Rwanda holds martial arts festival

KIGALI, March 20 (Xinhua) -- The Rwanda Kungfu-Wushu Federation on Saturday staged various Chinese Kung Fu performances to promote unity among members of the federation.

Rwandan performers, including adults and children, entertained a full house of spectators at Kigali Arena with various kung fu performances such as Tai Chi and Wing Chun.

Besides Kungfu, there are also other martial types practiced by different federations such as taekwondo, karate, judo, and boxing.

"Today, we staged this show to promote unity and togetherness among all martial artists in Rwanda. Martial arts are the symbol of unity among our members," Marc Uwiragiye, president of the federation told Xinhua in an interview at the event.

He added, "the show is very meaningful to us as Rwandans and we have to demonstrate to the world that we are together to promote sustainable development through martial arts."

According to Uwiragiye, performers of martial arts drawn from various schools across Rwanda have been training for the last two weeks before the event.

Founded in 2007, the federation aimed to promote cultural exchanges and friendships between China and Rwanda. It has 31 clubs that come across Rwanda, including 14 from the capital city Kigali, and has 4,000 members including 2,500 performers.

"We are working on the development of martial arts as we had spent two years without practicing and holding various martial arts activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic," Uwiragiye said.