The initial Chin Woo Kung-Fu Journey took place in December 2002.  It was one of the coldest winters in recent history in the southern part of China,  Guangzhou and Hong Kong.  Our group had to take shelter in a Mongolian tent inside the theme park of Splendours of China in Shenzhen, a satellite city between Hong Kong and Guangzhou. We had seminars hosted by well-known Masters, meals that are so delicious as long as you don’t find out what is in the food, wine that tasted like rocket fuel and watched top Wu-Shu athletes in training with movements that defied gravity. World heritage sights and breathtaking architectures and landscapes. A journey of seeking out the beautiful traditions of China, through sight, sound and taste. A discovery journey of traditional martial skills and friendship. Since then this journey has taken place every four years in 2006, 2010, 2014 and the 5th one to take place at December 2018.

This proposed 5th Chin Woo New Zealand Kung Fu Journey 2018 will depart from NZ on December 23rd.  First stop is Shanghai, Wuxi and Nanjing (the ten-times Chinese capital) then ride on the bullet train to Guangzhou, visiting interesting sites and sampling local delicacies for the first 11/12 days, then Hydrofoil to Hong Kong for another 6 or 7 days of training, sightseeing and friendship. The tour ends on January 8th, 2019 to fly back to NZ.  Interested members please write to chinwoo@actrix.co.nz no later than late May for the updated details of this quadrennial event.

The competition events will include:

• traditional Chin Woo empty hands and weapons form
• the IWUF competition empty hands and weapons forms
• Chinese calligraphy
• Chinese painting
• Chinese chess

Prior to this biennial tournament, as part of an update to the World Chin Woo Championship judging management program, a refresher course will be held for all current international and local judges to be updated/upskilled before the competition event. This is a certification programme recognised by the World Chin Woo Federation. The course will be held over two days on 7^th and 8^th August.

Immediately after the 15^th World Chin Woo event, the Tianjin Chin Woo organisation will hold their first World Chin Woo Huo Yuan-Jia Cup tournament in commemoration of the founder of the Chin Woo Movement Huo Yuan-Jia’s 150^th birthday anniversary. The tournament will be held from 14^th to the 16^th August. Tianjin is in the Hebei province, about 1,300km north-east of Yuyao.

Chin Woo New Zealand (CWNZ) is currently making all arrangements to facilitate all officials, athletes and supporters to attend this triple-event. All athletes will be selected based on their merit and commitment by CWNZ’s Chief Wushu Coach George Guo who will be accompanying the team to China. All officials such as Team Leader and Manager will be appointed by the Chin Woo New Zealand Central Committee. Any Chin Woo New Zealand members wishing to attend as supporters are welcomed. Please email chinwoo@actrix.co.nz for information on conditions and cost to attend this mega-triple event of the year.

Chin Woo New Zealand will be performing at the Auckland Lantern Festival this weekend (3rd-4th March 2018). 

Come watch some kung fu action! 7:30pm Saturday and Sunday, see you there.

The day turned out fine and warm and allowed use of the school field to showcase to family and friends what the students had learnt throughout the year.

Special thanks goes to Coach Guo for continuing to guide and train all of the students. The standard of performance, especially in the young, clearly increases every year.

Master Kenneth Liu is the Founding Patron and Life President of Chin Woo New Zealand and an 8th Duan holder certified by the China Wu-Shu Federation, a small group of elite Chinese martial arts practitioners from around the world.

Novice Grade (1 star)
Daniel Wang

Grade One (1 star 1 gold stripe)
Angela Chen
Jessie Chen
Becky Cheng
Rooney Do
Poppy Fill
Brandon Huang
Andy Kwok
Tina Kwok
Spencer Li
Sepanta Seyedsalehi
Jacob Soykan
Susan Sun

Grade Two (1 star 2 gold stripes)
Victor Bao
Kevin Guo
Heo Wei Hsu
Jim Hsu
Kylie Lee
Yin Chi Lee
Lawrence Li
Andrew Lu
Annie Sun
Wesley Wang
Spencer Wong
Ella Young
James Young
Coco Zhu
Link Zhu

Grade Three (1 star 3 stripes)
Nick Ewens
Corrina Lichthardt
Farah Thien

Grade Four (2 stars 1 stripe)
Mark Botting
Michelle Lee
Tony Lee

Grade Five (2 stars 2 stripes)
Rangiatea Buchanan
Helen Cheng

Hennie was passionate about martial arts and has been a practitioner in various Chinese and Japanese styles for over 50 years and the founder of Wellington School of Tai Chi Chuan in 2001. He has made great contributions to Tai Chi in the Wellington area.

An ardent supporter of the Chin Woo movement in New Zealand, he became a Chin Woo member in 2000 and was a participant of our 2006 Chin Woo Kung Fu Journey travelling and training in China and Hong Kong. He will be missed by all of us.

