The “2023 SJM 11th Asian Junior Wushu Championships”, hosted by the Wushu Federation of Asia in conjunction with the Wushu General Association of Macau, will take place at the Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion from today through Sunday when nearly 300 young martial arts practitioners from more than 20 countries and regions will compete in 82 categories of taolu (“combined movements”) and sanda (“scattered beating”) in wushu (“martials arts”).
In response to the launch of the four-day tournament, an opening ceremony and welcome luncheon were held yesterday by the event co-organisers including title-sponsor SJM Resorts (SJM) at The Grand Pavilion of Grand Lisboa Palace (GLP) Resort Macau in Cotai.
In separate welcoming speeches delivered at the opening ceremony, both Executive Committee of the Wushu Federation of Asia (WFA) President Ian Fok Chun-wan and SJM Managing Director Daisy Ho Chiu Fung expressed their expectations for the young wushu practitiones to pass on their martial skills and to champion the values of martial virtue*, in addition, to extending their best wishes to the participating athletes.
Apart from fostering unity and friendship among nations and regions within the WFA framework, the event, which had been suspended for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, also aims to, according to Fok, seek to present Macau as a destination that embodies a fusion of “multicultural exchange and a cooperation base that recognises Chinese culture as the mainstream in the city”.
Ho, chairperson of the event’s organising committee, said she believed that the competition could help foster Macau’s sports development and nurture local talents, thereby contributing to the advancement of the city’s sports tourism.
During the hour-long opening ceremony, gold, silver, and bronze medallists from various wushu events at the recently concluded Summer FISU World University Games in Chengdu – local practitioners Wong Sam In, Wong Weng lan, Cheung loi Chit and Lei Cheok leong – showcased their martial arts techniques, after which they told WFA “ambassador” Vincent Zhao Wenzhuo about their future goals and aspirations.
According to Wikipedia, Vincent Zhao Wenzhuo, sometimes credited as Vincent Chiu or Chiu Man-cheuk, is a Chinese actor and martial artist. Zhao is best known for playing the Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-hung in the “Once Upon a Time in China” film and television series and for his films “The Blade”, “True Legend” and “God of War”.
Free tickets are available at GLP in Cotai, as well as Grand Lisboa Hotel, Kam Pek Community Centre and Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion in the Macau peninsula.
* The concept of martial virtue is the conveying of the traditional concept of martial spirituality that permeates Chinese culture. – Source: International Ch’an Buddhism Institute (ICBI)
Local wushu practitioners Wong Sam In (second from left), Wong Weng lan (left), Cheung loi Chit and Lei Cheok leong (right), who won gold, silver and bronze at various wushu events during the recent Summer FISU World University Games in Chengdu, showcase their martial arts techniques during yesterday’s opening ceremony of the “2023 SJM 11th Asian Junior Wushu Championships”, at The Grand Pavilion of Grand Lisboa Palace (GLP) Resort Macau in Cotai. The four-day competition at the Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion starts today. – Photo: Yuki Lei
