First World Martial Art Mastership Games
The 2016 Cheongju World Martial Arts Masterships (WMAM) took place from September 2nd to 8th, 2016. The multi-marital art event’s opening ceremony showed congratulatory messages from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, former president of Honduras Mr. Porfirio Lobo Sosa, and other renowned individuals.
Governor Si-Jong Lee of North Chungcheong Province opened the event and indicated the aspiration for Cheongju to become an important center for the world of martial arts. JJIF was represented by its President Mr. Panagiotis Theodoropoulos and Mr. Igor Lanzoni of Italy.
The JJIF technical officials were led by Mr. Dylan Sung, who acted on behalf of JJIF for the signing the MOU with the WMAM Preparatory Committee during his service as the vice-president. The referee team, which Mr. Ralf Pfeifer took on the role of Chief Referee, consisted of 11 referees. Ju-jitsu athletes competed in two days of exciting competition. The Korean ju-jitsu team gave an impressive showing in front of the home crowd and won five gold medals. The Iranian team made good use of its experience in the sport and won four gold medals, with three in fighting. Although the competition did not see many international competitors this year, particularly those outside of Asia, the event was professional and well-organized.
JJIF extends appreciation to the WMAM Organizing Committee for including ju-jitsu in the official program from the very start. Despite preparations done at a professional level by the organizing committee and JJIF, the inaugural event did not provide sufficient time for JJIF member federations to include the event in their annual calendar of events. Nevertheless, it is hopeful that JJIF member federations could see the potential of this promising endeavor. Thus, more people in the worldwide ju-jitsu community will be able to experience the WMAM as well as the culture of Korea in the next edition.
Dylan Sung
JJIF Technical Delegate to the 2016 Cheongju World Martial Arts Masterhips
