{"id":43805,"date":"2019-07-01T09:00:02","date_gmt":"2019-07-01T01:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/daxueconsulting.com\/?p=43805"},"modified":"2021-11-18T11:13:32","modified_gmt":"2021-11-18T03:13:32","slug":"martial-arts-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/daxueconsulting.com\/martial-arts-china\/","title":{"rendered":"Martial arts in China: an old market driven by new opportunities | Daxue Consulting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Martial arts in China have been practiced for thousands of years. Today, with Consumers’ newfound<\/gwmw> leisure spending, their practice is at the highest in its history. Given China’s rapid evolution in all sectors,\u00a0we investigated the many new dynamics reshaping this rather traditional market.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A booming market – factors for the success of martial arts in China<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A focus area for development in China\u2019s sports industry<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Traditional\nChinese martial\narts are recognized throughout the world and are a force of Chinese soft power. Martial arts\ndeveloped in China around 500 AD, notably, in the famous forest mountain temple Shaolin. These traditional\nmartial arts can be called Kung Fu or Wushu. As for Shaolin art, it is a kind\nof Kung Fu only practiced in this temple and called Shao Lin Kung Fu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, because of its strong tie to Chinese culture,  the Chinese government wants to put this art back in the spotlight in its national economic plan: the Chinese Martial Arts Five-year Development Plan (2016-2020). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This\nplan entails building more than\n3,000 new martial arts schools\nin China by the end of the decade to\ncreate an industry worth\nover 1 trillion yuan.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Chinese people practice a wide variety of martial arts. For example, Wing Chun is more popular in Guangdong province. Shaolin martial arts are more prevalent in northern China. The Shaolin Temple<\/a> of Dengfeng in Henan Province is the origin, and still a Shaolin Martial Arts teaching area today. Today, students still spend their summer holidays at the Shaolin Temple practicing martial arts. This is a testament to the continued success of martial arts in China, even among young people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chinese martial arts in art and entertainment<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Another\nfactor for the success of martial\narts in China is the art, cinema, music, and\npop culture around it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We reminisce<\/gwmw> of the widely adored Kung Fu movies by Bruce Lee<\/a> and the Hong-Kong born actor Jackie Chan<\/a>, who is an emblematic mirror of Chinese culture. He has even become an advisor to the Chinese government on soft power and martial arts promotion strategies since 2013. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Martial\narts are also active in pop culture. On Bilibili<\/a>, a famous Chinese sharing video\nplatform,  short Kung Fu videos can reach\nup to 3 million views.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Martial
[Source: Bilibili – Martial arts in China]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nOn Ximalaya<\/a>,\nthe most popular podcast platform in China, nearly\n200 original series discuss Kung Fu.  \n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Martial
[Source: Xiamalaya – Martial arts in China]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The\nlove of Kung Fu has brought billions of dollars to China through movies and\nsports clubs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed,\nstudying Taekwondo, Boxing, Judo, or other courses in a club or gym can be very\nexpensive over the long term. An\nhour-long class costs around\n100 yuan for group lessons and 300 to 500 yuan for private lessons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A\ntraditional art that has proven to be a\nlucrative force and a source of admiration for athletes around the\nworld.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CONTACT US NOW TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT BUSINESS IN CHINA<\/a> <\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Various martial arts in China<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Taekwondo in China: a market with very high potential<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Taekwondo, martial arts coming from\nKorea, is currently the most practiced martial art. Many gyms and clubs\nin major cities offer Taekwondo classes of various levels, which are generally\nattended by children aged 5 to 14,\nmostly boys. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taekwondo\ngyms and clubs are well distributed in\nChina, across 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions. The average\nnumber of Taekwondo dojos in\neach province is 300. The trend of Taekwondo in China is now spreading\nbeyond the first-tier cities to second and third-tier cities.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nrecent years, one practice of Taekwondo has been particularly popular: Aishang\nTaekwondo. It is a training institution for young children willing to reach a\nhigh-level or even become professionals. Founded in 2011, it has now 40 dojos in China and has become the leader<\/a> of Taekwondo training institutions in 2018 with revenue of about\n40 million yuan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\n2018, Aishang Taekwondo training institute even received an investment of 10\nmillion yuan from OneSmart International\nEducation Group<\/a>, a well-known educational group in China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tai Chi, the most famous \u2018\u2018soft Chinese martial art\u2019\u2019 <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Practiced\nfor more than 400 years, Tai Chi is a form of exercise that combines elements of martial arts, dance, and meditation. Tai Chi in China is\nconsidered as a \u2018\u2018soft martial art\u2019\u2019 because of its roots: the Taoist monk who\ncreated it wanted a non-competitive and slow style of fighting.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tai Chi in China is a daily\nroutine for millions of people, especially the elderly who like to practice it\nin parks or public spaces in China. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On\nBilibili, some videos of Tai Chi classes can reach a million views.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Martial
