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Thread: Gong Shou Dao (The Art of Attack and Defence)

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    Gong Shou Dao (The Art of Attack and Defence)

    Alibaba’s Jack Ma stars in short kung fu movie to promote tai chi
    Jet Li and Donnie Yen also feature in film to be released next month
    PUBLISHED : Sunday, 29 October, 2017, 8:50pm
    UPDATED : Sunday, 29 October, 2017, 8:50pm
    Alice Shen



    Alibaba founder Jack Ma Yun will make his big-screen debut alongside action stars Jet Li, Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung Kam-bo in a short kung fu movie released next month.
    Ma’s appearance was to promote tai chi, a traditional Chinese martial art that Ma has pursued for decades, Alibaba said on Saturday. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
    The movie Gong Shou Dao, or The Art of Attack and Defence, will be released on November 11, the date of an online shopping extravaganza known as Singles Day in China.
    But Alibaba said the two events were not linked.
    Ma assembled the team to realise his decade-long dream of becoming a tai chi master, the company said.
    Wu Jing on Wolf Warrior 2’s record-breaking run, his cinematic roots in Hong Kong and Wolf Warrior 3’s story direction
    He unveiled the movie’s poster on his microblog account, showing him surrounded by the other stars.
    “That night ... that dream,” Ma wrote in the post, without giving details of the plot.
    The movie will also feature Wu Jing, whose Wolf Warrior II reset box office records in China.
    Other big names in the movie include champion boxer Zou Shiming, Thai actor Tony Jaa, and retired Mongolian sumo champion Asashoryu Akinori.
    Along with Jet Li, Ma started a lifestyle company called Taiji Zen offering tai chi courses online.
    Ma had also done magic shows and sung Peking Opera.

    The Art of Attack and Defence (Gong Shou Dao)
    Alibaba
    TaijiZen
    Gene Ching
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    Gsd

    Jet Li, Sammo Hung, Donnie Yen, Wu Jing, Tony Jaa and Other Expert Fighters to Star in ‘GSD’
    BY DRAGON LIN OCTOBER 29, 20172



    Jack Ma, founder of China’s Alibaba Group, has teamed up with martial arts legend Jet Li for an upcoming short film titled ‘GSD’ (‘功守道’).

    The cast is incredible and starring alongside Ma and Li are Sammo Hung, Donnie Yen, Wu Jing, Tony Jaa, Yuen Woo-Ping, Ching Siu Tung, Jacky Heung (‘League of Gods’), Natasha Liu Bordizzo (‘Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny’), professional boxer Zou Shiming and sumo wrestler Asashōryū Akinori.

    Jet Li acts as the film’s producer and according to reports, the entire cast is appearing in the film for free so as to pay tribute to martial arts.
    Wait...for free? What, Jack Ma doesn't have bank?
    Gene Ching
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    Premieres Saturday


    BroadTones
    Kung Fu Superstar Jet Li: How I’ll Bring Tai Chi to the Olympics
    The iconic actor hopes to light up future Games with an innovative take on traditional martial arts.
    Nov 06, 2017
    Lu Hongyong
    Lu Hongyong is an editor at Sixth Tone.

    This Saturday will see the premiere of a new martial arts movie, “Gong Shou Dao.” With a run time of just 20 minutes, it certainly wasn’t made for its box office potential. The short film, which stars Jack Ma — the founder and executive chairman of Alibaba, China’s largest e-commerce platform — brings together 11 of China’s best-known martial artists and will premiere during the eighth annual Singles’ Day shopping event, when hundreds of millions of the world’s consumers will scour Taobao, Alibaba’s shopping platform, for deals.

    The man behind the film is Jet Li, a celebrated actor whose movies include “Shaolin Temple,” “Fist of Legend,” and “Hero.” Li and Ma are co-founders of Taiji Zen, a lifestyle company that promotes wellness through a combination of tai chi and meditation. Central to the company’s ethos is gongshoudao (GSD), a new form of tai chi that Li and Ma hope will elevate Chinese martial arts to Olympic status.

