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| Wang Yan, captain of the Chenjiagou Taijiquan School fighting team getting ready for the Thai challenge. |
Results have just reached me from the latest challenge match
between instructors from the Chenjiagou Taijiquan School and a team of Thai
boxers from Thailand. The "Taijiquan PK Muay Thai King Competition" was
the highlight of The Third China International Chenjiagou Chen Style Taijiquan
Exchange Competition which took place from the 1-5th August in
Chenjiagou.
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| The challengers from Thailand |
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| A close and hard fought contest |
Closing
the event was a bout between Wang Yan, captain of the Chenjiagou Taijiquan School fighting
team, and a seasoned Thai fighter. Wang Yan won a hard fought contest to seal a 4-1 victory for the Taijiquan
boys. After the fight, a clearly exhausted Wang reflected on the hard training he
and the team had done in preparation for this challenge – “so much hard work
for this one moment”.
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| Wang Yan's arm raised in victory! |
Skill and achievement comes with a price. Over the years
I’ve seen Wang Yan and the rest of the team develop from children in the school
into powerful, confident martial artists. From the outside it may seem easy,
but anyone who has been to the Chenjiagou school knows that these guys train
hard. I remember a student some years ago who was homesick and struggling with
the gruelling daily training. Going to Chen Ziqiang for advice he was asked to:
“Have confidence and walk the road. The
uphill path might be difficult but continue to walk it”. Great advice for all
of us!
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| Chen Ziqiang presenting the trophy to Wang Yan, who he has coached since childhood |
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| That's Wang Yan in front of me with the spear some time in the early 2000s! |
Wonderful!
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