Meet the Akyüzlers, Turkey's wushu family dominating the branch of kung fu both domestically and internationally with multiple family members managing to snatch 18 world championship titles so far.
The father, Abdurrahman Akyüz, heads the Turkish Wushu Federation, while his wife, Fatma Akyüz, coaches Turkey's national wushu team. While the parents continue to work on popularizing the sport in Turkey, their children have gone on to dominate it in the international arena.
Their oldest daughter, Elif, managed to win seven world championships by the age of 22 while ranking second in six other championships and also being the runner up in the youth Olympics. The youngest, Ayşe Sude, became a two-time world champion at age 11.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Elif said she was born into the sport and her parents have been doing everything they can to represent Turkey in the best way in international competitions. "Our parents started taking us to China to train better. Since 2009, we have been traveling to China. They have been pushing us to represent Turkey in the best way possible," she said.
According to Fatma Akyüz, the Akyüzler family is unique in the world. "The trainers in China have told us that they have searched but could not fınd another family like us. 'Four children and four world champions. You are unique in the world,'" she said.
A form of modern Chinese martial arts that mixes performance elements with martial techniques, wushu emphasizes quickness, power and relaxed movement.
