By THO XIN YI from The Star Newspaper Malaysia,
EXPONENTS from three wushu academies in the Asia-Pacific region gathered for the inaugural HYJ Academy of Wushu Competition at the Sports Arena in Wisma OCM, Kuala Lumpur recently.
The exponents, from HYJ Academy of Wushu of Singapore, HYJ Academy of Tai Ji and Wushu of Australia and HYJ Academy of Wushu of Malaysia, took part in a variety of categories during the one-day competition that was held in the spirit of fostering ties. The categories included changquan, traditional quanshu, nanquan, daoshu, jianshu, nandao, 42-style taijiquan and gunshu.
HYJ Academy of Wushu of Malaysia’s Woo Chee Heong said the theme of the competition was “For Wushu We Gather, In Wushu We Pride”.
Fatim from MMU Wushu Club, playing Qun Yang Gun and got a Silver Medal in traditional long weapon category(Female)!
“Besides the competition, we also had a dinner to mark the third anniversary of our academy, and a joint training session.
“Competition alone will not benefit the students as much as training together with one another,” he said.
The activities were in line with the objectives of the event, which included raising the level of wushu among the members, promoting the art of Chinese wushu and upholding the spirit of HYJ founder Huo Yuan Jia.
Leong Sweet Ying from MMU Wushu Club (behind) playing 42 Style Taiji Jian, won a bronze medal !
During the training session, a dance performance incorporating hip-hop and kung fu moves was choreographed.
“About 80 students from the three academies spent an hour practising the dance, and they performed it at the opening ceremony of the competition,” Woo said.
Currently, HYJ Academy of Wushu of Malaysia conducts wushu lessons at five education institutions in Selangor.
“The younger generation admires Western culture and forgets their roots,” Woo lamented.
“I have conducted classes in Western countries before and the students there had so much passion for wushu. Their positive attitude was commendable while the students here sometimes lack enthusiasm. Learning wushu trains one to be disciplined,” Woo said.
Monkey Business. A participant mimicking the moves of the legendary Monkey King. And not to forget to look at the person standing behind, who is Fahmi from MMU Wushu Club, took part in Traditional Routine and Traditional Short Weapon
Azrul Shahrif Ibrahim, a student of Multimedia University in Cyberjaya, took part in the traditional long weapon category in the competition.
“A roommate encouraged me to take up wushu. That was three years ago. I liked it a lot and my fellow students are receptive to us learning wushu,” said the second-year IT student.
In 2006, Azrul bagged a gold medal in an inter-varsity wushu tournament in Kelantan. To him, learning wushu is more than just mastering a few Jackie Chan moves. “I know more about Chinese culture now, as I always get invited to participate in the festive events organised by the wushu club,” the 25-year-old said.
(All photos are taken from the URL of : http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2009/1/6/central/2913093&sec=central )
Rise of the lycans?
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