Henan has 20 county-level cities, 85 counties, and 52 municipal districts, each county (city) district has many honors and city business cards, but only 8 can win the title of "National Martial Arts Town".
Leaving aside for the moment which 8 counties (cities) in Henan have won the title of "National Wushu Town", let me first introduce to you which counties and municipalities have the qualification to apply for "National Wushu Town".
By consulting the Measures for the Administration of the National Wushu Township (hereinafter referred to as the Measures), the Wushu Sports Management Center of the State General Administration of Sport is the examination and approval and management department of the wushu townships in the country. The measures stipulate that the application for the "National Martial Arts Town" requires a number of mandatory requirements:
In the government work report, there are arrangements, requirements, and plans for the construction of martial arts towns; funds for martial arts undertakings should be included in local financial budgets; martial arts development plans should be formulated; leading groups for the construction of martial arts towns should be established, with office locations and office facilities, with martial arts venue facilities and martial arts halls or martial arts clubs; martial arts events have formed systems and traditions; have regional martial arts cultural brands; and actively participate in provincial, municipal, and national martial arts competitions every year The number of people who regularly participate in martial arts activities accounts for more than one-fifth of the total population of the region, forming a unique local style of martial arts training atmosphere. At the same time, the local Chinese martial arts personnel are required to be no less than 1,000 people, and the members of the Chinese Wushu Association are not less than 2,000 people.
In terms of the time and method of application, the measures stipulate that the sports administrative department at the same level shall voluntarily submit an application and report the application materials to the competent department of martial arts of the province, district or city where it is located. After reviewing the application materials, the provincial, district and municipal martial arts departments shall report to the Social Department of the Wushu Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sports. Application period: From 2012, from December 1 to 31 of each even-numbered year.
The measures stipulate that the Wushu Sports Management Center of the State General Administration of Sport shall review the application materials and organize the inspection team to accept them on the spot. Experience is received from units that conform to the land of martial arts, and the town of martial arts is named and plaques are awarded. By December 31 of each odd-numbered year, the naming decision approved for grant is published.
But the title of martial arts town is not once and for all. Because each martial arts town has to submit work materials to participate in the annual review every year, and then review according to the evaluation results, the martial arts town that fails the annual review will be eliminated.
An inquiry into the website of the State General Administration of Sport found that as of 2016, the national martial arts towns have announced three batches, with a total number of 100, and Henan ranks among the best.
At the National Wushu Township Work Conference held in September 2016, Wen County and Dengfeng City in Henan Province were awarded the first prize of the 2015 Wushu Town; Ruzhou City, Sheqi County and Xiayi County were awarded the second prize.
Seeing this, all the officials basically know which of the 8 "National Martial Arts Towns" in Henan are. That is Dengfeng City, Wen County, Ruzhou City, Huaiyang County, Yima City, Xiayi County, Sheqi County, and Bo'ai County.
Let's talk about the 8 counties (cities) in Henan that have been recognized by the State General Administration of Sports as the "hometown of national martial arts", and see what are the characteristics and highlights of these counties and cities.
1. Dengfeng City
Dengfeng City, Henan Province, is the birthplace of Shaolin martial arts, which is well-known at home and abroad, and was named the first batch of "National Martial Arts Towns" by the former State Sports Commission in November 1992. Shaolin Kung Fu was listed as one of China's first intangible cultural heritage sites in 2006.
At present, Dengfeng has more than 40 martial arts colleges and universities, nearly 100,000 students, Shaolin martial arts practitioners in more than 100 countries and regions around the world, and 282 "Confucius Institutes" in 84 countries around the world to send Shaolin Kung Fu teaching talents, is the world's largest martial arts education and training base, a famous sports tourism resort, and a veritable "World Kung Fu Capital".
Since 1991, the Chinese Shaolin Martial Arts Festival has been successfully held in Dengfeng for eleven consecutive years.
2. Wen County
WenXian is famous all over the world for Its Taijiquan in Chenjiagou. In November 1992, the former State Sports Commission named Wenxian as the first batch of national "wushu towns"; on July 31, 2007, the Chinese Wushu Association named Wenxian the "birthplace of Chinese martial arts taijiquan"; in September 2011, Wenxian, together with Dengfeng and Cangzhou in Hebei Province, was rated as "the hometown of Chinese martial arts that attracted the most attention from netizens around the world" and ranked first in the list.
At present, Tai Chi has been widely spread in more than 150 countries and regions, and the number of practitioners has reached 300 million.
3. Ruzhou City
The people of many villages in Ruzhou have always liked to dance with guns and sticks, kick their legs and punch, and practice martial arts. The more famous ones are the "Heaven and Earth Five-Five Gong" and "Shape Intention Fist" in Baizhuang Village, Mimiao Town, Ruzhou, the "Cannon Fist" and "Tong Arm Fist" in Shuangguolou Village, the "Dahong Fist" and "Xiaohong Fist" in Yuzhuang Village, and the "Fist of the Enemy" in Guozhuang Village. Nowadays, there are 324 Xiwu outlets in Ruzhou Township.
