Martial artist promotes kungfu among Nantong residents

Li Xia teaches proper form to a tai chi student. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

Martial artist Li Xia, who is also an inheritor of Chen Family tai chi, has been promoting martial arts over the past 20 years.

At weekends, Li and her students can usually be found practicing tai chi at the Nantong Museum or Wenfeng Park.

"Practicing tai chi is a good way to stay healthy," said Li, whose passion for the art inspired her to promote tai chi in addition to long boxing and Southern China-style boxing.

Li has been practicing the two styles of boxing since she was a child, but was not interested in tai chi because she saw it as something for middle-aged people.

But as she grew up, she learned more about it and began to take a liking to it. In 2018, she became a student of Yang Hefa, the 12th-generation inheritor of Chen Family tai chi.

Five years ago, Li became a visiting professor at a higher vocational college in Nantong to teach martial arts. Over the years, she has taught thousands of students, many of whom have made martial arts a significant part of their lives.

This year, the Taiping Community in Chongchuan district invited Li to be the coach of the Tongxinyuan Martial Arts Team, which currently has more than 30 members.

"I'm delighted to see that more and more people are falling in love with martial arts," noted Li, adding that she hopes to arouse more people's interest in Chinese martial arts in the future.