"Way of the Wushu"
Sun.Star Davao, April 19, 2008

Every time I passed along East West Centrum in Lanang, I became intrigued by its gigantic billboard of a young girl wearing a bright red martial arts costume with the tagline, “Your child can be a champion!”.

I found out that the billboard was actually promoting Infinity More Than Medals’ (MTM) Wushu program.

Way of the Wushu

Wushu is “both an exhibition and a full-contact sport derived from traditional Chinese martial arts. It was created in the People's Republic of China after 1949, in an attempt to nationalize the practice of traditional Chinese martial arts”. (Source: Wikipedia)

Its techniques are graceful and precise, incorporating stunning aerial and tumbling techniques, coupled with the use of traditional weapons.

Modern Wushu is composed of two disciplines: Tao Lu (forms) and San Shou (sparring).

Tao Lu forms are “similar to gymnastics and involve martial art patterns and maneuvers for which competitors are judged and given points according to specific rules. The forms comprise basic movements (stances, kicks, punches, balances, jumps, sweeps and throws) based on aggregate traditional Chinese martial arts which can be changed for competitions to highlight one's strengths”.

On the other hand, San Shou is a “modern fighting method and sport influenced by both traditional Chinese boxing, Chinese wrestling methods called Shuai Chiao and other Chinese grappling techniques such as Qin Na. It has all the combat aspects of Wushu”.

Wushu is an established international sport with 56 nations participating. Competitions include World Wushu Championships, World Junior Wushu Championships, Asian Games, National Games of the People’s Republic of China, East Asian Games and South East Asian Games.

Master Yu

In Davao, this popular form of Chinese martial arts has been taught by Infinity MTM through world-renowned head coach, Master Yu Zhi Bo, for almost two years now.

Master Yu (pronounced Yi) has an impressive and extensive experience in Wushu. He is a seven-time consecutive all-China Wushu champion and a five-time Wushu world champion, training alongside coaches like Master Wu Bin who is the coach of international action star Jet Li.

Moreover, he is engaged in teaching and theory research on Wushu in China Wushu Institute as well as organized and coached the Beijing San Shou Team.

The esteemed master popularized Wushu in the Philippines and elevated the country’s training standard to that of China’s. His expertise has brought the Philippines honor, with a remarkable tally of over 45 medals in various international competitions.

Life coaching

I finally got the chance to visit Infinity MTM last Saturday and was able to observe the Advanced Wushu team being trained by Master Yu for an upcoming national competition in their spacious and fully-airconditioned training center.

Dressed in their black and red sports attire, the young students practised relentlessly until they perfected the techniques.

Much to my delight, in a nearby room, there was a “life coaching” seminar for the Wushu students who finished their classes earlier. It was a fun and interactive session as kids were introduced to the awesome accomplishments of basketball legendary great Michael Jordan.

To do this effectively, a teenager played the role of Michael Jordan during an interesting question and answer portion.

Life coaching is “a practice that uses multiple methods with the stated aim of helping individuals determine and achieve personal goals”. Infinity MTM offers an integrated values program called “life dojo” which is central to its philosophy. It focuses on building life skills.

Many of the life coaching lessons utilize story-telling sessions to set the tone and generate discussions. These are aided by multimedia and “edutainment” packages to promote further understanding of life skills.

In order to encourage students to become “life champions”, they are constantly exposed to inspiring biographies, culture and documentaries referencing the martial arts code and principles.

This makes Infinity MTM’s sports program a cut above the rest.

More than Medals

Infinity More than Medals is the Philippines’ first movement in the field of athletics under the philosophy: “Sana in Corpore Sano (A sound mind in a sound body)”. The aim is for a holistic approach to human potential through sports training and life coaching.

Infinity MTM is unique because it harnesses the power of sports to change lives through a dynamic and enriching life coaching program. Its four commitment areas are: academic excellence, athletic excellence, social development and personal development.

The movement believes that letting kids be involved with sports has physical (fitness, stress relief, mastery and healthy habits), personal (valuing preparation, attitude control, long-term thinking, leadership opportunities, resilience, identity, balance and time management) and social benefits (relationship with other kids, teamwork and relationship with adults).

Infinity MTM works with parents and schools to achieve its objectives. With the participation of the parents, both academic performance and behavior at home are considered and made part of the student’s total evaluation for promotion.

School report cards are submitted regularly and monitored. According to one parent Jun Fuentebella whose three high school children are enrolled in Wushu, 85 is the minimum grade that a student has to maintain to be able to continue with the program.

In addition, parents are taught how to prepare a nutritious diet that would complement their children’s needs as athletes.

I applaud MTM Infinity’s distinct and well-rounded approach in training these active kids. I especially loved the character building aspect of the program.

They are not only developing “Champions in the game of Wushu” but most importantly, “Champions in the game of life”.

Infinity More than Medals is at East West Centrum, Km. 6, Lanang, DC. Tels. 3025510; (0918) 3835637. Please look for Ms. Bing G. Basuel.

E-mail the author at mom.about.town.dvo@gmail.com. Visit www.mom-about-town.blogspot.com.