London South Bank University’s Confucius Institute for Traditional Chinese Medicine (CITCM) successfully held the sixth annual ‘Confucius Cup’ Martial Arts Competition at St John’s Primary School and Goodrich Primary School on 15 and 16 June. Altogether 50 aspiring contestants from 5 schools in London participated in this exciting event (schools included St John’s Primary School, Highgate Primary School, The Chinese Embassy’s Sunshine School and Goodrich Primary School).
Prior to the competition, all of the competitors attended Martial Arts lessons at their school. All of their instructors were professional martial artists supplied by CITCM. After months of hard work they were finally ready for the big day!
The event kicked off on the 15 June at St John’s Primary School where the highly ambitious contestants, who were divided into 5 groups, performed a traditional form of Kung Fu called ‘Chang Quan’, which translates into ‘long fist’. Their energetic and elaborate moves, which were performed at a very high level, clearly showed their passion and talent for Chinese martial arts and won many great rounds of applause from the audience. After the competition Wang Jidong, the Kung Fu teacher at St John’s Primary school, gave a performance which undoubtedly inspired the students to try and develop their skills to the next level. The day came to a close with a prize giving ceremony.
The following day the competition moved to Goodrich Primary School and the level of competition remained very high. The show was elegantly opened by some year 5 students who performed a wonderful rendition of a Chinese Folk Dance called Jasmine flower. The contestants were divided into 4 groups based on their age, with the eldest candidate aged 11 years old and the youngest candidate aged only 6 years old. Two groups performed ‘Chang Quan’, while the other two groups showed off their ‘Kung Fu Fan’ moves. The applause and cheers from the audience barely stopped throughout the duration of the completion, this is a great testament to the quality of their efforts. After the competition Mr Zhang Qilong, a CITCM martial arts teacher, gave an animated performance and the students were awarded their prizes.
The competition not only inspires the children’s passion for martial arts but also aims to add a new dimension to primary school learning by cooperating Chinese culture and language into the students education. This will help students obtain a better sense of international awareness and cultural communication.