When I arrived with the New Zealand Wu Shu team for the First World Traditional Wu Shu Festival in China, I had no idea that this trip would be one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life. First stop, Shanghai.

NZ team at Shaolin temple

At Shanghai Airport I was bursting with excitement. I was in China, the birthplace of Jet Li, Bruce Lee and the whole Lee whanau! This was the home of the greatest martial artists in history, the home of Wu Shu. I was in martial arts heaven! We checked into our rooms at the YMCA hostel and then left for a tour of the city. Shanghai had some of the most spectacular architecture I had ever seen. The variety of buildings and the multitude of shapes left me in awe at the sheer imagination of the architects. It was the perfect place to see the impact modern technology has had on China, with tall apartment buildings stretching as far as the eye could see and more structures being built daily. My first impression of China was HUGE. Shanghai was also my first experience of real pollution. The air was very thick, heavy with the smell of sulphur (just like Rotorua!) and there always seemed to be a mist hanging over the city.

The next day was a dream come true. We went to a local park in the hope of catching some local martial artists in training and we were not disappointed. At 6.30am in the morning the park was full of people. In China, everyone is very fit and active. Waking early to do some form of exercise is just part of everyday life for the Chinese people. Tai Chi, badminton, chi kung, table tennis, swordplay, spear forms, ballroom dancing, running, stretching, hitting trees, walking backwards, screaming, laughing, singing, all of it was just a normal day in the park. We had the privilege of seeing a group of Chen style tai chi and Bagua Zhang practitioners training at the park with their teacher, a well-known martial artist in Shanghai. The skill of some of his students was very impressive. I couldn't help but reflect on my own training and level of skill. Needless to say, we were all inspired to train harder! Next stop, Wu Dang Mountain – the centre for Daoism (Taoism) and Daoist martial arts!

We caught a plane to Wuhan, followed by a hair-raising six hour taxi ride to Xiang Fan (stopping in Ang Lu for the most delicious Chinese food I have ever tasted), another more sedate one and a half hour taxi ride to Wu Dang Shan, a half hour drive up the mountain, and finally arrived on Wu Dang mountain at 11.00pm that night. Tired, grumpy and facing the realities of Chinese toilet facilities (western toilets are a luxury item in China and most toilets are a hole in the ground that you squat over. I think this is the secret to the amazing flexibility of the Chinese!), I decided to skip dinner & get an early night to prepare myself for the five hour hike up the mountain the next day (that's 3 hours up and 2 hours down!) and the fact that I really needed to go to the loo! A good nights sleep, some quick shopping at the local stores and I was off to conquer Wu Dang mountain, the home of Tai Chi Chuan, Hsing Yi Chuan and Bagua Zhang.

The mountain scenery was breathtaking. Houses were seemingly carved out of the side of the mountain, the air crisp and clean – a stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of Shanghai. The local stallholders dotted along the mountain trail were very friendly and I was in good spirits, having fun with my teammates. Six and a half hours later, I thought I was dying! My legs felt like lumps of concrete, refusing to take another step, I was covered in sweat, breathing like an obscene phone caller and trying to understand why I voluntarily chose to torture myself in this way! To this day, I shudder every time I see a flight of stairs. For me, climbing the stairs to reach the summit of Wu Dang was a spiritual experience unlike any other but if you are planning to go to Wu Dang Mountain, take the gondola!

Back at the hotel, we showered, put on our uniforms and went down to the Wu Dang Wu Shu Institute to meet the local martial artists. Imagine our surprise to find a kiwi bloke from Henderson training at the institute! He had been there for three months, training with the other foreigners and living at the institute as a fulltime student. Unfortunately we were pushed for time and did not get a chance to see all the locals in action. Next stop, Zhengzhou and the First Traditional Wu Shu Festival.

After another seven hour trip with the van driver from hell, we finally arrived in Zhengzhou, ready for the tournament. Many within the team had been training specifically for this tournament for at least two years but nothing could have prepared us for the size and sheer magnitude of this event. The New Zealand team were blessed from the start. While our Australian counterparts came to grips with three-star hotel accommodation in China, we lived the high life in the luxurious Xing Ya Bing Guo Hotel. Nothing less than five-star hospitality for the Kiwis! After registration it was a quick trip down the road to buy some cheap DVDs and then back to the hotel to suit up for the first event on the tournament schedule, the opening ceremony.

I can still remember the bus trip to Zhengzhou stadium. The flashing blue lights of our police escort and the traffic wardens blowing their whistles, signalling traffic to stop as we passed through, made the whole occasion seem surreal. Crowds of people lined each side of the main street, desperate to catch a glimpse of the athletes inside the long procession of buses. As we approached the stadium, I could see lights shining in every direction and I could hear the roar of a huge crowd coming from within. Inside the bus, you could feel the excitement building to feverish levels. For a Maori boy all the way from the streets of South Auckland, it was awe-inspiring.

Outside, over two and a half thousand competitors from all over the world were hurriedly lining up behind their national flag, preparing to enter the stadium, Olympic style. I thought my heart would jump out of my body when I saw the first group of athletes walk into the stadium and heard the thunderous applause from the crowd. I will never forget the moment I entered the arena, behind the New Zealand flag and looked up to see forty thousand people clap and cheer a heartfelt welcome to the New Zealand Wu Shu team. The warmth and sincerity of the Chinese people was overwhelming. An extravaganza of Olympic proportions was to follow, with an astonishing fireworks display, martial arts demonstrations of amazing athleticism, Chinese pop stars singing their latest hits and the whole event incorporated into a Chinese operatic theme. There is only one word that could appropriately describe the occasion. Unbelievable.

The next day, all competitors boarded their buses for a two-hour drive to Dong Feng, home of the Shaolin Temple. Students of the various Shaolin Wu Shu schools within Dong Feng had been rehearsing martial arts routines for months, preparing for a welcome parade unlike anything that had ever been seen before, anywhere in the world. Needless to say, we were not disappointed. Forty thousand martial artists lined both sides of the sixteen-kilometre stretch of road from Dong Feng to Shaolin, demonstrating every type of Chinese gong fu you could imagine. Many of the skills displayed had to be seen to be believed. Being at Shaolin was a strange experience for me. It was very modern and very commercialised, not at all what I expected. Performing the haka at Shaolin Temple was an incredible moment for the whole team. It was an honour to pay our respects to the people of China and the students of Shaolin in a uniquely NZ way. And being on TV and in the newspapers wasn't bad either! Go Kiwis!

NZ team doing the haka.

The tournament was fantastic and the skill of some competitors was remarkable. The New Zealand Wu Shu team did very well, producing the following results:

Orlando Garcia Team Leader		Chen Style Empty Hands Chen Style Sword		Gold Medal Gold Medal
Tori Marsh		Shaolin Weapons Form		Gold Medal
Ioe Misa		Hsing Yi Empty Hands		Silver Medal
Mark Niumata		Hsing Yi Empty Hands		Silver Medal
Matt Molijn		Shaolin Staff Form		Silver Medal
James Montgomery		Shaolin Weapons Form Shaolin Empty Hands		Silver Medal Bronze Medal
Wayne Kingi		Hsing Yi Empty Hands		Bronze Medal

I will always have fond memories of Zhengzhou city and the hospitality of the Chinese people. This tournament will happen every two years and I expect the next one to be even more spectacular than the first. But for the team… next stop, Beijing.