Chinese martial arts make an impact in Romania

BUCHAREST - A park in Romania became paradise for Chinese martial arts lovers on Aug 11, with an eye-catching "World Wushu-Kung Fu Day" banner fluttering in the light breeze.

On the wide green lawn in King Mihai I Park were practitioners of Yang style and Chen style tai chi, as well as those practicing changquan, nanquan, Shaolin and Wudang styles of kung fu.

Young and middle-aged people made up the bulk of those taking part, but there were also many retired and elderly.

Groups of children with Chinese-style kung fu T-shirts ran in the sunshine and posed in various martial arts moves. The scene attracted the attention of passing pedestrians, and many people stopped to watch and take pictures.

Petru Grindeanu, secretary-general of the Romanian Martial Arts Federation, says the Chinese martial arts are becoming increasingly popular in Romania. People have a new understanding of kung fu, and an increasing number of locals are taking up martial arts, he says.

Aug 11 was the first World Wushu-Kung Fu Day, and the purpose of the event in Bucharest was to let more people know about the Chinese martial arts, Grindeanu adds.

Ion Benea, president of the federation, says people are beginning to realize the benefits of practicing tai chi, an ancient Chinese martial art, especially the vast majority of retirees.

"To this end, the federation decided to teach tai chi free of charge at major parks in Bucharest on a regular basis," Benea says.

Many elderly people think that slow-moving tai chi is a sport that is very suitable for them and is very healthy, he adds.

Founded in 1990, the Romanian Martial Arts Federation currently has 40 clubs across the country, with around 2,500 members. According to the association, more than 5,000 people in the country practice Chinese martial arts regularly.

Some of the club coaches have learned martial arts with their masters in Romania, while many others returned from China after studying there.

Roxana Vladut, who has practiced martial arts for 20 years, says, "Many of the coaches present today are all apprentices of Master Zhu (Rongfu)."

She says Zhu, a martial arts practitioner from Shanghai, set up the Shanghai Martial Arts Club in Bucharest many years ago, training a large number of martial arts disciples.

She was one of them. Under the training of Zhu, she won second and third place in different events in the World Traditional Wushu Championships last year at Emei Mountain, China, and won third place in tai chi in the European Championships in Moscow this year.

Xinhua

(China Daily European Weekly 08/17/2018 page19)