Our deepest condolences to Hennie’s family.

The membership fee is still $20 per year, and the membership form can be downloaded from the ‘Download’ section of this website. Please return the completed form and membership fee.

Your membership fee can be paid in the following ways:

• A direct deposit into the Chin Woo bank account. Please use your name as the reference.
• By sending the completed form and a cheque to Chin Woo Athletic Association of New Zealand, PO Box 6971, Wellesley Street, Auckland 1141.
• Finally, you can hand-deliver the membership form and fee. If you’re in Auckland then please give it to Regional Director Mr George Guo at his training venue in Auckland. If you’re in Wellington, then Chairman Peter Yu in Wellington can be found at Martial Arts Supplies, Level 1, 45 Courtenay Place, Wellington.

We thank you for your continued support and look forward to seeing you at Chin Woo events in 2015/16!

The journey was an amazing experience. It was filled with exciting activities that incorporated a lot of history, culture, and philosophy. From the climb up the golden summit of the mystical Wudang Mountain, to Bagua training on the cruise of Yangtze River as we traversed the beautiful gorges, to seeing the traditional lion dance at the school of folk hero Wong Fei Hong, practising Tai Chi and Wing Tsun with our Chin Woo friends in China at their training halls, paying homage to the late Grandmaster Yip Man at his memorial hall in Foshan, and capping it off with a rare exhibition on Bruce Lee in Hong Kong. It’s not often you get a chance to immerse yourself in environments where so many great influences of Chinese martial art are found. It was an experience of a lifetime because I have learned so much on this journey.

Nigel

This was my first trip to China, which is absurd seeing as I’ve been interested in Chinese martial arts for most of my life. So in a way it was like coming to something I felt I knew but had never met.

My first impressions were of a vivid land where the very rules of life differ sharply from those I grew up with; there is a carefree spontaneity, a clockwork-like chaos that seems to work perfectly as it balances on the edges of toppling over. This I found very refreshing.

Our excursions to various Buddhist/Taoist/Confucian temples revealed a richness of faith where clouds of incense honour ancestors and pay homage to timeless truth; an ancient way of life still very much alive.

The trip to Wudang Mountain, the spiritual home of Taoism and Tai Chi, was a personal highlight. An arduous climb up ancient rock-hewn steps brought us to the summit where I was lucky enough to practice chi-sau with my comrades and my Sifu as the mighty Golden Palace loomed behind us. The immense majesty of these mountains can have the effect of making one feel at the same time insignificant and immortal.

Meeting up with other kung fu brethren in Fatsan was a very enriching experience. We shared our kung fu, enjoying the similarities and differences, and deepened our understanding a little bit more. (Also, we took a lot of photos of each other).

This trip will not soon be forgotten. The people we met, the welcomes we received, the places we visited, from sprawling cities to tranquil temples to spectacular mountain tops; all of these will stay in my heart as faces of China.

 Jeremy

We went to many places around China in a large tour bus. We got to stop at cities daily and stayed in good hotels that had been thought out properly. We had many great Tour Guides to show us these different cities. They showed us around different sites as we were in our bus and there was much history behind it all. One of my favourite sites that we went to was the theme park in Shenzhen, Guangzhou where they had miniaturised lots of different iconic sites from around China all to be at one place. They also had shows about various Chinese shows which was very interesting to watch. I remember one show where there was an amazing dancer who could somehow bend her body in many ways you would not believe humanly possible.

I also remember looking at the Dazu Rock Carvings in Chongqing. There were many interesting rock carvings made by one person, but were preserved for many thousands of years. This site really stood out for me and was given “World Heritage Site” status in 1999.

Another fine experience I also found pleasing was conquering the Wudan Mountain. We spent a good part of the day walking up this amazing mountain and looking at the view from the top was pleasing. The view was not only spectacular but my family placed our mark at the top, by getting our very own padlock with our family name to prove we were here!

Another aspect of the journey I also enjoyed was the food and the experience. I didn’t know much Chinese before the journey, only having done a year’s worth of Mandarin at school but being exposed to China itself, forced someone like me to make an effort to give it a go and try to understand. The food was also quite interesting and well planned from our tour guide. We tried different foods each day from the various cities we went to. One of my favourite dishes was the river fish, besides the fact that it had many bones, it was much enjoyable and comparable to the fish at home.

Chris (Age 13)

Going on this journey has made me learn a lot about the history of China, and about the special places and landmarks of this special place. I have also learned about some different styles of kung fu. There were also some great places and times to relax, like on the Yangtze River cruise, and shopping in Hong Kong. I have really enjoyed this great experience.

Jaden (Age 12)