Romanian inherits, promotes martial arts in SZ

Writer: Chang Zhipeng  |  Editor: Liu Minxia  |  From: Shenzhen Daily  |  Updated: 2022-12-06

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人物简介

Duiu Onofrei, a Romanian martial arts instructor and volunteer, has lived in Shenzhen for five years. He came to China as he was fascinated by the country that is known as the birthplace of martial arts. Onofrei dreams to inherit and carry forward the spirit of martial arts, and encourages more young people to practice martial arts in Shenzhen.

来自罗马尼亚的Duiu Onofrei是一名武术教练和外籍志愿者,现已在深圳生活5年。热爱武术的他一直梦想着能够来到中国这一武术的发源地。他希望能够在中国传承和弘扬武术精神,带领深圳更多的年轻人学习和爱上武术。



Video and photos by Lin Jianping except otherwise stated 视频、摄影:林建平

在深外籍教练传承弘扬武术文化

If you happen to see a male expat leading a group of teenagers practicing Wushu, or martial arts, in a park or by the seaside in Shenzhen, that might be Duiu Onofrei, who has been teaching Qwan Ki Do in the city for five years.

如果你碰巧在深圳的某个公园或海边见到一名外籍男子正带着一群青少年练习武术,那这个人或许就是Duiu Onofrei。他是一名罗马尼亚籍武术教练,已经在深圳传授和推广“观气道”武术长达五年的时间。

Duiu Onofrei performs martial arts for Shenzhen Daily journalists.

Duiu Onofrei向英文《深圳日报》记者展示武术。


Seeking for martial arts root with dream and duty

怀揣梦想与使命,远赴武术发源地“寻根”

Onofrei, a Romanian martial arts instructor and volunteer, came to China because he was fascinated by the country, which is known as the birthplace of martial arts. Onofrei said he dreams to inherit and carry forward the spirit of martial arts, and to encourage more young people to practice martial arts in Shenzhen.

热爱武术的Onofrei一直梦想着能够来到中国这一武术的发源地。他希望能够在中国传承和弘扬武术精神,带领深圳更多的年轻人学习和爱上武术。

Onofrei at an interview with Shenzhen Daily.

Onofrei接受英文《深圳日报》记者采访。

Onofrei started to practice martial arts in his teens 34 years ago in his native Romania. He said he watched a lot of Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee movies and was fascinated by their movements. This is the reason why Onofrei unhesitatingly joined his friend when he saw him practicing some martial arts moves.

早在34年前,彼时正当少年的Duiu Onofrei就已经开始练习武术了。他说自己小时候观看了大量由成龙和李小龙主演的功夫片,并对他们的武打动作感到痴迷。因此,当他偶然见到自己的一位朋友练习武术动作时,就毫不犹豫地加入了其中。

One morning after Onofrei arrived in Shenzhen, he got up early wondering what it was like in China in the morning, and he saw groups of people practicing tai chi at around 6:30 a.m. Onofrei spent hours watching them and noticed that the same group of people came back to practice again in the afternoon and evening.

来到深圳后不久的一个清晨,Onofrei早早起床,只为满足自己对于中国人清早生活的好奇。当他看到三两人群在清晨六点半左右的时候聚在一起练习太极时,在那里驻足观看了好几个小时。随后,他又看到这群太极爱好者分别于下午和傍晚时分两次回到同样的地方继续练习。

“I thought their performances had already reached a high level, because Qwan Ki Do also embodies tai chi movements, but they still practiced three times a day! Sometimes, I would communicate and share our knowledge and experience with some Chinese Kung Fu teachers and practitioners,” he said.

“我觉得他们的技艺已经达到一个很高的水准了,因为我所练习的观气道武术里也包含着一些太极的动作,但他们依然坚持每天练习三次。有时候我也会和一些中国的功夫老师和武术爱好者切磋交流心得体会。”Onofrei说。

Onofrei teaches martial arts to kids. Photo courtesy of the interviewee

Onofrei向孩子们传授武术。照片由受访者提供

Onofrei regularly teaches martial arts for free at the Nanshan International Cultural Exchange and Service Center. Last year, he organized a Chinese team to represent China to attend the seventh Qwan Ki Do martial arts world championship and won five medals, including one gold and one silver for an individual event, and three bronzes for a team event. He said he dreams to make Shenzhen the host city for the next world championship in 2025, which has been approved by the Qwan Ki Do international committee.

