On Wednesday, April 25, Miami students could be found stretching, chatting, and practicing tai chi moves with nervous excitement in Philips Hall. After a warmup routine and team huddle, the group performed in front of a panel of judges in order to pass their very first Duanwei promotion test, an officially recognized evaluation of martial arts ranking.

Visiting martial arts judges, Sen Gao and Jie Gu, joined class instructor, Zhibin Jin, to watch and evaluate students as they performed their tai chi forms. It was evident that the students had worked hard to memorize the movements.

The judges took a few minutes to deliberate after all the students had performed, and they came to an unanimous consensus: Everyone had passed!

Confucius Institute at Miami University (CIMU) was honored to welcome several distinguished guests to this event: Miami University’s Kinesiology Department Chair, Helaine Alessio, Director of Miami Intramural Sports, Ruchelle Dunwoody, and Xiuqin Lin from the Confucius Institute headquarters. These three, along with CIMU director, Chen Zhao, congratulated each student on their achievement and presented them with certificates and pins.

When asked about the class, two students remarked that they had found the experience to be relaxing and beneficial. “I got to learn new movements and I got to live out my childhood dream of learning tai chi,” said student Sherif Owusu.

The test was followed by two stunning performances from our visiting judges. Tai chi master, Jie Gu, performed a graceful tai chi routine, demonstrating considerable strength, flexibility, and balance. Next, world champion, Sen Gao, shocked his young audience with a number of incredibly impressive and high-energy moves, executing kicks, flips, and spins with pinpoint accuracy and strength.

This annual event represents a tremendous opportunity for students to learn about mind-body balance through the ancient Chinese art of tai chi and test these learned skills in a professional evaluation. “It’s really neat to see people learn about other cultures and then see them put into practice what they’ve learned throughout the semester. It was entertaining and educational,” said Intramural Sports Director, Ruchelle Dunwoody. We look forward to next year’s promotion test!