What are you currently learning, and where?
I don't write things here.
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What are you currently learning, and where?
I don't write things here.
Seemed as good a place to post this as any...
Speaking of Cai Longyun, see our cover story on him in the NOV+DEC 2005 issue.Quote:
Gym seeking to teach master’s kung fu spirit to new generation
2013-10-22 15:18 Shanghai Daily Web Editor: Wang Fan
http://www.ecns.cn/2013/10-22/U363P8...1022152113.png
Young martial arts enthusiasts show off some spectacular high-flying moves at the opening ceremony of the Chin Woo Gymnasium in Hongkou District Monday. (Gao Jianping)
The Chin Woo Gymnasium opened Monday in Hongkou District, seeking to revive the teachings of legendary Chinese martial arts master Huo Yuanjia.
Organizers said today's young need to learn more about the kung fu spirit embodied by Huo.
Huo, admired as a Chinese national hero for defeating foreign fighters in highly publicized kung fu bouts, founded the Chin Woo Athletic Association in Shanghai in the 1900s.
The new Chin Woo Gymnasium is intended to create a structured environment for teaching and learning martial arts, said Hua Dongping, executive deputy director with the Chin Woo Athletic Federation.
The gym — the former Hongkou Gymnasium on Dongtiyuhui Road — will feature martial arts classes for children and host clubs for kung fu enthusiasts.
Famous kung fu masters in China will visit as trainers and various facilities will be open to the public, said organizers.
But the spirit of China's martial arts culture is not strong among local young people, officials and experts told a forum after the opening ceremony.
They attributed this to a shortage of classes at schools and incorrect impressions from kung fu movies and novels.
"The physical condition of local students is poor, while the martial arts spirit is unknown to many children," said Yan Jianping, director of legislative body of Hongkou District and chairman of the Shanghai Chin Woo federation.
Movie versions of kung fu made Chinese martial arts seem unrealistic to many young people, said Cai Longyun, a kung fu master and former deputy chairman of the Chinese Martial Arts Association, who defeated foreign boxing champions just 14 years old.
A particular problem is that learners practice styles but fail to learn the spirit behind Chinese martial arts, said Yan Weibing, a local kung fu master.
Organizers hope to change this state of affairs.
"We aim to promote the Chin Woo spirit, including patriotism, fairness and readiness to help others, especially among the young generation," said Hua.
Bruce and Donnie didn't portray Huo. They portrayed Chen, his student. Jet portrayed Huo.Quote:
Shanghai is not the cradle of kung fu
Global Times | October 24, 2013 17:38
By Feng Yu
http://www.globaltimes.cn/Portals/0/...c54d4c951b.jpg
Hongkou Gymnasium in Shanghai's Hongkou district was officially renamed Chin Woo Stadium this week and its neighboring Quyang Park will also be renamed Chin Woo Athletic Park in the near future, according to reports by people.com.cn.
Shanghai Chin Woo Athletic Federation has a blueprint to promote Chin Woo kung fu culture, which includes the establishment of an athletic park, a kung fu museum, a youth activity center, a road bearing its name, and a kung fu exercise. The federation expects to gradually create a Chin Woo cultural neighborhood in Hongkou district within five to 10 years.
The federation was founded by patriotic martial arts master Huo Yuanjia (1869-1910) in 1910 in Shanghai. Huo's legendary life has been immortalized on cinema and television screens by many directors and producers. Super stars Bruce Lee, Jet Li, Vincent Zhao and Donnie Yen have all tried to portray the legendary master.
Huo Yuanjia is regarded as a hero and his Chin Woo federation has attracted countless Chinese kung fu masters and fans.
Thanks to the movies, Chinese kung fu has impressed people the world over. My recent trip to four African countries proved this very well. During our interviews with local people in Egypt, South Africa, Mauritius and Kenya, when we asked them what they know about China, "Jackie Chan and kung fu" were the first and most commonly heard words.
It's not a surprise to learn that the local district government is supportive of the federation in the hope that the promotion of kung fu can one day make the location a tourist site.
It's not bad for the federation to have ambitious plans. It's commendable that the people involved are dedicated to promoting Chinese culture. But at the same time we have to think carefully about whether their dreams can come true. How practical is the plan?
According to media reports, the federation has begun to prepare an application to be designated a national intangible cultural heritage next year.
It is well-known that it takes considerable effort and money to complete a successful application. According to related regulations, there are detailed criteria and requirements for a culture to be granted the status of intangible cultural heritage.
According to UNESCO's official website, intangible cultural heritage is a new concept referring mainly to the spheres of popular and traditional culture, ethnological heritage and folklore. They are defined thus: "The practices, representations, expressions, knowledge and skills - as well as the instruments, objects, artifacts and cultural spaces associated there with - that communities, groups and in some cases individuals can recognize as part of their cultural heritage. This intangible cultural heritage, transmitted from generation to generation is constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their environment, their interaction with nature and their history, and provides them with a sense of identity and continuity thus promoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity."
