China martial arts prodigy, 5, often practises to point of tears is ready for May tournament
‘Tenacious’ youngster brushes off mum’s worries about training too much; hones skills, boosts fitness under watchful eye of her dad
A dedicated five-year-old Chinese girl is making a big impression online with her skilful and powerful martial arts performances.
Huang Zijun from Maoming, in southern China’s Guangdong province, has marvelled countless netizens with videos of her performing Hung Kuen, a representative martial art in southern China.
It is famous for its low and stable positions, powerful strikes with the arms and flexible hand skills. Many of its classic postures are named after animals, such as the tiger, snake and crane.
One of its most renowned practitioners was the legendary kung fu master and medicine man, Wong Fei-hung.
Huang shares the same surname as Wong Fei-hung. Her father, Huang Wencheng, is the inheritor of the Maonan (southern Maoming) school Hung Kuen and the president of Maoming’s Hung Kuen research association.
Huang senior said his daughter began learning Hung Kuen when she was three years old.
She became interested in the martial art while tagging along with him to training sessions.
The five-year-old trains over two hours a day from Monday to Thursday, and does more than six hours at the weekend.