Tai Chi's 3rd World Traditional Wu Shu Tournament Shiyan China 2008

Below is an account and results of the 2008 tai chi (TC) world tournament, where three Australian Golden Lion students won Bronze medals in their first event.

The six Golden Lion members who were part of a 33 strong Australian Wushu team were humbled by this experience. It is amazing where this Tai Chi journey takes you! This is a biannual event which is held in China for it is truly the only country who could host such a lavish, decadent and amazing championship.

The Chinese government is very proud of the cultural progress Wu Shu has made over the centuries and is proud of its heritage. We were proud to have been associated with such auspicious events, optical feasts were abundant and etched into our minds forever – no expense was spared on special effects. We were truly spoilt whilst official athlete guests in China...pinch me..

The clan gathered wearily after 32hrs of travel at “The Argyle” five star hotel. Shiyan is a small rural city of 16 million and everyone wants to speak with you or have their photo taken with you. We were elevated to star status without auditions! The hotel was built specifically for the 2000 thousand athletes from 69 countries swarming into Shiyan for 3 days of competition. The hospitality and food standards were well above any of my expectations; the hardest and most tiring part of the day was trying to eat breakfast! Buffet servers over flowing with tantalizing gourmet feasts and, yes there was an “Egg Man”!

The days were gruelling, having to go to opening banquets, opening ceremonies were difficult, but hey, we all pulled through the initial fast pace of being a celeb. The Wudang Mountain itself left us with a lifetime of memories, it was hauntingly beautiful, we saw the Wudang practitioners perform for us daily, they showed us what mind, body and spirit are truly about, if only we started doing Tai Chi when we were little, just imagine how lithe and strong we would be. We saw athletes who displayed strength and suppleness at 91 years! (There’s hope for us yet!)

The opening ceremony was just like the Olympics – just smaller, if you could call it smaller for it was still huge!! The opening ceremonies entertainment centered around the 5 elements with each scene as brilliant as the first. We were entertained by the most famous singers and stageperformers that China could offer!

We all became “Bronzed Aussies” with each of us obtaining a bronze placing in the first events! We relaxed a little after the first routine was over and enjoyed ourselves...my anxiety took me to new dimensions and levels l hadn’t experienced before!!! Its about Yi, the mind. I had to focus my mind and all my energy into staying grounded!! The atmosphere was electric, and stimulated all the senses to new heights – we all performed well, but that’s another story (l have it on CD!!).

The experience of competing at an international level was awesome, I’m positive each of us has walked away with different memories that will be hard to beat – we all had fun and took advantage of every moment to immerse ourselves in the culture. Life experiences such as this don’t come by everyday, if you happen to get the opportunity to compete at this level, go for it!!

Si Jie Gillian Talbot, TC Instructor - see photo below at the world tournament

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