History, Mission and Goals

We are witnessing an important moment in the history of European wushu sport. After many troublesome years in which things were not developing in the way they should have the development of wushu in Europe was stagnating and deteriorating. A sizeable number of European IWUF members decided that a new start was needed to write the next chapter in the history of European wushu. 39 countries wanted to leave the problems of the past in the past and with the support of IWUF they founded the Wushu Kungfu Federation of Europe (WKFE) in Zurich on 26 June 2023. This moment will be remembered as a turning point and a new start for European wushu.

Patrick Van Campenhout, the president of the Belgian Wushu Federation was elected in Zurich as the first president of the WKFE. At the same moment 14 other nominees from the founding nation-members were elected into the WKFE Board of Directors who then elected Sonia Grindeanu (Romania) and Stefan Kolev (Bulgaria) as Vice-Presidents, Petar Turkovic (Croatia) as Secretary General and Peder Finnsio (Sweden) as a Treasurer.

The WKFE is registered as an NPO in Belgium and has a seat in Brussels. The IWUF was involved in the entire process of the foundation of the WKFE and on 21 September 2023 the WKFE was recognized by the IWUF as the Continental Federation for Europe.

WKFE has 39 members and the first action of the Executive Committee was to organize a survey to obtain a clear picture of the current situation of wushu all of Europe: where do we stand, what are our strengths and weaknesses, what has to be done to improve the situation. The results of this survey were rather sobering. As a continental federation, we are not big, not rich, not professional and not developed. Yes, we have a smaller group of countries amongst our members that are at the same level as the best wushu federations in the world and who can put up a team of world class athletes, but majority of our members need assistance and substantial support to develop wushu on national and regional levels.

The WKFE is aware of these problems, but also of the potential to become a great and strong continental wushu association.

Therefore we have a double priority. First there is the need to develop our vision of wushu as a modern, well organized, martial sport with Olympic ambitions so that Europe is a strong partner in the development of wushu as a global sport. And secondly we need to provide the right conditions for the growth and development of wushu in all of our member countries working closely with IWUF to achieve this goal. On our way, we will connect, include, and assist all our members to join us in our mission. Every member country, even the smallest, matters to us, and will be treated with care and dignity.

The WKFE will organize high standardized, rationally sized, and -to ensure accessibility for all member federations - cost saving continental events of optimal duration.

The WKFE intends to achieve a maximum compatibility with IWUF in sport development, education, duan grading system and will strive for cooperation on multiple levels. But this will be done with respect for the continental particularities. The WKFE will encourage development and make choices that will suit most of our members. Therefore we will encourage the creation and development of regional federations and activities.

The WKFE will is a democratic organisation with democratic statutes and rules that will ensure equal treatment and opportunities to all of its members. The WKFE wants to give every member the same chance to develop wushu in their country and to contribute in the same way to the development of wushu in Europe and to the workings of the federation.

Petar Turkovic
Secretary General