Our reporter Li Yiping
At the scene of the 17th Tai Chi and traditional martial arts competition of the "Jingwu Cup" of the Shanghai Urban Amateur League Citizen Martial Arts Festival in 2019, among many teams of middle-aged and elderly enthusiasts wearing plain-colored martial arts uniforms with white hair, chicken skin, and immortal style bones, a team composed entirely of young people attracted the attention of many viewers. Although there is a lot of difference in age, the members of the Shanghai Yongnian team appear to be calm and skillful in every move they perform.
Most of the members of this Shanghai Yongnian team are under 30 years old. Although they are named "Shanghai Yongnian", in fact many of the team members came to Shanghai from Jiangsu, Anhui and other places to compete.
"In the beginning, we were an organization initiated by a group of friends who loved martial arts in school. Later, many of them came to work and live in Shanghai after graduation, and this martial arts organization developed into the current Shanghai Yongnian Team."
It turned out that most of the team members were alumni of Anhui Agricultural University. They were attracted by Gu Yongzhong, a boxing teacher at the school, and joined the martial arts practice together.
After graduation, many team members dispersed to work and live in various places, and the annual Shanghai "Jingwu Cup" Tai Chi and traditional martial arts competition became a platform for everyone to get together.
"Although we rarely practice together, every year during the Jingwu Cup, we gather in Shanghai to communicate and talk about the stories that happened during the year through the martial arts competition that everyone has always loved."
Dr. Zhang Xinjie and Teacher Gu are watching the game
From its origins on campus to gathering in Shanghai, the "Jingwu Cup" has become a platform for mutual communication among the members of the Shanghai Yongnian Team, and has also witnessed their friendship becoming more and more mellow with martial arts.
Recently, in addition to the old team members, the Yongnian team, which has been promoting martial arts in Shanghai for many years, has also welcomed many new team members. At only 19 years old, Chen Shanglong is the youngest member of the Shanghai Yongnian team participating this time, and he is also everyone’s favorite junior.
Everyone’s favorite junior brother-Chen Shanglong
"I am currently studying in college in Shanghai. I saw the daily activities of the Yongnian team by chance. Because I am also interested in traditional culture such as martial arts, I contacted and joined the team." The energetic and uplifting atmosphere in the team is what Chen Shanglong likes most.
"Everyone here is of similar age and has similar interests. We welcome more young enthusiasts to join us."
Ningbo Junior Brother-Gao Tongfei
See you in 2020~
Machine-translated from the Chinese original 缘起校园 相聚上海， “上海永念队”传统武术焕发“青春活力” (published 2020-05-22). WeChat original ↗