    Sixth Tone sat down with Li to talk about the power of tai chi, his friendship with Ma, and his future hopes for GSD. The interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

    Sixth Tone: What is special about GSD compared to other forms of martial arts, and how does it relate to the Olympics?

    Jet Li: I was just 8 years old when I began studying martial arts. I’m 47 now, and over the past four decades or so, I’ve been fortunate enough to make something of a name for myself, acting in Hollywood movies and traveling the world giving talks on this distinctly Chinese form of combat. Countless Chinese dream of the day that martial arts are officially recognized as an Olympic event, but so far, we have been unsuccessful.

    A key reason for our failure to date is the fact that there is no consensus on the standards or categories of the various forms of wushu — martial arts. There are simply too many styles and variations to merit inclusion in the Olympics just yet. Use your fists, and people call it boxing; use your legs, and they call it taekwondo; throw your opponent to the floor, and people call it judo. How, in the end, should we codify something as broad as Chinese martial arts? Jack [Ma] and I hope that GSD will at least define it for the purposes of international sport.

    Sixth Tone: You have mastered several different martial arts styles. Why did you choose to base GSD on tai chi?

    Jet Li: About seven or eight years ago, I read a Harvard University study that looked at 800 published medical papers devoted to the relative merits of tai chi, some of which concluded that it could provide relief for sufferers of heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, and depression. This level of discussion is almost nonexistent in China, where we tend to take it for granted that tai chi is good for us. Yet even if it is good, that doesn’t mean it’s a magical cure-all or that it obviates the need for medicine. We must keep putting our faith in science.

    I used to believe there were only four things that mattered in life: fame, money, power, and love. Now, I know that I must gain a clear perspective on what life is really about.
    - Jet Li, actor
    Around the same time, Jack and I met to talk about his dream of shooting a film to help popularize tai chi. Having practiced tai chi for 30 years, he sees it as a symbol of traditional Chinese culture. Two years later, we founded Taiji Zen together. Our shared goal is to get Chinese martial arts — specifically GSD — enshrined as an Olympic event. To this end, we have drawn up detailed rules for GSD, with an eye toward making it more combative and watchable. Domestically, the first GSD tournament will be held in Beijing on Nov. 15.

    Sixth Tone: In the past, China has failed to convince the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to include traditional martial arts at the Games. How do the prospects look now?

    Jet Li: In January, Alibaba put its name to a 12-year partnership with the IOC. Covering the next three Olympic cycles, the contract establishes Jack’s company as one of the IOC’s premier global partners and doubtless gives GSD a leg up in the fight for Olympic status. In fact, Jack personally explained GSD to the IOC’s current president, Thomas Bach, in August.

    I don’t doubt that the Olympic spirit is a good thing. Yet even as the quest to be higher, faster, and stronger has allowed us to redefine humanity’s limits, it has also damaged athletes’ bodies. In our attempts to push ourselves, we’ve lost sight of an important part of the sporting mindset: balance. The world today is changing at an extraordinary pace, so it’s only natural to feel off-balance. But to paraphrase one of Jack’s most quoted comments, it pays to slow down if we want to live happy lives.

    In 1997, around the time I was filming “Once Upon a Time in China and America,” I found myself overcome with doubt for the first time in my life. Ever since I was a little boy, I had always believed that if I simply worked hard, respected the law, and did my best, there was nothing I couldn’t accomplish.

    However, at that point, I realized that in spite of all my wealth, I was still eating the same things I had always eaten and drinking more or less what I had always liked to drink. The only difference was that when I was younger, I’d relieve myself in Beijing’s public restrooms, where other guys stood in lines ****ing all over the urinal trough. Now, though, I lived in a big home with something like eight bathrooms. That was the grand sum of all my achievements: a different bathroom for each day of the week.

