When more than 700 contestants attended the 14th World Chinese Kuoshu Championships in Yunlin County from May 1 to May 3, Taiwanese contestant Wu Chia-hsin (吳佳欣) won her third consecutive gold medal in a women’s wushu division with a form from northern China.
The 20-year-old said she learned wushu from her father, Wu Ming-tsung (吳明宗), from a young age and that her solid foundations in the style from years of practice enabled her to compete against Europeans, including from Russia and Italy, despite their size advantage.
Wu said she would be taking over operation of her father’s wushu school this year, adding that she would strive to spread the fame of both the school and martial arts in Taiwan.
Photo: Chiou Chih-jou, Taipei Times
Meanwhile, 18-year-old Chang Wen-yao (張文耀), another gold medalist and a student of the Wu school since he was eight years old, said that he would stay with the school and be trained by Wu Chia-hsin.
“Master Wu Ming-tsung teaches us not only about martial arts, but also about morals,” Chang said, adding that practicing martial arts is a way of being.
“It can temper a student’s mind,” he said.
“Winning gold made me happy, but we should not become overly proud and show off,” Chang said, adding that there is much hard work to be done to promote Taiwanese wushu on the world stage.
The school is attracting students due to the implementation of the 12-year national education program, Wu Ming-tsung said, adding that during training, he noticed children lacked respect toward their elders.
“We hope that through learning wushu, students take away the concept of wu te (武德),’” Wu Ming-tsung said.
The concept implies that force should be used only to uphold kindness and social order.
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