But according to previous media reports, we have discovered that kung fu is in an awkward situation in the city. There are some associations and clubs sparing no effort in promoting the culture. But the majority of the participants are at quite an old age. Young people lack interest in Chinese martial arts, threatening its preservation from one generation to the next.
We have reason to worry that the promotion of Shanghai's Chin Woo kung fu may turn out to be in name only.
If kung fu is just an ancient concept without any modern incarnation, it's natural that one day it will fade out and disappear.
I also have to point out that Shanghai isn't an ideal location to apply for Chin Woo's intangible cultural heritage status. The fact that it's the site where the original federation began is not a sufficient reason. In the early 1900s, it was natural for Huo to choose Shanghai to challenge foreign warriors as the city had the most foreigners at that time. But it doesn't necessarily mean Shanghai is a place with strong kung fu roots.
Local Shanghainese can hardly be associated with kung fu. In public places, we sometimes witness quarrels between locals. Even if they resort to the most malicious of words, they seldom come to blows. It has always been said that Shanghainese men are not as macho as men in other regions; most of them won't solve problems with their fists, which is an example of Shanghai's civilized reputation. But as far as kung fu is concerned, Shanghai is not a good choice to promote Chinese martial arts.
I'm afraid the Hongkou government will disappoint foreign tourists who may travel a long way to find the kung fu holy site nothing like they imagined. There will be no masters, no magic, not even muscular locals.
I don't object to the revival of kung fu. As a Chinese, I sincerely hope that more Chinese traditions can be categorized as among the world's precious cultural heritages. But the right time, place and persons are the basic principles we have to find first.
The author is the managing editor of Global Times Metro Shanghai. fengyu@globaltimes.com.cn
No masters??? No magic??? No muscle men???Quote:
I'm afraid the Hongkou government will disappoint foreign tourists who may travel a long way to find the kung fu holy site nothing like they imagined. There will be no masters, no magic, not even muscular locals.
I should have just stayed home and read the KFM Forum! :mad:
I must add mention of our Chin Woo - Huo Yuanjia Special to this thread. We did that in honor of Fearless for our SEP+OCT 2006 issue.
Quote:
400 foreign kung fu enthusiasts hope to make grade
By Yang Jian | August 16, 2014, Saturday
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/newsima...0816001735.jpg
Huo Zizheng, great grandson of Chinese martial arts master Huo Yuanjia, with a statue of his ancestor in Chin Woo Park.
SOME 400 martial arts enthusiasts from overseas are this weekend taking China’s national martial arts gradings at the Chin Woo Gymnasium and the Chin Woo Park that opened yesterday in Hongkou District.
Representing different schools of kung fu, such as taichi, changquan and chin woo, the group from 15 nations — including the United States, Switzerland and Canada — is the first batch of foreigners to take part in the national gradings, said officials.
They took part in the Chin Woo Park opening ceremony yesterday and will have gradings today and tomorrow at the Tihui Road gymnasium.
Chinese coaches will mark their performance and grade them according to the national martial arts standard, said Hua Dongping, executive deputy director with the Chin Woo Athletic Federation.
“It will be the first that foreigners are allowed to take part in the test, in a bid to promote the martial arts spirit around the world,” Hua said on the sidelines on the opening ceremony of the Chin Woo Park, formerly Quyang Park.
China’s martial arts national standards have nine levels.
Among those attending yesterday’s event was George Tsimpinoudakis, a 53-year-old government official from Greece and a changquan coach.
“I was obsessed with kung fu from movies and flew to China to study changquan in 2007,” Tsimpinoudakis said.
Changquan is said to have been created by Zhao Kuangyin, the first emperor of Song Dynasty (960-1279), who is reputed to have defeated all his enemies with kung fu skills to gain the throne.
In contrast to the enthusiasm of foreigners for China’s martial arts, many young Chinese show little interest — even the descendants of legendary figures.
Attending yesterday’s ceremony was 65-year-old Huo Zizheng, the great grandson of Chinese martial arts master Huo Yuanjia.
The new park is home to bronze sculptures of martial arts heroes, including Huo Yuanjia.
But Huo Zizheng said his grandson has not continued the family heritage of mizong boxing — a style Huo Yuanjia used around 1910 to defeat a foreign boxer in Shanghai.
Huo Yuanjia founded the Chin Woo Athletic Association in Shanghai in the 1900s.
“I have to break the family rule to pass it over to students with other surnames to avoid the skills being lost,” Huo said.
The park will host free — sometimes bilingual — kung fu lessons for locals and expats every morning, said Hua.