[Source: Bilibili \u2013 Tai Chi in China]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Muy Thai and Boxing in China<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Boxing in China is rather seen as a foreign martial art. However, centuries ago, a certain\ntype of boxing, quite different from the contemporary style, was practiced\nthroughout the country: in the Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), boxing was\nmandatory for soldiers of the national army. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, it is estimated that\nthere are 80 million<\/a> boxing athletes in China.\nMost of them are reported to be between the ages of 18 and 30, mostly men. The\nmarket is therefore still very young and faces some difficulties such as the\nfact that Chinese people find it too difficult\nto learn boxing seriously. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boxing practit<\/gwmw>ioners mainly practice this sport as a secondary activity when they go to gyms or other general sports clubs. More and more gyms in China now have coaches specialized in boxing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite a good dynamic in recent years, boxing in China has not yet developed well<\/a> on the\nprofessional side. The boxing profession began flourishing only in 2004 when\nthe athlete Zou Shiming won a gold medal at the Athens\nOlympic Games. <\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, more professional and specialized boxing clubs are still in the\nminority. There are nevertheless very well-known chains in China such as Golden Gloves<\/a>, a real institution\nfor all boxers in Shanghai. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"boxing
[Source: Smart Shanghai \u2013 Golden Gloves, boxing in China]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Less practiced martial arts in China<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Wrestling, Judo, and Karate<\/a> are also combated sports practiced in China but are currently smaller markets. Karate comes directly from Japan and is more common for children to learn at a very young age in specialized institutions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Judo was brought to China in 1979<\/a>, which is very recent in the history of martial arts in China.\nEven if Chinese people practice less Judo than Taekwondo or Boxing, China\ncompetes in Judo on an international level. This year, in May, Hohhot, the\ncapital city of North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, even hosted<\/a> the grand prize of\nthe International Judo Federation (IJF<\/a>) which served as a\nqualification for the Tokyo 2020<\/a> Olympic Games. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Judo is\nvery successful in Hong Kong. Many Judo TV shows and movies are very trendy, like the very famous Sanshiro\nSugata<\/em><\/a>.<\/em> Judo is even more and more practiced by young Hong\nKong women. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Chinese
[Judo movie Sugata Shanshiro – Martial arts in China]<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Martial arts in China, a double market: Professionals and amateurs<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The professional market: champions and martial arts competitions in China<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The professional side of martial arts in China has taken quite a long time to develop\nbecause of the Chinese philosophy of sport, which was to train your mind and keep a good balance between body and mind. As its name\nsuggests, martial arts were therefore seen as an art and not as a competitive\nsport. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, China’s reputation as the birthplace of martial arts makes it the\nperfect country to host competitions and champions from all over the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2015, China has had its own martial arts championship called the ONE Championship<\/a>. Specialized in Mixed Martial arts, MMA in China, the organization is often compared to the UFC<\/a>, Ultimate Fighting Championship. Interest in martial arts competitions in China is growing, especially among younger targets. According to One Championship statistics, 80% of their audience<\/a> is millennials<\/a> and 70% are men. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today ONE Championship holds at least one martial arts competition in China every month, and their online content has been seen 4\nbillion times in 2018, which shows a real craze for Martial arts in China. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the martial arts market in China is booming, foreign investors<\/a> are also attracted\nby this dynamic. Thus UFC organized its first martial arts competition in China in 2017 in\nShanghai. They announced that they wanted to invest more in the market with\nplans for a $13 million training center<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, martial arts and MMA competitions are held very regularly in\nChina and are very successful, especially on TV. This is the case of Kunlun Fight<\/a> (\u6606\u4ed1\u51b3) which is a Chinese boxing promotion developed by Kunsun Media. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for martial arts champions, China has more and more international champions in all categories. The category with\nthe largest increase in the number of champions is the MMA, with about 200 MMA\nprofessional players in 2018 in China. This\nis due in particular to the increased\nsalaries in this profession, on average around 100,000 RMB per match.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These champions are becoming real influencers in China, followed by\nthousands of people and thus attracting investors (brands and media) from all\nover the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is a list of some of the greatest\nmartial arts champions in China today<\/strong>, all categories combined:<\/p>\n\n\n\n