Martial Arts Day
The “King Mihai I Park” in northern Bucharest became a paradise for Chinese martial arts lovers on Saturday, with the eyecatching banner “World WushuKungfu Day” fluttering in the breezy sunshine. On the wide green lawn, there were practitioners of both Yangstyle and Chen-style Tai Chi, as well as Shaolin and Wudang styles. Groups of children with “Kungfu” T-shirts were running on the lawn and practicing various martial arts moves. The scene attracted passing pedestrians, many of whom stopped to watch and take pictures. Petru Grindeanu, secretary-general of the Romanian Martial Arts Federation, told the Xinhua News Agency that Chinese martial arts are becoming increasingly popular in Romania. He noted that people have a new understanding of Kungfu and more and more Romanians are practice the art, especially after the martial arts were included in the Olympic Games. According to Grindeanu, celebration events for World Wushu-Kungfu Day were being held not only in the capital city of Bucharest, but also in many other major cities across the country. Ion Benea, president of the
federation, said that more and more Romanian citizens 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 said.
He said that many elderly people think that slow-moving Tai Chi is very suitable for them.
Founded in 1990, the Romanian Martial Arts Federation currently has 40 clubs across the country, with some 2,500 members. According to the association, more than 5,000 people in the country practice Chinese martial arts regularly.
Some of the coaches of the clubs have studied Chinese martial arts with their masters in Romania, while many others returned from China after completing various classes.
Roxana Vladut, who has practiced martial arts for exactly 20 years, told Xinhua: “Many of the coaches present today are all apprentices of Master Zhu.”
According to her, Zhu Rongfu, 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 herself was one of them and it seems her training paid off. Under Master Zhu, Vladut won second place in martial arts and third place in Tai Chi at the World Traditional Wushu Championships held last year at Emei Mountain, China. She also won third place in Tai Chi at the European Championships held in Moscow this year.