On August 27, 2016, in the 2016 13th National Wushu Hometown Wushu Taolu Competition held in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, the Ruzhou Sports Team won the second place in the Wushu Taolu Collective Boxing Competition with a good result of 5 gold, 9 silver and 3 bronze. At present, a total of 27 people in Ruzhou Have obtained martial arts positions, including 1 person in the sixth dan, 6 people in the fifth dan, 4 people in the fourth section, 14 people in the third section, and 2 people in the second section.
Jin Shuaiwu, a first-line sanda athlete in China, is a native of Baizhuang Village, Mimiao Town.
4. Huaiyang County
Huaiyang is an important birthplace and exemplary inheritance of Chinese martial arts culture, and since ancient times, there has been a glorious historical tradition of martial arts, and the mass foundation of martial arts activities is also very deep.
In recent years, in terms of martial arts competitions, Huaiyang athletes have achieved great results: Dong Guoxing won 1 gold and 1 silver in the Chinese Wushu Championships in 1995; Liu Cancan won the 56 kg Sanda Championship at the 9th Games in Henan Province in 2003; Ma Chao won the men's 60 kg sanda championship at the Doha Asian Games in 2006; in the 2011 Chinese Wushu Hometown Competition, he won the 9th Whip Project; and Cao Yaguang, a native of Huaiyang, won the 60 kg World Sanda Championship at the 4th World Junior Wushu Championships in 2012 In 2016, he won the 65 kg championship at the Chinese Men's Wushu Sanda Championship.
Huaiyang's Fuxi Bagua Fist is currently a rare fist in China, and the Eastern Henan Shaolin Wenwu School is even more famous.
5. Yima City
As the smallest county-level city in Henan, Yima City has a population of only 170,000 people, but there are many people who can learn martial arts. According to public information, the Yima Taijiquan Association has more than 3,000 members; all primary and secondary schools in the urban area have opened martial arts classes, especially the East District Primary School was named "Henan Provincial Martial Arts Characteristic School" by the Henan Provincial Sports Bureau and the Henan Provincial Department of Education in 2016.
It is understood that since Yima successfully created the "National Wushu Hometown" in 2001, it has won more than 150 national, provincial, prefectural and various regional ring competitions and invitational competitions, and won the 2011 provincial advanced unit of martial arts work.
Yima folk martial arts schools mainly include Taijiquan, Hongquan, Bagua Palm, Meihuaquan, Shaolin Fist and so on.
6. Xiayi County
According to the records of Xiayi County, during the Spring and Autumn Warring States period, there was a history of martial arts fitness, strong martial arts, over the years, and various folk events were frequent.
There are more than 10 kinds of fists circulating in Xiayi County, of which swallow fist is a representative local characteristic fist in the county. According to media reports, more than 200,000 people regularly practice martial arts in Xiayi County. Since 2011, athletes who have come out of Xiayi have won 287 gold medals, 257 silver medals and 234 bronze medals in various competitions at all levels in the country, provinces and cities.
Practicing martial arts has become a beautiful landscape in Xiayi County.
7. Sheqi County
Since ancient times, the people of Sheqi have flourished in martial arts, and at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, there were frequent wars here, and the people practiced martial arts to protect their families. The Guangsheng Dart Bureau in the ancient town of Credit Shop was well known all over the world at that time.
In 1983, Sheqi established the first martial arts hall in Nanyang at that time, the Credit Shop Martial Arts Hall, and in 1997, the Sheqi County Wushu Association was established. At present, the Sheqi County Wushu Association has 500 ordinary members and 1500 youth members, and has formed a team of about 150 martial arts instructors and referees, and there are 13 national martial arts duan positions.
In 2013, the most famous fist in Sheqi County, Dai's Xinyi Fist was included in the first batch of county-level intangible cultural heritage list in Sheqi County, and the inheritor was Wang Dayong, and at the same time, meihua fist, cannon fist, Kongmen fist, Qi fist, Mulan fist, etc. were also included in the list, and the inheritance genealogy was also very complete.
8. Boai County
Wen has Tai Chi to secure the world, and Wu has eight poles to determine Qiankun. According to public information, the Yueshan Eight Pole Quan in Bo'ai County has a history of more than 800 years, and on June 7, 20018, it was included in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.
At present, Boai County has more than ten martial arts schools and associations, such as the Eight Pole Wenwu School, the Xingbo Martial Arts School, the Three Streets Martial Arts School, the Wugong Taiji Training Institute, and the Xingzhong Martial Arts Hall, which have become a strong support for inheriting and promoting martial arts culture and cultivating martial arts talents.
Chinese martial arts, which have been handed down with Chinese civilization for more than 4,000 years, are an important cultural component of defending the Chinese national civilization that has stood firm so far, and cannot be separated. The 8 "National Martial Arts Towns" in Henan are an important position for carrying forward the spirit of Chinese martial arts and the excellent culture of the Everbright nation, and have a strong demonstration and driving effect on the inheritance, prosperity, innovation and development of Chinese martial arts, and we should be proud!
However, I believe that Henan is not doing well enough, and should create a better martial arts academy and a more perfect martial arts system while carrying forward the spirit of shangwu, and should educate people with knowledge, combined with cultural education, and cannot make martial arts too single.
For example, even martial arts, at the same time, we should combine all aspects of piano, chess, calligraphy and painting to cultivate all-round talents, and we cannot teach people into a mixture, so that it will not be worth the loss.