World Jianshu League
The World Jianshu League is an organization dedicated to preserving the art of the jian, a traditional Chinese sword, through organized competition, discussion, and documentation. The WJL consists of a growing number of wushu schools primarily situated in the United States. The league's main focus is to introduce a new form of sport competition using the jian, similar to sport fencing, or kendo, and thereby preserve, revive, and advance such jianshu concepts as can only be gained through one-on-one competition.
Background
The practice of jianshu in modern times has declined because its traditional military and self-defence functions have been taken over by the invention of firearms and other modern military technology, and because it requires considerable practice and skill in order to wield correctly, and there are now few masters qualified to teach it. Many traditional martial arts from nations other than China have experienced similar declines and have found different ways to maintain popularity, one being through developing similar activities in the form of a sport.The modern Chinese based sport named wushu was established for similar reasons in regard to traditional Chinese martial arts. However, in modern wushu competitions officially held by the International Wushu Federation, there are no one-on-one type jianshu matches, only performances. Consequently, many practical skills in jianshu that deal with an opponent have become rare even among wushu practitioners. In light of this, the recently established World Jianshu League seeks to promote the art of jianshu through establishing jianshu sport competition. However, as pointed out by critics of kendo, sport fencing, and unarmed combat competitions, such as the UFC, conversion of a martial art to athletic competition can bring with it misconceptions about, and deviations from, the original, practical martial art. This can lead to techniques, tactics, and entire concepts, which would be unfavorable, and even foolish, in a more realistic confrontation. Therefore, another of the goals of the WJL has been to develop a competitive environment that is not only safe, but one that is also conducive to preserving the original martial concepts of jianshu.