Pan-American Wushu Federation

Board of Directors |  Technical Committee Members

During the 1993 World Wushu championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the representatives from the Pan America countries got together to form a preparatory committee to discuss the formation of a Pan American Wushu Federation, an organization which would help unify the countries of the Americas and prove more challenging competition for wushu competitors from Canada to Argentina. Those representatives were from the U.S.A.,Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Canada, Aragonite and Martinique. The next year Mexico hosted the 1994 Pan American Championships and the committee continued organizing the new Federation.

The Pan American Wushu Federation was formalized in Baltimore during the 1995 World Wushu Championships. Presently, the member countries of the Federation are Argentina, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico (region), Trinidad/Tobago, Venezuela and the U.S.A.

The Federaci¨®n Argentina de Wushu Kung Fu hosted the first Pan American Wushu Championships which were held November 7-11, 1996, in Buenos Aires, at Argentina's National Olympic Training Center. Rings for contemporary wushu and traditional forms were separated by a lei tai platform for sanshou, and crowds of spectators cheered on athletes from North America and Latin America. Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, and the United States all participated in the event.

In the summer of 1998 the 2nd Pan American Wushu Championships were held in Toronto, Canada, hosted by the United Wushu Federation of Canada. Athletes from the United States, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Barbados, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Mexico competed for bronze, silver and gold, and the Wushu of Pan America showed significant improvements in skill, performance and preparation.

The 3rd Pan American Wushu Championships took place in June 2000 in Manaus, Brazil, in the heart of the Amazon, hosted by the Brazilian Wushu Federation. Seven countries attended, and Colombia was inducted as an associate member. The taolu and sanshou had once again improved, and the spirit of New World friendship was strong.

The 4th Pan American Wushu Championships were held in June, 2002 in the beautiful college town of Merida, Venezuela. The event was a huge success, with ten countries attending.

Many new countries are currently petitioning for membership in Federation, and with an established Technical Committee, plans for judges'  training and tournament management, PAWF is growing stronger and more solid each year. One of the greatest challenges to the organization is to bring qualified wushu-kungfu instruction to the more remote countries of Pan America, and to better promote the sport throughout Latin America.

With these combined efforts the bridges between North, Central and South America grow wider, encouraging friendship as well as competition, and all members of PAWF look forward to the 5th Pan American Wushu Championships to be held in the U.S.A. in the year 2004, and the 6th PAWC in Canada in 2006.

PAWF Board of Directors

Anthony Goh (USA), President
Sunny Tang (Canada), Vice President
Nereu Grabellos (Brazil), Vice President
Chan Kam Fai (Venezuela), Vice President
Edgar Fernandez Obregon (Colombia)
Diego Rivera (Puerto Rico)
Leibert Mapp (Barbados)
Manuel Chavez Saenz (Mexico)
Juan Carlos Diaz (Argentina)

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PAWF Technical Committee Members

Lu Xiaoling (USA), PAWF Technical Committee Chairperson
Shawn Liu (USA), Chairperson for Sanshou Committee
Leibert Mapp (Barbados)
Luis Albert Perez (Mexico)
Thomas Chan (Brazil)
Sunny Chan Kam Fai (Venezuela)
Carlos Boveri (Argentina)
Sunny Tang (Canada)

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