On a hot July day in Fairfax, Va., husband and wife coaching team Christopher Peí and Zhāng Guìfèng, patted their students on the back while observing their emotions before their third performance at the 2019 Pan American Kungfu & Taijiquan Championships and U.S.A. Wushu Kungfu Federation National Team Trials (USAWKF). Wǔshù (武术) is a sport that blends elements of performance and martial arts. The USAWKF National Team Trials happen every two years and in the interim coaches and students get up at 7 a.m. each day to practice. For 30 years Peí and Zhāng have dedicated themselves to Wushu education. As a photographer and native of Foshan, China, a southern city that has an important position in the country's Wushu history, I photographed this couple's dedication to Wushu education in the United States. It was a way to connect with my roots and also explore why these traditions have been fading away in Foshan.
在一个弗吉尼亚州炎热的七月天，美国武术学院华裔夫妻创建人裴康凯和张桂凤正在给今年要参加美国国家武术队选拔赛的学生们打气。武术是一个结合武功和表演的一项运动，为了准备这次两年一度的美国全能比赛，两位教练和学生们每天7点起床训练。这个夫妻档为了推广中国传统文化，他们已经在美国开展武术教育三十年。佛山是中国南方的一个城市，这座城市代表着中国武术历史很重要的一个地位。作为一个在佛山出生的摄影师，我从小并没有花费太多时间在自己的故乡，所以我决定在美国记录这两位武术教练是怎样在美国开展武术教育及探索武术传统艺术在佛山消逝的原因。
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Husband and wife coaching team Christopher Pei and Zhang Guifeng watch 10-year-old Tony Wong practice Wushu. The two have been teaching the sport for 30 years.
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Twelve-year-old Jocelyn Gu practices her performance for the USAWKF National Team Trials while Zhang corrects her form.
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Pei and Zhang chat during a class break. The couple met and married in the 1980s.
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Pei and Zhang met in Beijing, and married in 1984.
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Zhang coaches from the sidelines as students stretch before practice.
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The advanced team, Jocelyn Gu, 12, Michelle Xiong, 14, Benjamin Tran, 15, Joanne Li, 13, Helen Gu, 16, listens to feedback from Zhang.
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Left: The advanced team laugh together during a break. Right: A Wushu student stretches to prepare for practice.
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Pei and Zhang have different, but complementary, personalities. Pei is a joker, Zhang is more strict.
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Zhang often makes Chinese herbal medications for her students' sprained ankles.
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Students greet Zhang before practice. She can be loud and strict, but often call her students Bǎo Bèi Er, or my baby, and her students call her Mā, or mom.
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Pei and Zhang say their key to a long-lasting marriage is respecting each other's interests.
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Henry Wong records his 10-year-old son Tony Wong practicing. Pei and Zhang's overarching goal for the academy is to help students become a better person.
Shuran Huang's Portfolio Site
Shuran Huang (she/her) is an award-winning photographer based in Washington D.C. Her work focuses on family, traditions, and culture.
