The “Spirit” of the Guang Maoyuan Chinese Martial Arts Association—GDUFS’s Oldest Club

There are many clubs at GDUFS, such as the tennis club, swimming club, dance club and so on. However, have you ever considered which one has the longest history? That is what we will talk about next—the Guang Maoyuan Chinese martial arts association. The Guang Maoyuan Chinese martial arts association (Wuxie) was established on March 16^th, 1985, and has developed steadily for years to become one of the largest clubs at GDUFS. As a club gathering a crowd of people keen on Chinese martial arts, Wuxie progress with its purpose and principle of learning to “Win without pride, lose with grace. Do not be crushed, do not be defeated”.

Members practicing basic skills in groups

Lately, the club marked its 36^th birthday with an anniversary celebration. On the celebration are some magnificent performances like Chinese martial arts in different factions, dancing and singing show and the Han-style clothes show by the sister club. In addition to these, interactions between different generations were a big part where the former members walked to the stage to perform some martial movements to set an example for their inferiors and tell their stories in Wuxie. Everyone did their works in preparation for the celebration: Planning Division made arrangements for the whole process; Receiving Division was keeping in touch with the former member and received them; Secretary Division was busy with checking kinds of information; Logistics Division was preparing goods and materials; Publicity Division posted relative news and advertised online. All of them were making contributions to the club.

Sun took an active part in Wuxie last semester as a freshman. And this semester, she signed up to be the MC of the celebration, where she finally stood out. Apart from writing and memorizing the scripts during her extra time, Sun had to keep up on her daily training while busily making preparations for the club’s upcoming performance. So busy with miscellaneous business, she had been in a state of tension and anxiety for weeks. When the day arrived, Sun didn’t feel as nervous as she supposed and accomplished her work smoothly, despite a few slight mistakes. Moreover, she got acquainted with numerous senior fellows and was satisfied with a fruit of precious friendship and growth physically as well as intellectually. Afterwards, Sun published an article on her blogs, in which she mentioned, “It looks like I have gained a better understanding of the idea of Wuxie and the spirit of martial arts.”

The dedicated efforts of the club members have not been lost on other students. According to Liang, whose roommate is the member of Wuxie club, “Every afternoon, when I am walking leisurely to the dorm after class, my roommate rushes out to the playground in special clothes and shoes. After about an hour, he comes back out of breath with a glowing look.” He added, “When I am going to exercise or just pass by the playground at dusk, I couldn’t ignore those figures. Sometimes they’re stretching, pointing their toes or clenching their glutes to practice basic skills; sometimes they’re learning new martial art movements.” One day, surfing on the Internet, Liang noticed the news report from Wuxie’s official account. He had a visceral reaction to one of pictures in the report: a group photo presenting more than 150 people, with everyone wearing a youthful and cheerful smile. Among them were students in college, office workers in the society, parents with their children. Though they differ in age, gender, occupation, they share a mutual identity—the member of Wu Xie. “Actually, I can’t figure out why it appeals to me, but it does.” Liang laughed.

Group photo

It was a normal day with tedious work when Lee received an invitation to attend the anniversary celebration. It has been 9 years since he graduated from university. Several wonderful memories occurred to him, from daily training to formal competitions, from the autumn outing to the farewell party. Recalling those memorable experiences, Lee accepted the invitation without hesitation and then was invited into a WeChat group in which he had a reunion with several old friends and met with fellows from different generations. On the celebration, Lee watched a dramatic show designed carefully by his inferiors. It seemed that Lee was impressed by the dynamic and contagious vibe so deeply that he couldn’t hold back his enthusiasm. He even returned to the playground with other fellows to review those movements striking in his heart and so did those days. Liang sent their training photos to the WeChat group attached to the sentence, “Look! Additional training.” Someone commented shortly, “It’ s really an unusual day.”

For all these 36 years, “Spirit” is what Wuxie club has been eager to hand on to the next generation. GDUFS hopes this spirit will flourish more and more on campus in the years to come.