Brazil Celebrates World Tai
Chi Day
BRASILIA - Brazil's capital celebrated
Saturday the World Tai Chi and Qigong Day
for the 80th time, counting on the presence
of the date's founders, Bill Douglas and his
wife Angela Wong Douglas.
"We have known the Brazilians for several
years, because they send photos, videos and
news coverage of their events. But this is
the first time we have met all face to face
and it is being a very beautiful
experience," said Bill in an interview to
Xinhua during the event.
The 80th year of Tai Chi Day celebration in
Brasilia presented very different scenery to
the first event, when only about 30 people
attended the activities at the Square of
Universal Harmony. This time, organizers
estimate that about a thousand people have
participated in the party.
China-born Moo Shong Woo, known to his
pupils and admirers as Master Woo, has
introduced Tai Chi practice in Brasilia 36
years ago. He arrive in Brazil in 1961 and
lives in the country's capital since 1968.
About 150 people of all ages attend daily
Tai Chi classes given by him and his pupils,
who became teachers themselves. Throughout
these years classes are free and are held
outdoors at the Square of Universal Harmony,
which was declared an intangible cultural
heritage of Brasilia in 2007.
"Brazilians have a very beautiful way of
practicing Tai Chi and Qigong. That is one
of the things about Tai Chi and Qigong,
everybody does the same forms, which came
all from China, but everybody has their own
cultural flavor that they add to Tai Chi and
Qigong and it is really a beautiful thing,"
noted Bill Douglas.
The Tai Chi enthusiast supports that this
Chinese practice should be taught to
children at schools, since there are studies
proving that Tai Chi is highly beneficial to
those who suffer from Attention-Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
"An increasing number of children suffer
from ADHD in the United States and they are
given drugs that completely suppress their
creativity," he warned.
Douglas himself started practicing Tai Chi
30 years ago because he faced serious
problems due to an increasingly common ill
of contemporary world: stress. So, he
accepted a friend's suggestion and enrolled
in Tai Chi classes.
"In the whole world, the population is
growing, people are changing jobs faster,
changing careers faster, everything is
quickening. I want to share these tools
because Tai Chi and Qigong, these incredible
gifts from China, are right now most needed
by the whole world," he explains.
"If the world embraced Tai Chi and Qigong,
it would save trillions of dollars spent
every year with health care costs," adds
Douglas.
The World Tai Chi and Qigong Day is
celebrated on the last Saturday of April and
is part of World Health Organization's
calendar as one of the "healthy events"
linked to the World Health Day.
About 70 countries and regions celebrated
the World Tai Chi and Qigong Day on
Saturday. According to Bill Douglas, the
date was celebrated for the first time in
Havana, Cuba, and in Alexandria, Egypt.
In Brasilia, besides the presentations of
Tai Chi and Qigong movements shown by
teachers and students, a Lion Dance in
northern style performed by the Chinese
Culture Center's group was a much applauded
attraction.
This group, directed by Chinese Wang Hsiao
Po, is composed of ten members. Curiously,
most of them are Brazilians that have no
Chinese origin.
As one of China's traditional martial arts,
Tai Chi includes fist, sword, broadsword,
spear and push-hand skills. Especially the
push-hand is known for its demanding tactics
and technique, allowing a powerful and
aggressive opponent to be defeated by a
flick of the wrist or abrupt explosive
power.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
