A Mergence of Martial Arts with Cultural Learning —— Martial Arts Classes at Riga Wushu Sports School restarts

“Zhengtitui, Cetitui, Waibaitui, Lihetui; Yubei, Zou, etc. ” Wushu, as a beautiful card of traditional Chinese culture, is very popular among overseas people. On 14 November 2022 from 15:00-20:30 Latvian time, martial arts classes at Riga Wushu Sports School, a teaching site affiliated to Confucius Institute at University of Latvia, were officially launched, taught by Zhong Mengting, a volunteer martial arts teacher.

The martial arts course was divided into children’s classes, adult Tai Chi interest classes and martial arts team training courses, with a total of about 50 students. At the beginning of the class, Ms Zhong introduced herself in Chinese, English, Russian and Latvian, saying that the language and culture of different countries have own unique charm and that she was happy to experience the charm of Chinese martial arts, Chinese language and traditional Chinese culture together with everyone. Then the students enthusiastically introduced themselves to the martial arts teacher.

In the children’s class and the martial arts team’s training class, Ms Zhong designed a fun game using the students’ names or characteristics as a medium and using ball as a means to get to know each other and to warm up before the class. Afterwards, Ms Zhong led the students in flexibility training, such as Zhengyatui, Ceyatui, Hengcha, Shucha, etc. Then the basic martial arts training was carried out, including Zhibaixing tuifa, Shenquxing tuifa, jumping movements, etc. During the exercises, the students shouted out the Chinese command “Ready, Go” loudly and forcefully, showing their courage in every move. Afterwards, Ms Zhong led the students in a review of the 20 forms chang quan. In the adult Tai Chi interest class, teacher and students warmed up with rhythmic and dynamic music and then practised “Zhanzhuang” with traditional Chinese music, releasing stress and relaxation through breathing in and out and regulating the breath. Then, Ms Zhong explained the steps and techniques of Tai Chi and practised the ‘Ye Ma Fen Zong” movement of Tai Chi. Finally, Ms Zhong led the students in a relaxation exercise to relax their muscles. During the relaxation exercises, the students exchanged martial arts training tips and traditional Chinese culture with Ms Zhong. At the same time, Ms Zhong presented the students with bookmarks and keychains with traditional Chinese characteristics, hoping that this gift would become a window for the students to learn about traditional Chinese culture.

In the martial arts programme, martial arts teacher Zhong Mengting incorporates Chinese language teaching into the martial arts curriculum. Through easy-to-understand lesson explanations and standard movement demonstrations,  Latvian children, youths and adults can not only learn the punches and kicks of the martial arts, but also learn Chinese while practising the martial arts.

“正踢腿、侧踢腿、外摆腿、里合腿；预备、走……”。武术，作为中国传统文化的一张靓丽名片，深受海外民众喜爱。拉脱维亚时间2022年11月14日15:00-20:30，拉脱维亚大学孔子学院下设教学点里加武术体育学校的武术课，时隔两年后再次正式开课，由武术志愿者教师钟梦婷授课。
武术课程主要分为儿童班、成人太极兴趣班和武术队训练课程，大约共有50人。武术课伊始，钟老师分别用汉语、英语、俄语和拉语进行自我介绍，感悟不同语言文化的独特魅力，很高兴能与大家一起感受中华武术、中文与中国传统文化的魅力。随后，学生们热情地向武术教师介绍自己。
在儿童班与武术队训练班，钟老师以学生们的名字或特点等为媒介，借助一个球设计了趣味小游戏。在游戏过程中，钟老师与学生们了解了彼此，同时也达到课前热身的效果。而后，钟老师带领学生们进行身体柔韧性训练，如正压腿、侧压腿、横叉、竖叉等练习。接着开展武术基本功训练，包括直摆性腿法、屈伸性腿法、跳跃动作等。在练习过程中，学生们响亮地喊出中文口令“预备、走”，声音铿锵有力、一招一式豪气尽显。随后，钟老师带领学生们复习了20式长拳。在成人太极兴趣班，伴随着韵律感十足的动感音乐进行了热身活动，随后伴随着中国传统音乐练习站桩，通过呼吸吐纳，调节气息，释放压力，放松心情。接着，钟老师为学生们讲解了太极步法与手法等，练习了太极拳的动作“野马分鬃”。最后，钟老师带领学生们进行放松练习。在放松练习的过程中，学生们与武术教师交流习武心得，交流中国传统文化；同时，钟老师为学生们送上具有中国传统特色的书签、钥匙扣等，希望这份礼物能成为学生们了解中国传统文化的一扇窗。
在武术课程中，钟梦婷将中文教学融入武术课程，通过易懂的课程讲解、标准的动作演示，使拉脱维亚的儿童、青少年与成年人既可以学习武术的拳法、脚法等，还能在练习武术的过程中学习中文。