As part of the University of Johannesburg’s (UJ) Healthy Campus Programme, the Confucius Institute and UJ Sport have partnered to bring you BaDuanJin, a Chinese exercise programme to help you improve your physique and overall health.
The Baduanjin qigong (八段锦) is one of the most common forms of Chinese qigong used as exercise. Baduanjin is variously translated as Eight Pieces of Brocade, Eight-Section Brocade, Eight Silken Movements or Eight Silk Weaving. The name of the exercise generally refers to how the eight individual movements of the form characterise and impart a silken quality (like that of a piece of brocade) to the body and its energy.
The Baduanjin is primarily designated as a form of medical qigong, meant to improve health. As a whole, the Baduanjin is broken down into eight separate exercises, each focusing on a different physical area and qi meridian.
How to get involved:
The sessions will take place during the University’s Culture Hour (extended from 12pm to 14pm) on Fridays.
The Confucius Institute and UJ Sport will organise Baduanjin exercise sessions for each of the four UJ campuses for a group of maximum 100 people. Conducted in an open area with enough ventilation, the sessions will each run for 45 minutes. Assistant Co-director, Mandarin Lecturer and Wushu Coach, Feng Tao, will lead the sessions.
Participants must be dressed in comfortable sport clothing. The organisers will share a registration link via email and U-Link. Both the Auckland Park Kingsway and Bunting Road Campuses’ sessions will take place on the same day. There will be eight (8) sessions for each campus. Certificates of Attendance will be issued to participants who have completed the course at the last session which will also be the graduation ceremony.
For the first two months (April and May 2022), the Baduanjin exercise sessions will take place at APK and APB. Sessions for the Soweto and Doornfontein Campuses will be held in the second semester. However, willing participants from SWC and DFC are welcome to join both the APK and APB sessions and vice versa.
Venues: Grass Areas, Student Centres: APK and APB
Dates: 22, 29 April and 6, 13, 20, 27 May 2022 (two more dates TBC)
Times: APK: 12:00 – 13:00 || APB: 13:00-14:00
