Grandmaster Aiping cheng
Grandmaster Cheng was born in Hangzhou, China. In 1970, at the age of 15, she was selected to try out for the Zhejiang Wushu Team. Hundreds of children from the Zhejiang province of China endured a vigorous month of intensive wushu practice to earn a spot on their provincial professional wushu team. Grandmaster Cheng was selected for one of seven spots on the team (three girls and four boys). She moved into the Zhejiang Wushu Team training dormitories and began her martial arts career studying wushu, tai chi and sports medicine.
Every year, the wushu athletes from each provincial team compete against the other teams for a place on the elite China National Team. The wushu athletes on their provincial teams are the best in their provinces. The wushu atheletes on the China National Wushu Team are the best of the best. Grandmaster Cheng was first selected to be on the China National Wushu Team in 1973 after placing 1st in Long Fist and 3rd in All-Around in the 1973 national wushu competition. |
Grandmaster Cheng was selected to be on the China National Wushu Team again in 1974. The 1974 China National Wushu Team is the most famous and historically significant of all the teams. 1974 was the year President Nixon opened relations with China and engaged in a series of cultural exchanges between the two countries. The 1974 China Wushu Team was invited on a performance tour in the United States and performed for President Nixon on the White House lawn. Grandmaster Cheng, along with Jet Li and other fellow team members, introduced wushu to a fascinated American public.
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When Grandmaster Cheng emigrated to the United States and opened the Aiping Tai Chi and Wushu Center in Connecticut, she brought her vast knowledge of martial arts, sports medicine, and coaching techniques to her American students. Her American students have benefited from her teaching and coaching methods to go on and win numerous wushu and tai chi competitions and championships both in the US and in China. Many hundreds more have benefited from her teaching, learning tai chi and Qigong to improve their health, physical conditioning, and understanding of internal martial arts.
In 2008, Grandmaster Cheng retired from teaching wushu. In 2017, Grandmaster Cheng handed Aiping Tai Chi Center to her disciples Shifu Shirley Chock and Shifu Jonas Karosas to continue her legacy. In 2018, she moved to Austin, TX and opened Aiping Tai Chi Center - Austin. |