times and availability.