    Fundamental to tai chi is a spirit of peaceful coexistence — the belief that in you, there is a piece of me, and in me a piece of you.
    - Jet Li, actor
    I used to believe there were only four things that mattered in life: fame, money, power, and love. Now, I realize that’s not the case, and I know that I must gain a clear perspective on what life is really about. Not long ago, I found myself chatting with Yang Xingnong, Taiji Zen’s CEO and the dean of our academy. Over the course of two hours, we talked about everything from movies and martial arts training to charity and altruism, yet we kept circling back to the same questions: What is life? What is pain? What is love? What, at the end of the day, is the point of living?
    continued next post
    Gene Ching
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    Continued from previous post

    Sixth Tone: How does your adaptation of tai chi capture those moral revelations?

    Jet Li: GSD combines physical training with the sort of meditative self-reflection you might expect from Zen Buddhism. Over the past few years, I’ve spent six hours a day meditating, searching for the answers to these questions. I’ve tried going without life’s mundanities — I once went over a week without showering — and attempted a couple things more grandiose, such as when I spent several years staring into caves high in the Nepalese Himalayas. I’m happier than I’ve ever been, because today, my thoughts and purpose are fully aligned.

    When people hear the name Jet Li, they tend to think of the martial artist, the kid who started studying when he was 8 before becoming a national champion and entering the film industry. My first movie, “Shaolin Temple,” came out in 1982 and broke Chinese mainland box office records for a Mandarin-language film. Though I went on to enjoy a successful career in Hong Kong and Hollywood, that Jet Li has now stepped out of the public eye.

    These days, I spend my time thinking about how I can help people live better, including through charitable work. Ten years ago, I launched the One Foundation, a charity focused on helping communities recover from disasters, protecting and educating children, peer support, and innovation.

    Sixth Tone: Your 1982 film debut, “Shaolin Temple,” made Chinese viewers fall back in love with martial arts. Are you expecting to leave a similar impression with GSD?

    Jet Li: I like to say that while “Shaolin Temple” revived interest in martial arts, it failed to capture their essence. The action-packed movie inspired a generation of kids who dreamed of one day being martial artists, but ended up as security guards. My current hope is that Taiji Zen will cultivate a generation of Zen practitioners, thinkers, and warriors — a generation in which everyone has their own thoughts and outlook on life, and everyone is receptive to feedback and willing to support one another. No more children will grow up dreaming of becoming mere fighters; they will also know the value of Zen as a guiding path to self-realization.

    China’s national character is scarred by memories of fighting foreign aggression. But the tide has turned. Today, there’s no need to go around talking about how strong the Chinese people are. Fundamental to tai chi is a spirit of peaceful coexistence — the belief that in you, there is a piece of me, and in me a piece of you. All of us share this spirit, regardless of ethnicity. At present, there are about 150 million tai chi practitioners around the world, and the global influence of Chinese martial arts is something I am immensely proud of.

    I hope tai chi, in the form of GSD, has a good chance of becoming an Olympic sport. Two of the characters in its Chinese name, gong and shou, stand for “kung fu” and “defense,” respectively. China has been an agricultural civilization for centuries, and although the country is now industrializing rapidly, different forms of kung fu, including tai chi, play a vital — I would even say foundational — role in Chinese culture as a means of protecting our homes, land, and territorial integrity. In the future, I hope to see GSD become a symbol similarly deserving of our pride in China’s martial heritage.

    Translator: Kilian O’Donnell; editors: Lu Hongyong and Matthew Walsh.

    (Header image: A still frame of Jet Li’s character in the 2006 film ‘Fearless.’ VCG)

    The Art of Attack and Defence (Gong Shou Dao) = The Olympics & Wushu + TaijiZen & ONE Foundation.
    Gene Ching
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    Gong Shou Dao (GSD) Promo Teaser Jet Li, Jack Ma, Sammo Hung, Donnie Yen

    Gene Ching
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    China's Single Day

    China's Single Day - bigger than Black Friday and expected to smash $20bn
    Singles Day, the biggest online shopping day in history
    Ashley Armstrong, retail editor
    10 NOVEMBER 2017 • 1:21PM

    China is in gearing up for Single's Day, the world's biggest shopping event, as $20bn (£15bn) is forecast to be splurged in just 24 hours as companies across the world try to cash in on the spending spree.

