Young men take to wushu in a big way in Burundi

One late afternoon in July, a burst of shouts of practicing Chinese martial arts (wushu) came out from a primary school and could be heard on a crowded street in Bujumbura, capital of Burundi.

Over 30 Burundian youths wearing training clothes donated by the Chinese embassy in Burundi were doing Chinese martial arts in the school. They were led by Chinese teacher Zhang Xuguang, associate professor of the University of International Business and Economics of China.

Burundian Wushu Federation invited Zhang, who is also the director of Lide Martial Arts Research Center at the university, to Burundi to teach them Chinese martial arts. The training started from July 17 and will last for a month.

During the training, Zhang taught them the basics and actions of wushu and taught them Tai Chi. Zhang planned to teach some of them a kind of traditional Chinese swordplay sometime to spread the Chinese swordplay in Burundi.

"Some of them are very good at Wushu, they practice wushu with heart and soul," says Zhang, adding that their passion for wushu is beyond his expectation.

In the training, Zhang consciously help the students to have better understanding of wushu's connotation.

The head and the founder of Burundian Wushu Federation and Wushu Bujumbura Club Yves Nilrenganya says currently there are 12 wushu clubs in Burundi, with more than 400 students. These clubs prepare for a national wushu competition of Burundi each year since 2015, he said, adding that even the first year's competition attracted 2,000 people to watch.

Nilrenganya started learning Chinese wushu since 2003 when he was a primary school student in Rwanda. His teacher is a Rwandan, who learned wushu from a Chinese.

"I learned martial arts for protecting myself and for health. After learning wushu, I also learned philosophy of peace and know how to live with others," he says.