Por Esteban Mikkelsen Jensen and Xi Yue
BUENOS AIRES, March 10 (Xinhua) — Tai Ji Quan, also known as Tai Chi, is a Chinese martial art that has a growing development in Argentina, which was evidenced by a successful seminar held in Buenos Aires by the Chinese master Chen Bing.
The workshop was held in the Argentine capital, between Wednesday and Sunday, under the organization of the Chen Bing Taiji Academy Argentina, directed by the Argentine Martín Ugarte, 48 years old.
Among the more than 200 participants there were students from several countries, such as Colombia, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, the United Kingdom, France and the United States, as part of Chen Bing’s (52) tour of Latin America.
The practice of Chinese martial art has had exponential growth in Argentina in recent years and, according to Ugarte, “there are people who come because they want to improve their health, there are people who want to learn to defend themselves, there are people who want the social part, to be within a group.”
In an interview with Xinhua, Ugarte, who is a public accountant and has a degree in Business Administration, said that he began practicing Tai Chi in 1995.
In 2003 he abandoned his profession to dedicate himself exclusively to his Tai Chi school in the Belgrano neighborhood, north of Buenos Aires.
In 2010, on his second trip to China, he met Master Chen Bing in the village of Chenjiagou, Henan Province, who appointed him as his representative in 2017 and as his disciple in 2018.
In this discipline, Ugarte explained, “the first part is relaxation” and then “elongation, stretching, posture correction, ensuring that the shoulders are dropped, that they are not raised, lowering tension, strengthening the legs and different exercises “.
“Then the form is done, which are a series of linked movements that are learned little by little in each class,” he indicated.
The school has offices in different neighborhoods, such as Caballito, Villa Puerredón and Colegiales, as well as different cities, such as Chivilcoy, Chacabuco, Mercedes, Ituzaingó and Morón, in the province of Buenos Aires.
“The first day I fell in love, because I saw that combination of smooth movements with quick discharge,” said Ugarte about the Chen family’s style.
In this regard, he highlighted that “it has a lot of health benefits”, such as “the correction of postures and breathing”, since “one sleeps better at night, is more relaxed, strengthens the legs, calms the anxiety” and “cultivate patience.”
Furthermore, in the martial part, “it is a method of self-defense”, so one learns “how to defend oneself against an attack, against a blow, against a kick, against a grip, to use the strength of the other to redirect it and resolve it.” .
Ugarte described China as his “second country” and said that next September he will make his eighth trip to the Asian country, along with a group of around 15 students, “to train with teacher Chen Bing in the village of Chenjiagou.”
Colombian Jorge Franco (55), one of the students who participated in the seminar, highlighted to Xinhua that it is a “harmonious” sport.
He expressed that “physically, flexibility, body awareness keeps you in shape, and mentally, it is a form of stabilization, because Tai Chi in slowness makes you aware of each movement.”
“Tai Chi is a way of returning to the body, movement by movement, and that generates a certain awareness of breathing, of the body, etc., and a certain stability of being in the present moment,” he added.
According to Franco, a native of Medellín, this practice “contrasts strongly with the rhythm and lifestyle that we lead.”
Likewise, Ariel Calo (50), residing in Buenos Aires, commented that “patience and passion” are combined when practicing Tai Chi, something he has been doing for 15 years.
“I admire Master Chen Bing very much. The truth is that it is a pleasure, an honor, to be able to be here. For us, seeing the details, each posture, each movement, the relaxation he has, how he roots himself in the floor, is very interesting and very exciting,” he emphasized.
He also stressed that people of different ages, both children and older adults, can practice this discipline.
“I have seen children as young as five or six years old practicing Tai Chi, even very old people, and I once had a partner who had Parkinson’s and the truth is that it helped her a lot and you could see that she was improving little by little,” Calo mentioned.
According to Master Chen, “I am very happy to see that so many Latin Americans like Tai Ji Quan. It is a traditional Chinese culture with a long history. Latin Americans have deepened their understanding of Chinese culture through the study and understanding of the “Tai Ji Quan.”
“Many people have even visited China many times because of their inclination of Tai Ji Quan. Precisely in this way, the Latin and Chinese people have become very close,” Chen commented.
2024-03-11 05:25:29
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