At the Beijing Winter Olympics| "warriors" and "dancers" – Chinese martial artists serve as referees at the Winter Olympics

Changchun, February 9 (Xinhua) -- On the 9th, in the Beijing Winter Olympics Snowboarding Men's U-Shaped Track Skills Qualification Tournament, as the snow "dancers" soared into the sky, the eyes of snowboarders all over the world gathered here. At the other end of the field, the finishing referee Li Tingkui watched their "one move and one style" in the air, and the contestants did not know that the referee was actually a "martial arts professor" - one of the inheritors of the traditional Chinese martial art of Eight Pole Quan.

Li Tingkui inspected the preparation of the venue at the Beijing Winter Olympic Games. Xinhua News Agency reporter Xu Chang took the photo

Li Tingkui, 50, is an associate professor at the School of Physical Education of Jilin University, teaching martial arts and skiing. At the same time, he is also the inheritor of Changchun Bajiquan and is committed to promoting traditional Chinese martial arts culture.

"Wen has Taiji to secure the world, and Wu has eight poles to determine Qiankun." Li Tingkui introduced that the eight pole boxing is an important part of the traditional Chinese martial arts, paying attention to close short blows, hard fights, and open with fights, so it is also called "opening the door eight pole boxing".

Changchun has a good martial arts atmosphere and practice tradition. In 2001, Li Tingkui visited the martial arts master Sun Shengting and began practicing Changchun Eight Pole Quan. "From the beginning of his exposure to Eight Pole Quan, he was particularly interested in traditional martial arts culture." Li Tingkui said.

Learning martial arts is difficult, and it is also difficult to promote. Li Tingkui also took the opportunity of cultural exchanges abroad to promote traditional Chinese martial arts culture. In a year in London, England, from the residence to the classroom, you need to take the subway and then transfer to the bus, a round trip of 5 hours. "Seeing foreigners obsessed with martial arts, I'm happy to do it." He said.

By chance in 2010, Li Tingkui was hired as the head coach of the Egyptian national wushu team. In addition to teaching martial arts routines and sanda on a daily basis, he also taught Changchun Bajiquan in the National Martial Arts Instructor Training Class in Egypt, and the traditional Chinese martial arts planted seeds abroad.

"Sport is an important vehicle for the dissemination of culture." Li Tingkui said that martial arts are both mysterious and attractive to foreigners, and if we teach them with our hearts, they will gradually produce a cultural recognition in order to learn martial arts and then explore Chinese language and culture.

In fact, Li Tingkui and the snowboarding imported from abroad also have a "friendship" of nearly 20 years.

As one of the first snowboard referees in China, Li Tingkui witnessed the rapid development of the sport in China. In 2003, the Winter Sports Management Center of the State General Administration of Sport decided to develop a snowboard project. "As a scoring event, aerial skills and physical coordination are very important, so the athletes in the snowboard event are basically selected from the martial arts and gymnastics teams." Li Tingkui said.

The hardships of the "entrepreneurship" stage Li Tingkui are vividly remembered. He recalled that the athletes did not have a standard playing field at the beginning, minus 30 degrees Celsius, and the referees all stood in the cold wind and tore notes to score. Later, a referee drove his car over and temporarily built a "referee room"...

In recent years, riding on the east wind of the Beijing Winter Olympics, the software and hardware conditions for ice and snow sports in various places have improved significantly. On the field, Su Yiming, Gu Ailing... More and more Chinese snow players are beginning to shine on the international stage.

The "top stream" ice pier piers of the Winter Olympics, the slope obstacle course "Snow Great Wall" of Genting Ski Park... Like martial arts culture, China is showing its ice and snow culture to the world.

"I hope that the development of Chinese martial arts and ice and snow sports is getting better and better." Li Tingkui said.

Editors: Shuwen, Yu Sihui, Zheng Daojin, Yang Keran (Intern)