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World Tai Chi & Qigong Day 2019

The World Tai Chi & Qigong Day was celebrated on 27 April 2019. Australia, due to its geographical position, was one of the first countries to meet it – thousands of Australian Tai Chi & Qigong enthusiasts gathered in the parks or near historic landmarks for this famous annual event. We have received photo reports from many locations, among them:

Epping Creative Centre, Epping, NSW

Wushu & Tai Chi NSW organised a free session at the Epping Creative Centre which attracted both regular and new participants. 

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Darvall Park, Denistone, NSW

The Eastwood Tai Chi Group celebrated WTCQD at Darvall Park, Denistone on Saturday 27th April. 
Some enthusiastic members went at 7 am to set up the banners and layout tables for finger food! The event then commenced at 8 am with around 60 members and guests turning up, most of them in tai chi costumes. 
The programme started with a qigong form, the ‘8 brocades’ for warming up. Then we went through our usual morning routines of 24 forms, 40 forms, 42 and 32 forms. After that, we had a break to pose for a group photograph in the brilliant morning sun.
This was then followed up by performances of the ‘gungfu fan’, 32 and 42 sword routines.
The crowd then retired for morning tea, tasting the culinary delights displayed and socialising with friends old and new.
The event concluded with time allocated to practitioners to demonstrate their individual specialities so that the crowd may enjoy and appreciate the different forms of martial arts and qigong.
Then we all retired from the park with the aura of good Chi and bonhomie ready for the next WTCQD!

Paul Cheah

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Enmore Park, Marrickville, NSW

Sydney Vision held their session at Enmore park, Marrickvile. The event was organised by Master Alex Galvan and Rosa Galvan and sponsored by “Share. Building Healthier Communities”

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“The Station”, Newcastle, NSW

Several pictures have been received from WTCQD 2019 at the historic Newcastle Railway site, kindly provided by Amanda Heidke.

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Mackay, Queensland

The idea of making movement the basis for health and well being was highlighted at Mackay’s contribution to World Tai Chi Day.
The rain couldn’t dampen our enthusiasm as beginners and long-time Tai Chi practitioners joined as one.  Starting off with a walk around to introduce ourselves to new friends and reacquaint with some old 😊, we warmed up.
Then to the Tai Chi.
The health benefits of exercise including Time Out Tai Chi was evident though the diversity of the 57 participants. Age, gender and background was not a barrier as we moved together to make new friends, enjoy a good laugh and find calmness through exercise.

Leanne Simpson

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Brisbane, Queensland

I hope everyone enjoyed the sharing WTCQ day. It was a beautiful morning here in Brisbane and the energy was beautiful!

Cheryl Player

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Botanical Gardens, Bundaberg, Queensland

Our World Tai Chi day was held in the Botanical Gardens in Bundaberg Queensland this year and we had people from all over the state attend.
A small group of 15 people played tai chi for just over 2 hours a great day of sharing.

Margaret Richters

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“Earthly Pleasures”, Belgrave, Victoria

A few images were kindly supplied by Sue Rule, Chi Generation, based in Melbourne.

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Wynyard, Tasmania

Around 50 people enjoyed our WTC&QD activities on the banks of the river in Wynyard, Tasmania.
We experienced Wudang Longevity Qigong, Sun Style Short Form (Tai Chi for Arthritis), 24 Forms Tai Chi, The Lotus Qigong and Intro to Tai Chi for the first timers.
Tai Chi and Qigong are very popular here where we have five local teachers providing around 12 classes a week – not bad for a small rural town (population less than 6,000).  All five of the local Tai Chi and Qigong teachers came together to support the event and to lead participants through the Qigong and Tai Chi forms. 
Although it was cold and drizzly, we opted to stay outdoors and the sun came out a few times to warm us up. The rain held off until we were finished.  Everyone really enjoyed the opportunity to get together with their local Tai Chi and Qigong community.

Jay McGough

The link to the video from Wynyard, Tasmania, was kindly provided by Catherine Fernon.

