I had browsed through a number of traditional wushu video clips of YouTube. I had seen both the local and foreign contents. What can I say here is that the videos from Penang, Malaysia did attract my attention which features different masters performing different school of traditional kung fu. I believe in Penang we can find many kind of cultural treasures besides martial arts alone. Lots of them are well preserved for the future generations. I had been to Penang in 2004 but I couldn't find the chance to visit its chinese martial art association particularly the Penang Tang Lang Martial Art Association which was being founded by late Master Wong Kam Hong. It's all due to time constraint and I'm not familiar with the roads there. Maybe next time as I thought to myself.
Now back to the topic, also at the same time, I searched what's from my hometown, Malacca. The answer is there isn't much you can find apart from competition wushu. Anyhow, I managed to found one. It was from the Hung Gar Malaysia Malacca at Teochew Association of Malacca. The clan house is located at Jonker Street, the tourist hotspot area. Their martial art class is on every Tuesday night which begins from 8:00pm. Actually, they had uploaded a few of their primary traditional kung fu routines videos in YouTube. You may check them out.
Also, I was also being informed by a friend of mine that there are not just Hung Gar kung fu alone in Malacca but you can find WingChun kung fu and Five Ancestors Boxing as well. Anyhow the number of these schools practitioner are few nowaday. From here you can see that preservation and reviving efforts are much needed to be carried out as soon as possible like what is being done in Penang. Malacca Chinese Martial Art and Lion Dance Association needs to play an active role in this. Just like Penang, Malacca is also in UNESCO's list mentioned The World Heritage City. It would never be enough if we only preserving our historical buildings and monuments. Cultural treasures in terms of arts and crafts needs to be preserved as well. So, traditional wushu being passed down by 3 generations or more needs to be given attention. Eventhough we are in the midst of improving the state's competition wushu quality, traditional mustn't be simply sidelined just to give way to the development of modern wushu. There needs to be a coexistence between the modern and traditional because both of these are interdependent on each other.
"When there is no past, how could there be present? Let alone the future."
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
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