FRT Parkour club members showcase their kung fu soccer after the seminar. Photo: Wu Jie

By Wu Jie

The development of Chinese soccer may be taking an odd turn as a dedicated kung fu master is nurturing young talents through a combination of Chinese martial arts with soccer, despite the sport's lackluster development across the country.

No, this is not the plot to the latest Stephen Chow film.

Instead, this is the tale of Kong Debao, a Heilongjiang businessman who established the Shamrock Kung Fu Soccer team in partnership with Beijing Shaolin Martial Arts School at Huilongguan in Beijing's Changping district in May 2008.

"I was a dyed-in-the-wool fan of soccer and I felt I should do something for the development of soccer as the national team's performance was far from matching expectations. It's so agonizing to watch them play and swallow many, many bitter defeats," Kong said of his original intention.

Using kung fu while playing soccer does not mean karate chopping opponents on the pitch. What it means is that those players who practice martial arts enjoy better flexibility, explosiveness, and strength that will help them outpace and overpower their rivals, the 40-year-old soccer enthusiast told the Global Times.

College help

Kong's dream wobbled last winter as the partnership with the martial arts school expired but his kung fu soccer dream was revived thanks to Hou Yafen, president of the Beijing Gymnastics College of the Beijing Opening University.

They soon agreed on a curriculum, with the college offering a full ride to all squad members. The squad, coached by former Beijing Guoan Football Club manager Guo Ruilong, is scheduled to take classes in the morning and to train in the afternoon at the college's campus in Miyun county.

A nationwide recruitment swing has been launched and soccer-starved youngsters aged between 13 and 25 across the nation are preferred. A charity fundraising drive has also been launched to help finance the squad.

However, Kong's idea was handed a further reality check March 19 during a seminar held at a branch of the Beijing Football Association where Guo and other senior coaches, along with a director from the Beijing Institute of Sport Science, voiced their concerns and suggestions.

What is kung fu soccer?

"The top priority is to make clear that kung fu soccer is not for competitive sports but for exhibition," said institute director Pan Qiqiang, who has scouted players for Kong.

"We should set our sights on building up a team of nimble soccer players with a background of martial arts for non-competitive demonstrations," said Pan.

Zhang Jingtian, a former national team player, agreed with Pan.

"The important thing is to have a wonderful sense of the ball so that you can do acrobatic keep-ups by tipping and popping the ball to choreographed programs. It is just like what the Harlem Globetrotters do with basketball," said the 74-year-old Zhang.

Meanwhile, Guo was concerned about the fact that parents are reluctant to send their kids to play soccer, given the embarrassing cachet the sport carries following calamitous performances by the national team.

"We can't expect to soon reap the rewards. China's population is 10 times more than Japan's but it is the very reverse when it comes to soccer population. It took more than 30 years for Japan to achieve where they are today," Guo said.

Ma Yuan'an, who engineered the national women's team's ground-breaking second-place finish at the 1999 World Cup in the US, said combining kung fu with soccer was a fresh concept which needed time to grow, given that the capital's soccer population has nose-dived in recent years.

Kung fu soccer is a pilot program to draw children back to the pitch and to allow them to enjoy the sport rather than seeking immediate success, Ma said.

(from left) Coaches Guo Ruilong, Xie Yansheng, Zhang Jingtian, Ma Yuan'an, college presidents Hou Yafen and Zhang Wenxing, and Kong Debao exchange opinions at the seminar. Photo: Wu Jie

Recruitment drive