Sensei en el a Carretera

Safeguarding our living heritage

The World Martial Arts Union (WoMAU) was founded in Republic of Korea
on October 2, 2002, when 28 martial arts organizations from 26 countries
participating in the Chungju Martial Arts Festival, which began in 1998 to
promote Taekkyon as a national intangible cultural asset and developed into a
world festival, agreed to play a central role in disseminating the value of
peace and justice of martial arts. Since then, WoMAU has preserved and
promoted traditional martial arts through various international martial arts
exchange projects such as general meetings, festivals, and seminars held
regularly every year. As of 2023, the WoMAU's membership consists of 70
organizations from 47 countries. Avi Nardia founder and director of Kapap
Krav Maga is a full member of the World Martial Arts Union hence proudly
representing Israel and its intangible cultural heritage. Kapap Krav Maga
from being a close quarter Israeli battle system gained popularity and strong
reputation and became a system that belongs to civilians worldwide and one
of the most recognizable cultural identity of Israel.
 s an extension of such activities, WoMAU

A knocked on UNESCO’s door to become

the world's first UNESCO non-
governmental organization in the field of
martial arts (approved as an official partner
by UNESCO with consultative-status in
2009 and in 2010, accredited as an advisory NGO to
the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding
of the Intangible Cultural Heritage). This led to a change
in UNESCO's perception that martial arts is also a part
of human culture and it became a historical turning
point for the spread of the perception that traditional
martial arts should also be preserved as a valuable
cultural heritage of humanity. Can UNESCO help local
cultural tradition around the world survive and thrive in
the face of an owervhealming globalization no one
knows, but with a new International Convention for the
Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage it may
have a better chance.
We often hear about the importance and value of
cultural heritage. But what is cultural heritage at the
first place? Cultural heritage often bring to minds
artifacts such as paintings, sculptures and different
objects of physical attributes - something we can see
and touch. This is what tangible cultural heritage is.
But the concept of cultural heritage is wider and
includes variety of human creativity and expression,
which are not limited to material objects only. It
consists of immaterial elements like different
knowledge and skills, which are transmitted through
centuries from one generation to another as an
inheritance from our ancestors and passed on to our
descendants.
Intangible cultural heritage is important part of life
on our planet as it gives us a sense of identity and
belonging, linking our past, through the present, with
our future. People of the world contributes to the
culture of the world and in the era of globalization
cultural heritage helps us to remember our cultural
diversity and to understand different expressions of
human creativity, which leads us to mutual respect
and teach us how to maintain cultural diversity.
Martial arts have been listed as an intangible
cultural heritage of humanity with various values
going beyond the frame of the general perception
that it is just a technique of attack and defense. It
is a cultural content bearing tradition and diversity,
and a platform of public diplomacy and
nongovernmental exchange connecting people,
which WoMAU wholeheartedly promotes and
studies. The main goal is to study and promote
the inherent values and functions of martial arts
and how to establish through close exchange
cooperation between its members and UNESCO.
In addition to helping and facilitating its
members to participate at World Martial Arts
meetings they collect, exchange and disseminate
the information and materials relating to
traditional martial arts, conduct study and
research on the traditional martial arts such as
seminars and academic conferences, organize
international martial arts contest and general
meeting of members.
Representatives of member organization get
together once a year for WoMAU general meeting.
In November 2022 the 21st Annual General
Meeting (AGM) of the World Martial Arts Union
(WoMAU) sponsored by Chungcheongbuk-do and
Chungju-si took place in the International
Conference Hall of UNESCO ICM and
Online. The year 2022 also marked the 20th
anniversary of WoMAU. Mr. Chung Wha-
Tae extended his hearty welcome to the
representatives of many organizations who
were participating in the 21st Annual
Meeting advocating active participation of
members, support and cooperation with
the policies of UNESCO and promotion of
“Fit for Life” (UNESCO’s sport based
flagship designed to accelerate covid-19
recovery) – a healthy solution to driving
outcomes in physical and mental health,
education and equality.
World Martial Arts Union with its activies
is the first ever entity of martial arts
organization representing diverse cultures
in the world with the purpose of serving
them as the institutional focal point for the
martial arts community of the world to get
together helping each other to advance
martial arts both as sport and as cultural
heritages. Based on the partnership with
UNSECO they promote and preserve
“Representatives of
member organization
get together once a
year for WoMAU
general meeting.”
Sensei en el a Carretera
traditional martial arts. For four days in
November 2022 participants from all all over
the world were demonstrating traditional
martial arts and exchanging knowledge in the
spirit of friendship, solidarity and cooperation.
New frienships have been made and new
ideas for furthering and developing different
activites of WoMAU were established what is
fundamentaly the ultimate goal of WoMAU- to
contribute to the world peace by promoting
friendship between people through martial
arts and spreding its underlying values of
peace and justice worldwide.
Having such organization as World martial
Arts Union gives us hope that martial arts as
an intangible cultural heritage of the people of
the world will be protected and saved for the
future generations to cherish and furhter
develop it in a spirit of appreciation of our
world as a spectacularly diverse place with a
kaleidoscope of color.