CulturalFest Countdown: Meet Husky Wushu Team
Wushu is contemporary Chinese martial arts, a modern exhibition sport that is derived from traditional Chinese fighting systems.Less than two weeks to go until the CulturalFest Performance Showcase, featuring 11 performing artists & groups who will share cultures from around the world on the Meany Hall stage! Learn more about one of this year’s CulturalFest performers, Husky Wushu Team!
Less than two weeks to go until the CulturalFest Performance Showcase, featuring 11 performing artists & groups who will share cultures from around the world on the Meany Hall stage! Learn more about one of this year’s CulturalFest performers, Husky Wushu Team!
How did your group begin? How did you begin as a performer? Tell us a little bit of your story.
Wushu practice at the UW has largely been an underground thing, only known about by a few dedicated practitioners. The Yue Fei Wushu club was the earliest known group to practice Wushu at UW. The members were experienced and learned Wushu from prominent local teachers like Hong Yijao, former Zhejiang wushu team member; Mark Jackson, former British national team member; and Michael Li. At their height in 2004, they had as many as 20 members practicing at the IMA. But they never became official, and major obstacles caused the group to eventually dissipate to just a few dedicated athletes.
The next UW Wushu group was another unofficial fledgling group that represented the small Wushu population in Seattle. Weekly practices rarely had more than 3 people, but this routine set the stage for the creation of the current wushu club as the group gained more interested practitioners and participated at several large performances and competed at tournaments.
We became an official club in 2009 and are now a larger group that practices regularly at the IMA. We regularly perform for UW student organizations and also many other non-UW organizations within Seattle like Sakura-Con. We also compete at the annual Collegiates competition against other universities, along with the annual CMAT competition at UC Berkeley, the largest Chinese martial arts competition in the United States.
What do you hope the audience will take away from your performance? What do you hope they will learn about the culture(s) that your performance represents?
We hope that the audience can develop an appreciation for Wushu. It takes many hours of training and practice to execute the demonstrations.
Also, we hope that the audience learns that you don't have to be Chinese to be able to practice Wushu. We have performers of different nationalities including Filipino, Peruvian, Vietnamese, and White.
Since you are a returning group, what has performing in past CulturalFests meant to you? What can the audience expect to be different this year?
Performing in the past has meant a great deal for this team. It has let us spread awareness of Wushu, given publicity for our club, and given us valuable experience of performing under the stress of a large audience. We have new members this year who are experienced in different styles and weapons, such as mantis, monkey, and spear to name a few.
Additionally, older members have worked on different/more advanced forms to demonstrate.
Is there anything else you would like people to know about your performance?
Cheering is acceptable and encouraged. If you like what you see, go ahead and show your appreciation. A common phrase in Chinese to cheer is "JIAYOU!", which literally translates to "ADD/MORE GAS".
CulturalFest Ticket Information:
General admission tickets are on sale now for $15 online or at the door. Discounted student tickets will be available for $10 in advance at the FIUTS office (HUB 206).
CulturalFest is much more than just the Performance Showcase! Join us for free cultural activities at the International Expo and support FIUTS programs at the Reception and Silent Auction before the performances.