Kungfuhasbeenalife-longpassionfor21-year-oldKamauMutungawhorecentlysignedupformartialartsclassesafteraviolentattacklefthimshakenanddistressed.
“Iwasattackedawhileagobyviolentthugs;theystolemymoney,phone,shoesandeventhetrousersIwaswearing.Isustainedinjuresandspentanightinhospitalrecuperatingfrommyordeal.Iwantnewskillstobeabletodefendmyself,”hetoldChinAfrica.
“Ialsowanttobeatrainersomeday.IadmiredBruceLeeasachild,”saysMutungawhoisalsoathird-yearlawstudentattheUniversityofNairobiinKenya.
MutungaisoneofmanyKenyanswhoareoverjoyedbytheplantobuildEastAfrica’slargestKungfuAcademy,expectedtobealiveandkickingandreadyforthepublicbymid-2017.Theacademywillrecruitandtrainmembersandalsoorganizelocalandinternationalkungfuevents.
Stateoftheartfacility
Atthebeginningof2016,therewereonly16registeredkungfupractitionersinthecountry.Thisfigurerosetomorethan350earlythisyear,representingmorethan12kungfuassociations,accordingtofiguresfromKenya’sMinistryofSports,CultureandtheArts.
“ThefirstkungfufestivalheldinKenyainNovemberlastyearsawabout12associationsformedandanexchangeprogramformartialartistswasheldinChinainthefollowingmonths,”JonahNgoiri,akungfutrainerandspokespersonfortheKungfuWushuAssociation(KWA),toldChinAfrica.“Whileit[kungfu]maynotbeaspopularas[othermartialartssuchas]karate,judoortaekwondo[inKenya],itwillsurpassthosedisciplinesasconstructionofEastAfrica’slargest[kungfu]academyisalreadyunderway.”
AccordingtoNgoiri,KWAhas87memberswithmostofitsfundingcomingfromannualmembershipfeesof$65percalendaryearpermember.Additionalfundscomefromticketsalesfromlocalandinternationalevents.
“Wealsogetrevenuefromtrainingfees[fromagencies]andsoon.Wedonothaveexternalfundingbutwecurrentlyhavemanyapplicationsfrompotentialmembers.Icanproudlysaythat99percentofourmembersareAfricanswhilemostoftheremaining1percentareChinesecitizens,”saidNgoiri.
KWAisnowintalkswithgovernmentagencies,suchastheKenyanDefenseForcesandseveralbranchesofthepolicetointegratekungfuintotheirtraining.“Wehopethiscanimprovetheirdefenseskills,”saidNgoiri,addingthatoncethenewfacilityiscomplete,trainingcanbegin.
MajorityofthefundstoconstructtheacademycamefromtheKenyanGovernmentthroughitsMinistryofSports,CultureandtheArts.Differentkungfuassociationsarealsochippingintohelpwithcosts.AccordingtoNgoiri,theacademyconstruction,locatedinoneofNairobi’sprimeareasona2-acrepieceofland,isestimatedtocostatotalof$6million.
Ngoirisaysthestate-of-the-artfacilitywillincludeagym,world-classswimmingpoolandhi-techfeaturessuchashighspeedWiFiaccess.OfficesforKWAofficialsaswellasaChineserestaurantwillalsobeincluded.Theseven-storyacademywillhavethecapacitytotrain600newstudentsayearanduseimportedconstructionmaterialsfromIsraelandChina.
Chineseinfluence
ThekungfufestivalheldinNairobilatelastyearhelpedtopromoteandgarnerinterestforthesportatlarge.OrganizedbyChinesepay-for-viewtelevisioncompanyStarTimes,thefestivalfeatured10kungfumastersfromChinaperformingpublicdemonstrations.StarTimesisapopularchannelacrossAfricathatoftenfeatureskungfucontent.
“Basically,it’s[afestival]tocelebratethekindofcontentthatisavailableonthischannel,becauseitisanaction-orientedkindofchannelandwhenwedidourresearchwerealizedthatkungfuisverypopularamongkidsandadultsinKenyaduetotheappealofkungfuactionmovies,”AlexMwaura,CommunicationManagerofStarTimesKenyatoldChinaGlobalTelevisionNews.
“Weareexcitedthatkungfupopularityisgainingmomentum,”saidNgoiri,addingthattheacademywillmakeKenyamorecompetitivecomparedwithothercountrieswithkungfupractitioners.
Kenya’sSportsCabinetSecretaryHassanWarioconfirmedthatthepopularityofkungfuhasgrownrapidlyinjustoneyear.
“Wesatdownwithrelevantsportsauthoritiesanddecidedtoconstructtheacademy.ItwillbeEastAfrica’slargestacademyoncecompleted.Itwillalsoattractstudentsfromaroundtheworldoncecomplete,”hetoldChinAfrica.MoreandmoreAfricanpeoplecometoChinatolearnkungfuBAIYUWairosaidwhilekungfumaynotovertakesoccerorathleticsinpopularity(Kenyaisapowerhouseinworldlongdistancerunning),itcouldrankthirdasanationalsportwithinaspanofthreeyearsifthecurrentrateofgrowthcontinuesunabated.
Thegovernmenthopestoalsorehabilitatestreetchildreninpartnershipwithkungfuassociationsinamoveaimedataddressingpoverty.
“Itisawelcomemoveandwepraisethegovernmentforthat.Wehavealotofwastedtalentanditisgoodtoshowcasethem.Itisestimatedbythegovernmentthatthereareabout6.2millionhomelesschildren.Ourwork[withkungfu]willgoalongway[tohelpgetthesekidsoffthestreets],”saidMutavaKaloki,SecretaryGeneralofYuanKungfuAssociation.
(ReportingfromKenya)