2025 WTQA Festival: A Celebration of Tai Chi, Qigong and Wushu
On a warm afternoon in Melbourne, the Tai Chi, Qigong and Wushu community came together once again to celebrate connection, skill, and shared passion at the 23rd annual WTQA Festival.
The Festival continues to grow after its successful return following the Covid lockdowns. The 2023 event marked the first gathering in five years and was met with an enthusiastic response from both audience and competitors. In 2024, the crowd grew even larger as the Festival shifted from a competition to a participation format, encouraging more performers to take part.
This year, 2025, we were thrilled to welcome a record 317 attendees across the afternoon — including 152 performers representing 12 different Wushu, Tai Chi and Qigong schools and clubs. It was our largest and most vibrant Festival yet, a true reflection of the community’s renewed energy and enthusiasm.
There is so much that could be said about the performances at this year’s Festival, but we’ll let the photographs do most of the talking. We would like to acknowledge our volunteer photographers, who generously donated their time and skill to capture the day. The lighting conditions in the hall were challenging, yet they showed great creativity and perseverance in recording the event — giving us a wonderful visual record to enjoy for years to come.
Our sincere thanks go to members of the Camberwell Camera Club — Geoff Ince, Mark Wheeler, Ian Jasper, and Susan Su — for their wonderful photography on the day, and to Emily Au, Mun Yuen, and Suzette Hosken for capturing additional photos and video. You’ll see their work featured throughout this article, showcasing the energy, artistry, and community spirit of the Festival.
MC Jenny Harrison, from Rising Moon Tai Chi School, opened the event with a warm welcome and words of appreciation for the WTQA Committee, volunteers, and performers whose dedication made the day possible. The hall buzzed with anticipation as family, friends, and practitioners gathered for an afternoon of movement, artistry, and community spirit.
The festivities began in traditional style with a Lion Dance by the team from Hung Gar Yau Shu (HGYS) Martial Arts School. The lions’ energy and colour filled the hall, symbolising strength, wisdom, and good fortune. It’s easy to be entranced by the delicate gestures of the lions with their fluttering eyelids and stomping feet. But we were also reminded that there were two athletes bringing each lion to life and their exertions were evident and greatly appreciated. A team of musicians enhanced the performance with their traditional Chinese drumming and percussion.
They were followed by the Dragon Dance from the Hongmen Martial Arts Academy (Chinese Masonic Society). A large team of performers were divided between the dragon and percussion instruments. Their Fuzhou-style dragon rippled and soared to the beat of the drums, in a high-energy display that saw the athletes running around the arena in a great show of endurance. The dragon dance is a symbol of strength, prosperity and unity.
Rising Moon Tai Chi School presented a series of performances. Nigel Graham performed the elegant 32 Sword, a Yang-style Tai Chi sword form created in 1957 by the Chinese National Physical Education Committee.
A group of nine students demonstrated Tai Chi for Mental Health and Cognitive Improvement, a short form developed by Dr Henry Zang that promotes mental and physical relaxation and aims to reduce stress, anxiety and depression.
The sequence concluded with Tony Weston’s Chen 24 Fan, combining the beauty of fan work with the dynamic power of Chen-style Tai Chi.
Celestial Tai Chi College performed Tai Chi Celestial Routine 1 — Levels 1–3 of their signature form derived from the Traditional 108 Yang Form. Slow, dream-like movements were paired with calm breathing and deep focus.
They followed with Lotus Qigong, a gentle but invigorating practice designed to harmonise body and mind and cultivate Qi flow.
The Academy of TCM – Wu De Hui presented the third section of Yang Sheng Tai Chi 85 and Tai Chi Sword, a flowing form that contains thrusts, cuts and slices, displaying the martial applications of the weapon.
Next, were Wulong Tai Chi Kung Fu, with a highly disciplined and large group of advanced students performing the Tai Chi Barehand 42 (Competition Form), a blend of Yang, Chen, Wu and Sun styles. A team of three followed with an energetic and spirited Wushu Dao (Broadsword) routine.
WTQA President Sam Au took the microphone to welcome special guests and long-time supporters of WTQA, including Master Terry Lim, of Loong Fu Tai Martial Arts Academy, Master Su Legato, of Legato Tai Chi, Professor Lily Sun, of Wulong Tai Chi Kung Fu, Master Chin Min Lian, of Celestial Tai Chi College and Angelina Chung, honorary life member. These guests have all contributed significantly to the WTQA over the years. He also introduced the WTQA Committee, acknowledging their ongoing dedication and teamwork.
