chinwoo Archives - Zhi Lee Photography

Chinese Martial Arts (Wushu) Photo Shoot

March 17, 2015March 17, 2015
by Zhi Lee

Promoting Chinese Wushu — Model: Zhi Lee
Photographers: Vijay Prema and Zhi Lee

Story Behind the Shoot

Martial arts has been a passion of mine since I started in the local school club back in 1997. Training in the sport since my teenage years has sharpened my motor skills (or so I would like to think) and given me the agility and strength to move on to more adventurous sports like rockclimbing. Really, the qualities that define you as a person get established through the activities you immerse yourself in. For me, that was Wushu.

After migrating to New Zealand in 2001, I felt a part of me missing and finally found the Chinwoo Athletic Association in 2004. At that time, we had a class of about 4 students. It’s now grown to at least a hundred under the coaching of Coach George Guo, and more recently my Wushu brothers who have gone on to take on some of the coaching. Duty called and I was conscripted into the Singapore army, during which I trained with the guys from NUS Wushu for a year. Unfortunately I fractured my right ankle and due to injuries from other sports, have “retired” from Wushu but it’s spirit lives on!

The reason for this shoot is to promote the sport within New Zealand. All athletes who participated did so on a voluntary basis for the same cause. We would like to see the next generation of athletes benefit from the same fun, rigour and discipline that is Wushu training. Thank you to athletes Michael Yip, Siu Yuat Wong and Jeffrey Wang for taking the time out to do this. Thank you to Vijay Prema for helping with the setup, and thanks to the Wongs for lending us the venue.