GEORGE TOWN: She sits on a plastic chair with her walking aid next to her.
But don’t mess with 84-year-old Au Yuk Yun.
She has mastered the spear, Chinese hook sword, broadsword and a dozen other weapons.
Her disciples look up to her, addressing her as Master Au.
She still teaches tai chi at the Penang Chinese Ladies Chin Woo Athletic Association in Anson Road here.
Au sitting on a plastic chair with her trusty walker in front of her leading a class at the Penang Chinese Ladies Chin Woo Athletic Association. — LIM BENG TATT/The Star
The story of her life is no less compelling. She can recall the dangerous years of the Japanese Occupation during World War II when she and others had to train in hiding.“We moved our training site to a small attap house in Larut Road. We trained only once or twice a week. And we had to be careful not to let Japanese soldiers see us,” she said.
Her training in wushu began when she was about eight or nine years old after her mother came to know that a Chinese wushu female master had migrated to Penang after the Nanjing Massacre of 1937.
“My mother asked me to learn wushu from her,” she said.
It was then that she discovered her passion for the martial arts.
“Every day right after school, throughout my primary and secondary school years, I cycled to Ayer Itam to learn wushu from my master,” she said.
To her regret, she can no longer remember her master’s name.
She spent a huge part of her life learning wushu, until she herself finally became a master in 1992, shortly after her master died.
And she said she had won the gold medal in national championships in the 1970s and 1980s.
As for her day job, Au was a health nurse with the then Penang Municipal Council for 29 years.
But she kept on teaching wushu until she suffered a stroke about a year and a half ago. Since then, she has been limiting her training sessions to once or twice a month.
Did she manage to get young people interested in wushu?
Au said the younger generation was now more interested in other pursuits such as dancing, singing and modern martial arts.
“Some young students come, but they don’t take it seriously,” she said, adding that her students were now in their early 30s to 70s.
One of her former students is Chan Lu Yi, who won two gold medals in the World Taiji Wushu Championship 2014, a bronze at Nanjing Youth Olympic Games 2014, a gold, silver and bronze at SEA Games Singapore 2015 and a gold and silver in the 8th Asian Junior Championships.
Chan, said Au, was now training to be a doctor.
Born in Kampung Malabar, within the city’s heritage enclave, Au, who is single, used to live alone in a rented house in Bayan Baru.
Now she lives in an old folks home in Medan Tembaga.
On her advice to those who want to learn wushu and tai chi, Au said practising martial arts helped to ensure smooth blood circulation and keep one healthy.
“It is not only wushu. You can take up any martial art. It is not only good for you but can also preserve the heritage of martial arts,” she added.