09:45, 01-Sep-2019
World Martial Arts: Traditional fighters flock to South Korea for intense competition
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10:34, 01-Sep-2019
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Thousands of traditional fighters from around the globe have gathered in South Korea for the World Martial Arts Masterships. They will be practicing 20 different martial arts, including Muay Thai and Taekwondo as well as more exotic skills, such as horseback archery. CGTN's Jack Barton has more from Chungju.
The games, held about 150 kilometers east of the capital Seoul, are often referred to as the Martial Arts Olympics. With 10,000 people packing the stands around the opening ceremony it is not hard to see why.
JACK BARTON CHUNGJU, SOUTH KOREA "There are seven hundred and five officials here overseeing more than two thousand four hundred athletes from about 100 countries competing in 20 martial arts."
Olympic officials and celebrities were in attendance including Wesley Snipes, a Hollywood actor with black belts in Karate and Hapkido.
The theme of this games is: "Beyond the Times, Bridge the World."
So, it seems fitting the horary president of the World Martial Arts Masterships is Chungju local, and former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
BAN KI-MOON FORMER UN SECRETARY GENERAL HONORARY PRESIDENT, 2019 CHUNGJU WORLD MARTIAL ARTS MASTERSHIPS "We need to use much more power of sports for sustainable development and also promoting peace, reconciliation and harmony among people around the world."
Moon hopes the games will also shine a bigger spotlight on traditional martial arts.
BAN KI-MOON FORMER UN SECRETARY GENERAL HONORARY PRESIDENT, 2019 CHUNGJU WORLD MARTIAL ARTS MASTERSHIPS "Martial arts have been practiced and trained for many thousands of years, but have been under the shadow of modern games."
The participating athletes include almost 370 martial artists ranked higher than eighth in the world or who have won medals in world and continental competitions in the past three years. The Taekwondo teams for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be determined at the Masterships, which run until September 6. Jack Barton, CGTN, Chungju.