Kazakhstan wushu wrestlers collected a record number of medals at the 9th World Kung Fu Championship in China

The fact that traditionally the World Cup takes place every two years, however, the previous meeting was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, further enhances the significance of the places won. A four-year break was formed, and all the participants prepared for the 9th World Championship with double zeal.

Among the medalists is Tatyana Zhigalkina, master of sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the heroine of a number of publications that previously appeared on the pages of the Moskovsky Komsomolets publication in Kazakhstan. In an exclusive interview, she shared her impressions and talked about the origin of the “Western” pun: the confusion in the use of the terms “kung fu” and “wushu”.

– Tatyana, tell me, is this your first big victory?

– I have been practicing the martial art of taijiquan not since childhood, but since about 30 years old. Only now, after about 20 years, it’s time to participate in different competitions. In the spring, I participated in the major international tournament Moscow Wushu Stars 2023, which was attended by over 600 athletes from eight countries: Afghanistan, Belarus, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China and Russia. Among the participants of the competition were the leading athletes of the world, Europe and Asia, multiple champions and prize-winners of prestigious tournaments.

Together with me, our country was represented by a successful pupil Anastasia Mironenko. She competed in a different age category. As a result of the competition, both of us managed to achieve the highest marks of the jury members – gold medals in the Taijiquan nomination. Also, in a stubborn confrontation, I won a silver medal in one of the types of wushu – taijijian (sword). There are many prize-winning places in international and Kazakh tournaments in the piggy bank, but a completely different level, a new level – the World Championship.

More than 1500 athletes took part in the World Cup. Was it difficult to move to the podium?

– Yes and no. After all, first of all, kung fu is a struggle with oneself. Of course, there was not enough team support, because, despite the rather large team, among the adults from Kazakhstan, it was in the “Taijiquan” section that I represented the country alone. In my age category – women group E (age from 40 to 60 years) – there were no other athletes from our country. And this is a double responsibility.

As a result, I managed to win two bronze medals, which is an excellent result. I was submitted in two forms. The first type without weapons, the second type with weapons – jian (straight sword).

The fact is that in Chinese wushu there are many different styles. Imitative ones that we often see in films: the style of a crane, a tiger, a monkey, etc. At the same time, there are styles that do not belong to animals, but have their own specifics. Taijiquan is one of the internal wushu styles. This means that training takes place from the inside out, that is, first of all, the spirit, consciousness, attention are trained – and this leads to changes in the body.

— Your experience is unique. How did you come to start sharing this art?

“After many years of regular training, I can feel the positive impact of kung fu. And I sincerely want as many people as possible to be involved in this culture. Since 2008, I have been a personal trainer for BSB employees and have seen similar improvements in quality of life for them.

What are transformations, how are they expressed?

— People become more self-possessed, balanced. For those who are immersed in practice, their horizons expand significantly, their worldview changes, and a great healing effect is manifested: people get sick less often, become more resistant to external stimuli. This can be achieved by achieving a balance of mind and body.

Taijiquan literally translates as “Fist of the Great Limit” or “martial art of the Great Limit”. For us, such a formulation is perceived as a path to some unattainable level, height. In Chinese philosophy, the Great Limit is a state similar to our golden mean, when you know how to stay in a state of balance. That is, this is the martial art of the golden mean. People who practice for a long time begin to feel that they are not carried away somewhere in the direction of anger and aggression, grief and despondency.

– You mentioned the term “martial art”. What is kung fu about? More about contact martial arts or spiritual balance?

– To answer this question, we need a little digression into history. Back in the last century, there was confusion with terminology due to those Hollywood films of the 70s and 80s, as well as the peculiarities of the dialect. The fact is that there is a term “wushu” – a literal translation of “martial art”. Everything that China does is all Wushu. At the same time, wushu includes many styles.

There is also the term “kung fu”, which translates as “skill”. At first, in the Western world, and we are all about China, there was an erroneous interpretation of terms or a substitution of concepts.

Bruce Lee is the man who first brought wushu outside of China. When he arrived in America, he created his own wushu school. He told his pupils that he would teach them wushu. That is the martial art. But for some reason at that time the term “wushu” was not accepted. Perhaps due to the difficulty of pronunciation for the English-speaking population, perhaps for other reasons, it did not take root. Then Bruce Lee began to say that he would teach everyone his kung fu. He meant that he would teach his skills … But the Americans really liked this term, maybe because of the sonorous pronunciation. He settled down. Since then, many have referred to the great variety of styles as kung fu, and not wushu, as it should be.

Now even China has come to terms with such a substitution of concepts. And the previously held world championship in traditional wushu this year was held under the name of the world championship in kung fu. There are also two more directions in wushu – sports wushu and wushu-sanda (sparring), in which various competitions are also held. But only traditional wushu can be practiced all your life without losing your health and improving your skills every year. In sports, a person reaches the peak of his physical form by the age of 19-20, then a decline begins, such is human physiology. While doing kung fu, practicing conscious movements, combining them with special breathing methods, imbued with oriental philosophy, it is possible to maintain an excellent physical shape for many years.

– That is, you can start practicing kung fu at the age of 40-50 and at the same time also qualify for the world championship?

– I’ll give you an example. Taking part in wushu tournaments, my wards – BSB employees – became winners more than once. Top-manager of the corporation Yuriy Georgiyevich Yeshchenko in his debut speech was awarded a diploma of the first degree and a gold medal in the Taijiquan nomination. Then, and it was 2017, by the unanimous decision of the panel of judges, he scored the maximum points for the technique of movements, the degree of complexity of the exercises and the overall impression. Last year, Almaty hosted the international tournament “Peaks of the Tien Shan”. Yuri Georgievich achieved another success in the Qigong nomination, having received a diploma for third place in the age group of 60 years and older. It should be noted that, despite his venerable age, he was ahead of many rivals who were much younger than him.

Along with him, two more of our colleagues also became winners. Thus, among women aged 40 to 59, a lawyer of the French House, Gulnara Aidymbekova, won a silver medal in the Taijitsise nomination, demonstrating the high technique of using a fan (as a weapon) in the style of taijiquan. Fatima Zhanabayeva, Caspian Food accountant, was awarded a bronze medal in the Qigong nomination – this is an internal work with the vital energy Qi.

Of course, having started training at the age of 50-60, it is difficult to qualify for the world championship. But in this case, the chances of living a long and healthy life increase. If not stopped, then slow down aging and all its inherent diseases.

– Tatyana, in conclusion, share your plans for the foreseeable future.

– Prepare for the next 10th World Kung Fu Championship, which will also be held in China in 2025. Since we managed to achieve bronze, now we want better results. Let’s aim for gold. And also continue to teach the colleagues of the corporation the wonderful great art of knowing oneself through taijiquan and qigong. I wish you all good health and longevity!