Kung fu for the masses

Sparring with Taoist monks, training with two thousand other kung fu nuts and being serenaded by the finest Chinese pop stars were all just part of a day’s work for Keepsafe’s Penny Gulliver as she travelled to China for the Olympics of martial arts last month.

Just returned from the World Traditional Wushu Championships, Gulliver is filled with a whole range of new technical skills to pass on to the students in her GLBT classes.

It’s sort of like the Olympics of kung fu and it’s China’s way of opening up martial arts to the world, Gulliver said of the event which attracted participants from 106 countries.

It’s yet to be absorbed, but the scope of it was amazing. There are technical things that I’ve managed to pick up, that I will be passing on to my students, but it was also about being exposed to places like Mount Wudang, which is a sacred mountain in the middle of China where the monks have long hair wrapped up into a bun with a chopstick on top of their head. They’re Taoist rather than Buddhist so they practise an even older form of kung fu than the Shaolin who everyone has heard of.

Training aside, there was inspiration to be drawn from the celebratory nature of the event, which is held every two years.

It was something just to be exposed to the pageantry of the whole thing, Gulliver told Sydney Star Observer.

Now back in Sydney, Gulliver is still absorbing the knowledge she acquired but assures that none of the new moves will go to waste.

info: Gulliver teaches GLBT kung fu and kickboxing classes through Keepsafe. For information email [email protected].