In February 2010, thirty-one students, family and friends accompanied Master James Chee to Quanzhou in Fujian province, China to attend the 2010 International Shaolin Wuzuquan Federation Conference and Tournament. Considered to be the most important wuzuquan gathering, internationally, the 2010 conference was particularly special as it was scheduled to coincide with the first ever Cross-Straits Southern Fujian Cultural Festival.
Over twenty countries were represented at the International Shaolin Wuzuquan Conference and Tournament, including the Philippines, Canada, United States, Malaysia, Japan, England, Ireland, Singapore, Indonesia, China, Hong Kong and (of course) Australia.
Each team was offered approximately 30 seconds to demonstrate. Some teams performed sets, whilst others demonstrated techniques. The Australian contingent performed a selection from various forms including sparring and weapon sets.
Following each team’s brief opening ceremony performance, Master James was invited to personally demonstrate his mastery of qi gong. Standing in front of a packed Chinese stadium, Master James was able to use empty pushing to scatter the students.
Master James’ Qi Gong demonstration drew the attention of the local Chinese media, and immediately following the opening ceremony, Master James and instructor, Johnny Yap, provided interviews.
One of the first TV interviews that aired was broadcast by Quanzhou TV. In the latter part of the following clip (which is in Chinese language), the reporter asks Johnny whether the students were genuinely holding their ground. Johnny advises that they were and further invites the reporter to test his sanchin (aka San Zhan) stance. After testing the stance, Master James Chee demonstrates transmitting qi to the reporter, enabling her to defeat Johnny’s stance.
After the buzz and excitement of the Opening Ceremony was over, it was time for the students to compete. Whilst students were hoping that a full/limited contact sparring competition would be available this year, it was not able to be organised in time, and as such the competition was limited to performances. The categories of competition included:
Wuzuquan – Five Ancestors Fist forms
Nanquan – Southern Shaolin forms
Two-person unarmed forms
Long weapons / Polearms (ie. staff, spear etc)
Short weapons (ie. swords, daggers etc)
Two-person weapon forms
The Australian team in the competition (and their forms) were:
Peter – Wuchu 8th Set
Bruce – Northern Luohan 2nd Set
Julie – Dai TaiChor
Michael F – Wuchu Crane and Broadsword
Jimmy – Open Mountain
David – International Set
Ayano – Open Mountain
Steven – Southern Shaolin Panther and Wuchu Staff
Chao – Golden Lock
Charlee – Wuchu 6th Set
Jason – Wuchu 3rd & 4th Set
Michael T – Three-section Staff
Alan – Luohan Tiger
Jancy – Wuchu 6th Set
Chris – Double Daggers
Aiden – Monkey Set
Johnny – Northern Luohan 6th Set and Fan Set
Leo & Steven – Two-man Pole Sparring
Michael T and Michael F – Broadsword vs Unarmed
Michael T & Peter – Two-man Unarmed Sparring
Michael Fong in Flightmode
The Australian Team achieved 9 gold, 6 silver and 5 bronze medals in the competition, and Master James was very pleased with this result. One of the most memorable performances was by instructor, Dr Michael Fong, whose incomparable performance was awarded first place (gold).
Whilst the competition was one important aspect of the gathering, the other reason for the event was for the convening of the world’s foremost wuzuquan practitioners to discuss the preservation and further progression of the art.
At the conference, it was agreed that a 10-level duan system would be introduced, similar to the dan system used in other arts such as karate and taekwondo, with the 10th duan being recognised as the highest level, and the 1st duan as the lowest.
The 10th duan was originally intended to be an honorary grade for deceased masters, however after discussion, it was decided to recognise both living and deceased masters of the highest calibre. Significantly, Master James Chee was recognised by the fraternity through the award of the rank of 10th duan.
Discussions were also held as to the requirements for the award of duan 1 to 9 and it should also be noted that each of Master James’ instructors has received endorsement and is now recognised by the international ranking.
Towards the conclusion of the conference, discussions were held regarding who will next assume the role of Chairperson of the International Shaolin Wuzuquan Federation after the current term (held by Master John Graham of the United States) ends. Master James was invited to assume this position, and has agreed to do so, with instructor Johnny Yap to act as Secretary for the Federation.
At the end of the Conference and Competition, visitors to Quanzhou were invited to visit the Southern Shaolin Temple. At the temple, students from the Australian school, were invited to demonstrate their sanchin (aka san zhan) stance against the Shaolin monks.
Master James’ students were able to demonstrate the solidity of their stance, and at one stage, four Australian students held their ground against fourteen Shaolin monks.
Team Australia vs Shaolin MonksTeam Australia vs Shaolin Monks
Master James was also again invited to demonstrate his qi gong ability. In addition to performing “empty pushing”, Master James also demonstrated a dim mak technique on (an unfortunate!) Peter Chee.
Video of Qi Gong Demonstration at Shaolin Temple
Following the demonstration, a couple of the Chinese students asked to “try” the strength of the Australian students. Dr Michael Fong happily volunteered and demonstrated his ability to hold down his opponent using only two fingers.
As the second Chinese student was a lot smaller than Michael, Master James volunteered Julie, who also demonstrated superior strength attained from years of training under Master James.
After all the medals and excitement, Master James and Simu Li Lin took Team Australia on a tour of Yunnan Province, Beijing and Hong Kong, where the team had fun shopping for cheap clothing, asian fertility products and cheap alcohol.
All in all, a great event – kudos to the team!
News articles covering the event:
http://news.163.com/10/0301/08/60M67MB1000146BB.html
http://news.sina.com.cn/o/2010-02-27/081017138120s.shtml
http://www.qzwb.com/gb/content/2010-03/01/content_3274139.htm
http://szb.qzwb.com/dnzb/html/2010-02/27/content_130580.htm
http://www.1688.com.au/site1/news/cn/2010/03/04/916960.shtml
http://szb.qzwb.com/hwb/html/2010-03/01/content_130905.htm
http://news.cctv.com/china/20100228/103047.shtml (Video)
http://video.sina.com.cn/v/b/44093536-1275351710.html (Video)
http://hills-shire-times.whereilive.com.au/sport/story/kung-fu-gold-for-…
Use http://translate.google.com to read garbled English versions!
Wu Chu Chuan in Australia started off with a very humble beginning in the garage of a house. Class numbers were small back then, with only eight students, but did not take long to grow.
To understand the development of International Shaolin Wu Chu Chuan, Australia, we must first follow the history and story of our “Shifu”, Master James Chee. Born 1959 in Malaysia, Master James is the sixth child in his family. Master James Chee started his kung fu training at the age of 10 in the art of Wu Chu. During the early years, Master James admitted training was not taken too seriously until the death of his fourth brother who was the most outstanding student amongst all of his father’s disciples.
Master James’ fourth brother passed away in a traffic accident at the age of only 21, when Master James was 16. Seeing the great grief of his father for the loss of his brother, Master James committed to putting a more serious effort towards his martial arts training.