Contemporary wushu has emerged as a competitive sport with several international competitions held, including the World Wushu Championships held every two years with rules and regulations are set by the International Wushu Federation (IWUF). The United States has a team trials selection competition for both the adult and junior teams, organized by the United States Wushu-Kungfu Federation (USAWKF) every two years. Taolu forms are performed on a 14m x 8m carpet using martial arts patterns and movements either barehanded or with weapons, which are judged and given points according to specific rules. The minimum time limit for external forms is 1 minute and 20 seconds and 3-6 minutes for internal taichi forms.
Specifically, it is one of the events under the umbrella sport of wushu, a collection of Chinese martial arts. Wushu is also sometimes called kung fu, and both are names generally referring to the Chinese martial arts. Indeed, there are 21 different wushu events being held in Hanoi, ranging from artistic displays to fighting-style bouts. It has a history dating back thousands of years to the Qin Dynasty, while the International Wushu Federation was formed in 1990 to govern the many distinct types of martial art under the “wushu” banner.
