East Wu Tai Chi Alliance of Australia – 7th Public Welfare Training Program
Date: February 18, 2019 – First day of the 7th Public Welfare Training Program
Location: 851 Whitehorse Rd, Box Hill
Teacher Wendy tells a story
Once upon a time, there was a man who worked tirelessly day and night, exhausting himself both physically and mentally just to give his family a better life. Eventually, he fell seriously ill from overwork and died. When he descended to the underworld and met the King of Hell (Yan Wang), he was filled with anger and resentment. He brought a complaint to the Jade Emperor, accusing Yan Wang of being unjust—asking why a family head like him, who had sacrificed his very life for his loved ones, should end up in hell after death.
The Jade Emperor grabbed him and pulled him up to the heavens, parting the clouds to show him what was happening in the mortal world.
He saw his two beloved sons, disheveled and filthy, crawling on all fours like dogs with people riding on their backs in exchange for leftover food scraps. He saw his wife dragging their daughter along as she remarried to become a concubine, suffering frequent beatings; their young daughter had been violated.
What broke his heart the most was seeing his elderly mother, her eyes blinded from crying, dressed in rags, dragging her dog-bitten, bloody leg through the bitter north wind as she begged for food, stumbling with every step…
He couldn’t bear to watch any longer. In anguish, he cried out:
“If I were still alive, at least they wouldn’t be suffering so terribly…”
The Jade Emperor said:
“You don’t understand that you must first protect yourself. By letting go of your life and leaving your family behind to suffer in the human world, your sin is grave—do you not deserve to go to hell?”
“Only by protecting yourself can you truly care for and love your family; only by strengthening your own body can you reduce the burden on your family and society!”
This concept has now become an urgent and enthusiastic health motto among the teachers and students of the East Wu Tai Chi Alliance.
The majority of participants are middle-aged and elderly individuals with chronic illnesses, including cancer survivors, high-risk post-operative patients, and people with disabilities. Ages range from sixth-grade primary school students to elderly participants as old as 94. Among them are Australian radio hosts, the director of the Chinese Traditional Medicine Hall of Australia, and many who have traveled long distances after hearing about the program’s reputation. Participants include community leaders, couples attending together, mothers and sons, and entire families and groups of friends joining as one.
Each time a new term opens, it sparks an unprecedented rush to register—entry codes are in high demand and hard to come by. Many volunteers step forward with love and dedication to help pass on this cultural heritage. Chinese Tai Chi has truly taken root in the hearts of the Australian people.
At East Wu Tai Chi Alliance, it’s not just about teaching forms and routines—it emphasizes starting with the fundamentals of Chen-style Tai Chi, following the official national-level curriculum for graded training, and beginning with foundational exercises that focus on health preservation and the protection of joints and bones.
Blind, reckless practice and the pursuit of quick results are firmly avoided. Instead, there is a strict emphasis on warming up before practice, protecting the knees before learning movements, and progressing step by step with a rigorous and scientifically sound approach.
Because of this, students who join are deeply impressed and share their experience—one tells ten, ten tell a hundred. Without any advertisements or promotion, the number of eager learners continues to grow, and they find it hard to stop once they’ve started.
The core philosophy of the East Wu Tai Chi Alliance is unity and collective strength—and it is this very belief that forms the greatest driving force behind its growth.
At the first lesson of every new term, Teacher Wendy always begins by teaching about devotion, compassion, and the importance of preventing illness before it occurs, as well as strengthening oneself through the inheritance of traditional culture.
At East Wu, countless behind-the-scenes heroes—volunteers and teaching assistants—devote their hearts and efforts with selfless dedication. Through their love and care, they help fellow community members step out of loneliness, support one another, and find warmth in unity.
Practicing Tai Chi has become more than just exercise—it is a bridge of positive energy that connects people from all walks of life in a foreign land, helping them build strong minds, healthy bodies, and meaningful connections.
At the opening ceremony of the 7th Public Welfare Training Class, senior students in their 70s and 80s proudly performed full splits, impressing and earning enthusiastic applause and cheers from newcomers to Tai Chi.
An elderly Western student—who had undergone complete hip replacement—relied solely on body language and unwavering dedication to learn Tai Chi. His joyful experience of achieving both health and happiness deeply inspired and uplifted all the new students.
At the East Wu Tai Chi Alliance, students of all ages, skill levels, and interests can find courses tailored to their needs for personal growth and fulfillment.
Elderly participants and those with chronic illnesses often experience a sense of sudden clarity and lasting benefit through the instructor’s rigorous teaching of Health Qigong Ba Duan Jin.
Meanwhile, beginners receive structured and standardized training through the graded curriculum of Chen-style Tai Chi fundamental techniques, preparing them for official level examinations.
Young people and men tend to favor the powerful, dynamic, and fluid Chen-style Tai Chi Essential 18 Forms, known for their strength and vigor.
Meanwhile, many graceful women are captivated by Teacher Xu Qinlan’s elegant and balanced Cloud-and-Water Fan Form, which blends softness and strength with heroic flair. In its alternating slow and fast movements—like flowing clouds and running water—they find not only highly visual appeal, but also endless joy in expressing their graceful posture and beauty.