* by John Gough *

(Photo from the International Martial Arts Tournament, Singapore, September 2019)

Why take part in Local, National or International Competitions or Events?

I guess that is a question that can only be answered by each of us individually. For some the thought of doing so can be an overwhelm, for others, part of the adventure in participating in our art and life.

For me, and while I cannot speak for each member of our latest adventure to Singapore, I suspect we all share our love in the participation of our Taiji world, the wonderful people we meet and associate with, the things we learn, and frustratingly forget, or never fully understand.

For me, most of all, it is the opportunity to challenge myself through the preparation process, the deeper learning stages, (Practise; Practise; Practise😉)

And especially the people, new customs, wonderful hospitality, respect for each other’s cultures, the way our world of Wu can bring so many fellow human beings together in such positive ways.

Never put yourself down; have the courage to give it a go; find support if possible; ask your teacher or fellow participants for their support. Plan an adventure, it doesn’t have to be big, your local community often has events and need people to demonstrate their craft.

The more we can publicly show off our wonderful art, the more people will take it up and reap the rewards we do, be they health, friendships, personal growth, new skills, or the wonderful experience of seeing your fellow man having a go.

Yours in Taiji,

John Gough

Flowing Water Tai Chi Chuan

 

The 15th World Wushu Championships in Shanghai, China (20-23 October 2019) was exceptionally well covered by WushuTV. All events were live-streamed and later were available as recorded videos. Thanks to that, we were able to watch all performances of the Australian athletes.

In short: Good effort!

For details, see our Summary compiled from the official results.

As usual, the World Championships coincided with the reshuffling of positions among the IWUF officials, meetings of various Committees and, of course, the IWUF Congress. Unlike the Championships, these events are kept secret. Although we are almost sure that the IWUF has now a new President… Apparently, there are several new Vice-Presidents… Some new IWUF Member Organisations… However, the official IWUF website (as of 10 November 2019) insists that the President is still Yu Zaiqing (as he was from 2003!) and the Executive Board is still as it was before the Congress…. One might assume that the new appointments have to be approved by the Communist Party of China. After all, that is where the funding is likely to be coming from. Anyway, we hope that in a month or two, we will know what decisions were made (or rather approved) by the Congress. It is also possible that we will never know it.