The audience and performers then gathered for a lively group photo before joining together in the traditional mass demonstration of Tai Chi 24-Form, led by students from Rising Moon Tai Chi. The sight of so many practitioners moving in harmony was a true highlight of the day.
The afternoon continued with Hongmen Martial Arts Academy, which is dedicated to preserving and teaching Jow Ga Kung Fu, a traditional Southern Chinese martial art. Several groups and individuals performed different bare hand and weapon forms of Jow Ga Kung Fu to demonstrate the power and elegance of this style.
Legato Tai Chi students used the Festival as a valuable preparation for their upcoming trip to China for the 8th International Wudang Tai Chi Friendship Competition. They began with a performance of the Wudang 9, a form they started learning earlier this year. Next came a creative simulation of competition conditions: Paul performed the Wudang 28 while Suellen simultaneously demonstrated the Wudang 9. As Suellen left the arena, Jayne entered and continued with another Wudang 9 while Paul maintained his flow. The audience was clearly captivated by the display. The group concluded with their Fu Chen Feng routine, featuring the Daoist horsetail whisk — a form created by Master Su Legato.
Performances continued with the Chinese Senior Citizens Club of Manningham, showcasing Kung Fu Fan (Parts 1 & 2). The large and elegant group were captivating with their pink outfits and gold fans all snapping at the same time.
Lilac Moon Tai Chi followed with the the Wu 32 Form, which was developed by Patricia Kent from the original Wu 121.
The audience and performers were again invited to join together for some qigong, the Ba Duan Jin, led by Noriko Tomaka, of Wulong Tai Chi Kung Fu. The large group stretched and flowed and breathed deeply together in another wonderful display of unity.
The Hong Kong Club Tai Chi Group, established in 1987, performed Chen Style Duanwei 1st and 2nd Duan. This included some partner work where the martial applications of the movements were displayed. A Wu Style Straight Sword form followed with the group showcasing the style’s unique movements. The group finished with the New 28 Form Combined Tai Chi Fan.
The Chinese Senior Citizens Club of Manningham and their Wu Style Tai Chi Group performed a dramatic Wu style Tai Chi Sabre Form, which originated from Yuen Yuen Dao and was modified by their grand master Cheng Tin Hung.
Sifu Lilei Enright followed with a demonstration of the Guandao (Green Dragon Crescent Blade) — a powerful and impressive weapon form rooted in the traditions of Chen Village. The Guandao was the preferred weapon of Chen Wang Ting, founder of Chen-style Tajiquan and the famous Chen Village.
The Melbourne University Tai Chi and Wushu Team closed the festival with a thrilling display of modern Sport Wushu. Their high-energy performances, combining precision, athleticism, and artistry, drew enthusiastic applause from the crowd. You can see their performance in full in our video below. It was truly impressive and very much appreciated by the audience. Given the Melbourne Uni Team’s popularity with the photographers, they have their own separate slideshow!
In his closing remarks, President Sam Au praised the young performers from Melbourne University Tai Chi and Wushu for their inspiring energy — and jokingly challenged the seniors to “lift our game” for next year’s festival! He expressed heartfelt thanks to all performers, coordinators, volunteers, and photographers (mentioned in this article earlier), including members of the Chinese Senior Citizens Club of Manningham, for setting up the hall and registration, the Hong Kong Club Tai Chi Group for running the snacks and drinks from the kitchen, Fong Woon and Simon Pedelty for playing the music, Jenny Harrison for being a wonderful Master of Ceremonies, Karen Hughes and Margaret Rogers for working on registration, and Mun Yuen for being the first aider whose services thankfully weren’t required. Thank you to everyone who joined and supported the Festival.
Jenny Harrison wrapped up the event with final words of gratitude to the schools, performers, and audience for making the day such a joyful celebration of Tai Chi, Wushu, and Qigong.
The 2025 WTQA Festival was a wonderful reminder of what makes our community special — the artistry, dedication, and generosity of everyone involved. Thank you to all who took part, and we look forward to seeing you again next year!
Written by Suzette Hosken on behalf of the WTQA Committee.