This is cool.
I can't seem to find a thread on the National Games. Have we overlooked that? :oQuote:
Chinese kung fu master’s descendant continues family tradition with gold medal performance
Great great granddaughter of martial arts hero Huo Yuanjia comes away a winner at the National Games
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 29 August, 2017, 3:03pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 29 August, 2017, 5:01pm
Viola Zhou
viola.zhou@scmp.com
https://twitter.com/violazhouyi
https://cdn4.i-scmp.com/sites/defaul...?itok=yaecVpBJ
Huo Jinghong, 40, was a member of Tianjin’s qigong team which beat seven other teams at an event in the northern city last month, ahead of the official opening of the games.
This year’s National Games included a number of exhibition events to encourage mass participation in the four-yearly competition.
Besides qigong, which puts the emphasis on exercise and spiritual aspects rather than combat, the events also included chess, dragon boat racing and roller skating.
https://cdn2.i-scmp.com/sites/defaul...770_170116.JPG
Kung fu master Huo Yuanjia. Photo: SCMP
Huo comes from the family of Tianjin native Huo Yuanjia, a kung fu hero from early last century who was the main character in Jet Li’s 2006 martial arts blockbuster Fearless.
Her grandfather was the oldest son of Huo Dongge, Huo Yuanjia’s second son, who brought the family’s martial arts tradition to Indonesia in the 1920s, according to the report.
However, her grandfather banned younger members of the family from practising kung fu during the Cultural Revolution, fearing the overseas connection would cause them trouble on the mainland.
Huo Jinghong, a sports teacher in Tianjin, is the only Huo descendant who is still performing martial arts.
Huo Jinghong started learning kung fu at the age of five. Photo: Handout
Although Huo has been practising kung fu since the age of five, she started studying Huo Yuanjia’s boxing skills only two years ago, promoting it as a good form of exercise.
“The most important thing is to pass on Huo Yuanjia’s spirit,” she told the Hongxing News. “I have a lot of pressure living in the shadow of the family achievements, but I’m also confident about the future.”
I couldn't take it. I had to launch one. China National GamesQuote:
Originally Posted by GeneChing
The post above was originally posted on a Chin-Woo thread
I couldn't take it. I had to launch one. China National GamesQuote:
Originally Posted by GeneChing
The post above was originally posted on a Chin-Woo thread
My name is Troy Dunwood, ii practice Jing Wu martial arts as taught by my Sifu, Hong Kong master Li Chun Sam. www.cws-cma.com
Hi Troy...Quote:
Originally Posted by tungmojingjung
The first step to a problem is admitting you have one. Excellent progress!!!!
Well, not much more really, but I'm still intrigued.
Chin-Woo @ China National GamesQuote:
Huo Yuanjia descendant aims to popularize martial arts
21 hrs ago
https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/...6&q=60&o=f&l=f
© Provided by China News
Huo Jinghong, a descendant of the Chinese martial arts legend Huo Yuanjia, performs martial arts. (Photo/Video screenshot from VGTN)
For some athletes at the National Games, winning gold is not their only purpose. Chinese martial artist Huo Jinghong is hoping to use the Games to promote her family's martial arts to the world's most populous nation.
Martial arts is an event at the Asian Games and was included in the form of a demonstration at both the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympics.
Huo Jinghong is a descendant of the Chinese martial arts legend Huo Yuanjia, who defeated foreign fighters in highly publicized bouts at a time when Chinese sovereignty was in danger.
As a representative of Tianjin's intangible cultural heritage, Huo also recently won the gold medal at the Fitness Qigong groups competition, which is part of the amateur events at the Tianjin National Games. [Special coverage]
However, she thinks martial arts have a deeper meaning than just fighting and as a descendant of a famous martial arts master, there is a lot of importance in how she conducts herself when competing and teaching.
A legacy can be important but Huo Yuanjia's success has shown she doesn't need to rely on her family name.
As for real Jing Wu martial arts, technically many use this term and loosely I may add. However, to really be recognized as "Jing Wu" a learner must first learn the basic Jing Wu curriculum which comprise of: 1)Twelve Roads of Spring Leg) 2)Power Fist) 3)Connecting Fist) 4)Big Battle Fist Upper & Lower) 5) Shepherd Staff) 6) Eight Trigram Broadsword) 7) Five Tiger Spear) 8)Tan Tui Sparring) 9) Broadsword vs. Spear and 10) Tao Fist Partner Set.
Only after the basic skills have been learned will one progress to more specialized training with styles as: Preying Mantis, Mizong, Pek Kwar Moon, Ying Jow Faan Tzi Moon, Lohan Moon, Choy Lee Fut, Hung Kuen, Wing Chun, Loong Ying, Bak Mei as well as other specialized systems.