KOCHI: Wushu is a complete martial art and a full-contact sport similar to Kung Fu. It has two variants, Taolu — with rhythmic martial art steps — and Sanda — a mix of kickboxing and other combat art forms. Aniyan Midhun specialises in the latter.
The athlete also holds a record for being the first Malayali to be part of the Indian Wushu team. Midhun fell in love with boxing when he was 11 and started training under the Sports Authority of India. Slowly, he found his niche in Wushu and became a disciple of Kuldeep Handoo, a former Wushu player, more than a decade ago. The Dronacharya Awardee, who is now the current national chief coach of the Wushu team in India, nurtured Midhun to win gold at his first international Wushu competition — the South Asian Wushu Championship — held in Nepal in 2021.
Although he is happy winning accolades and prizes, Midhun says his aim is to spread awareness about the sport which is supposed to get a place in next year’s Olympics Games. “When I became a team India player, many people asked me about Wushu as they hadn’t heard much about it. I left Kerala as the state had very few opportunities for eclectic combat sports. Although things have changed now, I believe art forms like Wushu needs to be popularised further. My mission is to participate in international tournaments and spread the world,” says Midhun, who is now settled in Bengaluru.
According to Midhun, training in Wushu can improve the physique of both men and women. It also increases energy levels and makes them immune against diseases. Now, Midhun is committing to intense training sessions to gear up for an international event — World Pro Wushu Sanda Fight 2022 — in May where he will be facing martial artists from Thailand, China and USA.
“Practicing Wushu makes you more focused in life. I found that personnel in armed forces and police forces in states other than Kerala are being trained in Wushu,” says Midhun. Though he is tied down by financial struggles, Midhun wants to win an Olympic medal next year. “I believe the sport Wushu will get more recognition in our country once it makes it to the Olympics. More youngsters will take it up then,” he says.