Our Ethnic Minority Children Want Kung Fu Classes!

"Kung Fu is stimulating and difficult at the same time. Each movement improves my physical strength and greatly motivates me to exercise. I really love it!"

- Laibah, age 16

Summer holidays mean different things to different people, but when we asked the children in our ethnic minority program what they would most like to do over the holidays, we were surprised to learn that they wanted to take Chinese Kung Fu lessons!

Kung Fu is a highly respected martial art that teaches students how to be disciplined, maintain good posture, and be coordinated and balanced, as well as appreciating etiquette and respect in Chinese culture. It also builds confidence, helps students to control their emotions and, if necessary, can be used for self-defense.

With the assistance of The Ming of Martial Arts Academy, we asked the martial arts instructors to create a two-month summer programme for July and August, totalling 8 lessons for 25 ethnic minority children aged 6 to 16, from On Tai and Shun Lee Estates.

I am pleased to report that all 25 students were highly engaged and completely loved the workout. They were even able to name 5 Kung Fu styles they learned in Chinese! Some of them might pursue this interest and achieve their black belts one day, others might recall the fun they had with their friends this summer, while practicing “Kick, Block, and Punch!”

To me, this is one of the funniest ways of learning another culture, thus fulfilling our major objectives of integrating our EM kids into the local Chinese Culture. I hope you enjoyed your summer break as much as our ethnic minority children did!

Siew Mei