Onofrei会定期在南山国际化交流中心免费传授武术。去年,他带领自己的学生代表中国参加了第七届观气道世界锦标赛,并一举夺得5枚奖牌,包括1枚个人项目金牌、1枚个人项目银牌,以及一个团体项目的3枚铜牌。他梦想能够将下一届世界锦标赛带到深圳举办,而这也得到了观气道国际组委会的初步认可。


Enjoying quality life in city of urban civilization

在文明之城享受高品质生活

“In Shenzhen, I’ve never seen a taxi or a bus that wouldn’t stop when seeing pedestrians passing through the crossroads. It’s a kind of respect in traffic, according to what I saw. In addition, you can just scan a QR code to ride a shared bike, and put the bike in the special parking place. Everyone can follow the rules, this is the embodiment of urban civilization. That’s why I suddenly realized that I’m living a high-level quality life here in Shenzhen,” he said.

Onofrei说:“在深圳,我从未见过一辆的士或公交车在遇到行人通过马路时不进行礼让的情况。这是一种交通上的尊重,这就是我的亲眼所见。在深圳,你只需要扫描二维码就可以骑走一辆共享单车,使用后再将它停放到一个指定区域。每个人都能够自觉遵守社会规则,这就是城市文明的体现。这让我突然间意识到自己正在深圳过着一种高质量的生活。”

Onofrei poses for a photo in front of the Minghua Cruise in Shekou, Nanshan District.

Onofrei在停泊于南山区蛇口的明华轮前留影。

Onofrei has started his family in Shenzhen and now has a 3-year-old son. “Living here in Shenzhen and Shekou gives me many options where I want to bring my kid to have some fun. There are so many parks and playgrounds, as well as the sea, near our home,” he said. “The city develops and changes so fast! If you revisit a place one or two months later, you may find something new there – new parks, buildings and roads, etc. This makes life relaxing, and I don’t want to leave Shenzhen. I think this is a perfect place for me to raise my son.”

Onofrei在深圳组建了自己的家庭并育有一个三岁的男孩。“居住在深圳蛇口让我拥有很多选择,这里有很多地方适合带我的儿子去玩。我们的家附近有很多公园和游乐场,而且还有大海。另外,这座城市的发展和变化速度简直太快了!如果你时隔一两个月再次去到同一个地方,你或许会发现那里已经修建好了新的公园、建筑物和马路。在深圳的生活实在太惬意了,这里非常适合养育我的孩子,我并不打算离开这里。”他说。


Unlocking new life experience as a volunteer

志愿服务解锁全新人生体验

Volunteering is another brand-new life experience that Onofrei “unlocked” in Shenzhen.

志愿服务是Onofrei在深圳解锁的另一种全新的人生体验。

“I signed up as soon as I saw the international volunteer recruitment information. I found that helping someone without expecting payment or anything in return gave me a feeling of satisfaction,” he said. He also believed that volunteering is giving back to the community as the local government had been leaving no stone unturned to improve local residents’ living conditions through effort like street renovations and building new public facilities.

“我一看到关于国际志愿者的招募信息就报名了。帮助他人而不求回报能够带给我一种极大的满足感。”Onofrei说。他认为志愿服务是一种回馈社区的方式,因为当地政府不断地为改善居民生活而做出一系列的努力,比如修葺街道和兴建新的公共设施。

Onofrei answers a citizen's question while serving as a voluntter in Shekou.

志愿者Onofrei为市民解答疑问。

“I encourage everyone to try at least once, to wear the red jacket, and to participate in some volunteer work. Believe me, it will give you a special feeling,” he said.

“我希望每个人都能至少尝试一次,穿上红马甲,参与某种志愿服务。相信我,这会带给你一种特别的体验。”他说。