Wushu — Step-by-Step Roadmap

1. 1
   Stage 1 · From 9 Grassroots & local entry

   Learn at a club of your state wushu association; choose sanda (fighting), taolu (forms) or both. The state championship picks the team for nationals. [12][1]

2. 2
   Stage 2 · 12–17 · 12–18 State to national breakthrough

   Junior and Senior Nationals — national medals open the Indian camp; up to 8th at Sub-Junior/Junior Nationals or top 3 in the state opens SAI Training Centre tests. [12]

3. 3
   Stage 3 · Scouted National camp & elite trials

   Residential NCOEs at Bhopal, Imphal, Itanagar. Many top fighters are in services and police teams — a sports-quota job can be your training base. [12][7]

4. ★
   Stage 4 · Senior International orbit

   Asian and World Championships, Sanda and Taolu World Cups, and the Asian Games — wushu is not on the LA28 programme. [1][3][19]

Fuel, from stage 1: food first. Pair cereals with pulses about 3:1 — roti or rice with dal, chana or rajma; vegetarians add milk or curd, others eggs, fish or meat. ICMR-NIN says most athletes get enough protein from food and protein powders are unnecessary; NADA warns that no supplement is risk-free. [20][11]

IWUF age groups [1][2]

• A sanda fighter needs a valid passport, life-insurance certificate and a health certificate with EEG, ECG, blood pressure and heart rate from a check-up done within 15 days before registration.
• Weigh-in: lighter classes first; each class has one hour. Miss your registered class in that hour and you cannot fight in the event. A class with only one fighter is cancelled.
• Bring your own sanda kit in both red and blue. Breathing oxygen between rounds is banned, as is any doping. [1]

Sanda weight classes (kg) [1]

• Under the anti-doping code you must be available for testing and check every medicine against the Prohibited List; apply to NADA for a TUE if you need a banned medicine. [10]

The wushu ladder [12][1]

Many top Indian wushu fighters belong to services and police teams — the 2026 Sanda World Cup gold medallist Shivani is from the Border Security Force — so a sports-quota job can also be your training base. [7]

SAI National Centres of Excellence with wushu [12]

Wushu is also one of the 27 sports at SAI Training Centres (ages 12–18). [12]

• Sanda: IWUF-approved shorts and vest (one red set, one blue), gloves whose weight depends on your class — 230 g for women and men up to 65 kg, 280 g for men 70–85 kg, 330 g for men 90 kg and above — in red or blue with the headgear and chest protector (younger groups also wear shin and instep guards). You bring your own mouthguard, groin cup and hand wraps (3.5–4.5 m long).
• Taolu: routine costume and IWUF-standard weapons for your events. Education Margdarshan does not print shop prices — no governing body publishes them. [1][2]

Who pays — wushu ladder [12][13]

• Weight-cutting with pills or powders is a doping risk: no supplement is 100% safe and strict liability applies. [11]

• Wushu is one of the 65 sports in the central sports quota for Group C posts, with up to 5 years' age relaxation (10 for SC/ST).
• Medals at the Asian Games or World Championships can bring up to three out-of-turn promotions. [14]

• CRPF's 2026 sports quota has 20 wushu posts: taolu (nanquan, changquan with jianshu or daoshu, taijiquan) and sanda 45 to 70 kg. [16]

• Pension to Meritorious Sportspersons: ₹12,000–20,000 a month after retirement. [13]

1. IWUF — Wushu Sanda Competition Rules & Judging Methods (2024) (opens in a new tab) Bout format, age groups, papers, weight classes, weigh-in, kit and glove weights, points, 12-point gap rule · Last checked 17 Oct 2026
2. IWUF — Wushu Taolu Competition Rules and Judging Methods (2024) (opens in a new tab) Events, age groups, routine durations, 10-point scoring (5 / 3 / 2) · Last checked 17 Oct 2026
3. Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games — Sports (opens in a new tab) Wushu on the 2026 Asian Games programme · Last checked 17 Oct 2026
7. All India Radio News — Wushu: Indian team wins five medals at the 11th Sanda World Cup, Macau (opens in a new tab) 2 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze; Shivani (BSF, 75 kg) and Aparna (52 kg) gold · Last checked 17 Oct 2026
10. NADA India — Athlete's Rights & Responsibilities (opens in a new tab) Testing availability, Prohibited List, TUE · Last checked 17 Oct 2026
11. NADA India — Managing the Risk of Nutritional Supplements (opens in a new tab) Supplement risk, strict liability · Last checked 17 Oct 2026
12. SAI — Brief on Sports Promotional Schemes 2024-25 (opens in a new tab) Wushu NCOEs (Bhopal, Imphal, Itanagar), STC entry (ages 12–18) · Last checked 17 Oct 2026
13. PIB — Financial Support to Athletes (5 Aug 2024) (opens in a new tab) Khelo India, welfare fund, pension · Last checked 17 Oct 2026
14. DoPT — Instructions on Recruitment/Promotion for Sportspersons (18 Nov 2022) (opens in a new tab) Wushu in the 65-sport list, Group C, out-of-turn promotion · Last checked 17 Oct 2026
15. Western Railway RRC — Employment Notice RRC/WR/01/2026 (Sports Quota), 27 Aug 2026 (opens in a new tab) Age 18–25 on 1 Jan 2027, level norms, no wushu posts in this notice, MoYAS-recognition rule, fees · Last checked 17 Oct 2026
16. CRPF — Recruitment of Meritorious Sportspersons, HC & Constable (GD), Sports Quota 2026 (Advt. R.II-21/2026-Sports, 17 Sep 2026) (opens in a new tab) 521 posts incl. 20 wushu (sanda and taolu) posts, age and relaxation, qualifications, fee, ₹1 lakh bond · Last checked 17 Oct 2026
17. SAI NSNIS Patiala — Six Week Certificate Course in Sports Coaching (opens in a new tab) 6 weeks (4 online, 2 offline), ₹14,800, Class 12 + district-level top 3 or state / inter-university / SGFI / national participation · Last checked 19 Oct 2026
18. SAI NSNIS Patiala — Diploma in Sports Coaching (course page, 2026-27) (opens in a new tab) 1 year, ₹63,800, 785 + 104 seats in 26 disciplines at Patiala, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Thiruvananthapuram; Category A (Class 12 + international record), B (graduation + national record) · Last checked 19 Oct 2026
19. LA28 — 2028 Olympic Games Plan (sports list) (opens in a new tab) Artistic, rhythmic and trampoline gymnastics at LA28 · Last checked 17 Oct 2026
20. ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition — Dietary Guidelines for Indians (booklet), Guideline 8 (opens in a new tab) Cereal-pulse 3:1 protein quality, vegetarian and non-vegetarian protein sources; most athletes meet protein needs from food, protein powders unnecessary · Last checked 19 Oct 2026