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See all submitted images 

Education in the Chinese national sport system: experiences of professional wushu athletes

Sport in Society

Yang Zhang, Jessica W. Chin, Shirley H.M. Reekie

22 December 2018

Abstract

Within the Chinese national sport system, the government provides resources and funding to train athletes from a young age to become high-performance competitors. Though athletes are well supported to excel in their sport, during their years of intense physical training, athletes generally receive little to no formal education to prepare them for life outside of sport. The sacrifice of forgoing formal education to compete in elite level sport is not uncommon for athletes within centralized sporting systems and has been widely documented; however, there is little research that focuses on the impact of the team’s educational systems from the perspective of the athletes. To add to the growing body of research in this area, the authors utilized in-depth interviews to examine professional wushu athletes’ education experiences whilst training on their team. Thematic analysis of the findings revealed that athletes who committed themselves to sport training in the Chinese national system had to negotiate a number of factors related to time, motivation, social influences, and resources when it came to education and academia. Findings highlight the ways in which these athletes experience and come to terms with limited academic opportunities, preparation and support from their team and the training environment.

About the Authors

Yang Zhang – Department of Kinesiology, University of Maryland

Jessica W. Chin, PhD – Associate Professor, Department of Kinesiology, San Jose State University, College of Health and Human Sciences.

Dr. Jessica Chin serves as the research and core specialist for SJSU’s Department of Kinesiology and is engaged in both the undergraduate and graduate programs. Dr. Chin is an active member of the Western Society for the Physical Education of College Women (WSPECW), the International Sociology of Sport Association (ISSA), and the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport (NASSS), regularly presenting her research at their annual conferences. She is the Chair of the NASSS Elections Committee and has also served on the NASSS Diversity and Conference Climate Committee (DCCC) and the Environmental Impact Committee. Dr. Chin was elected as Chair of the Committee to Enhance Equity and Diversity (CEED) in the College of Applied Sciences and Arts (CASA) from 2010-2014 and was also an academic consultant to the Bay Area Physical Education-Health Program (Bay PE-HP).

With a strong desire to include students in work that promotes diversity and social justice, Dr. Chin has mentored and advised students in various capacities. As an example, she leads and advises RePlay, a nonprofit, student-based group that seeks to benefit and initiate positive change in local communities and educational institutions. Following the core principles of promoting social justice and a green lifestyle, RePlay collects used sporting goods and equipment, which they refurbish and distribute at events specially organized for underserved community groups. RePlay has organized events and made significant donations to foster children, homeless shelters, underfunded physical education programs, and summer camps. Dr. Chin is passionate about physical activity and remains an advocate for underserved and underrepresented populations through her teaching, research, and community service.

Shirley H.M. Reekie, PhD – Professor, Department of Kinesiology, San Jose State University, College of Health and Human Sciences.

Shirley Reekie received an undergraduate degree from I.M. Marsh College of Physical Education, Liverpool, and the University of Liverpool, UK and a master’s degree from the University of Leeds. Following three years teaching physical education, English and geography at Keswick School, Shirley earned a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University with a dissertation entitled “A History of Sport and Recreation for Women in Great Britain 1700-1850.” Shirley came to San Jose State University in 1982 and had one book “Sailing Made Simple,” published in 1986, and another “Bean Bags to Bod Pods” that chronicles the Kinesiology Department’s 150 years, published in 2012.  She has recently been commissioned to write a history of Trearddur Bay Sailing Club, founded in 1919.

 

 

Chinese New Year Photo Competition 2019

To celebrate the 2019 Chinese New Year, the Wushu Herald announced competition for the best photos taken in Australia during the two weeks of festivities. Everyone was invited to submit their current celebrations photos with brief description. The competition closed on 24 February 2019.

Congratulations
to the Winners of the Chinese New Year 2019
Photo Competition!

1st Place: Josephine Chow – Piggy Tai Chi Fan @ World Square, Sydney
2nd Place: Wilson Lo – Dragon Dance, Canberra
3rd Place: shared by Dominic Lou – Cheeky Lion Teasing Child, Chatswood, and
                                 Geoffrey Ince – Tai Chi For Life at Melbourne Museum
 

See the selection of submitted photos here.