    Single's Day started as an obscure "anti-Valentine's" celebration for single people in China back in the 1990s, but it has spawned into the world's biggest online shopping day after Jack Ma, the billionaire owner of shopping giant Alibaba spotted an opportunity.

    In China November 11 is known as "bare sticks holiday" because of how it looks numerically (11.11) and has become a way for people to celebrate their singledom. Its estimated that by 2020 there will be 35m more men under the age of 30 in China than women, partly due to the country's long standing one-child policy which favoured sons.

    Alibaba began launching "Double 11" deals in 2009 just as online shopping was starting to explode and trademarked the term "Singles Day" by 2012.


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    #BlueManGroup is rocking the stage at #Double11 in #SHANGHAI. ��

    WATCH LIVE: http://blu.mn/BMG11
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    Since then it has become a huge global event, complete with a Super Bowl-type gala with celebrity guests such as David and Victoria Beckham . This year Alibaba has called on British popstar Jessie J and Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman to provide glamour and the Blue Man Group performers for entertainment at the Shanghai-based event.

    Meanwhile Jack Ma is using the shopping festival to debut a film career, appearing as a Tai Chi master in a short film, "Gong Shou Dou".


    Jack Ma's movie poster which allows users to superimpose their own faces alongside the billionaire

    Last year Chinese shoppers spent $17.8bn in 24 hours, with $1bn splashed in the first hour as consumers rushed to pick up bargains. This resulted in 467 million parcels being delivered after 710 million payments were made, according to Chinese news agency Xinhua.

    "The China Express Association predicts that the industry will handle more than 1 billion packages this year," commented James Hebbert, UK managing director of Hylink. "This is despite a slowdown in China’s economic growth and more cautious consumer spending."

    The Singles Day splurge dwarfs other retail spending and it was triple the $5.9bn spent by US shoppers across Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Thanksgiving last year. The 24-hour shopping event is also 18 times the size of Amazon's Prime Day.


    Alibaba's Singles Day event last year came complete with a dance routine

    "By 2020, China’s e-commerce market is set to be larger than those of the US, Japan, Germany, the UK and France combined," commented Nick Landon, managing director of Royal Mail Parcels.

    This year Alibaba is playing into Chinese consumer's growing taste of alcohol by publicising an exclusive deal that allows customers to buy a lifetime supply of a liquor for just 11,111 yuan (£1,269).

    Around 60,000 international brands are expected to take part in this year's Single's Day. Upmarket British grocer Waitrose is expecting sales of its goods including English wine and biscuits and tea, which are available on Alibaba's TMall, to quadruple this year.

    “It's difficult to ignore the importance of the Chinese market, particularly ecommerce, as demand for high quality, British products continues to grow rapidly, said Waitrose business manager Daniel Armstrong. "Our sales in China are already up almost 75 per cent on last year and we expect Singles Day to provide another huge boost this weekend.”
    This is why Gong Shou Dao is being released tomorrow - China's Single Day.
    Gene Ching
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    Natasha Liu



    Who is Natasha Liu? Meet the only female lead in Jack Ma’s kung fu film debut
    ‘Gong Shou Dao’ star Natasha Liu loves the challenge of working with kung fu veterans. The 24-year-old actress tells Vivian Chen about her passion for martial arts and hanging out with Jack Ma on site
    BY VIVIAN CHEN
    10 NOV 2017


    Natasha Liu (l) is the only female lead in Jack Ma’s kung fu film debut

    Among the stellar cast of Gong Shou Dao, a short kung fu film produced by and starring Alibaba founder Jack Ma, Natasha Liu stands out – not only because she’s the youngest star working alongside veterans the likes of Jet Li, Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung Kam-bo, but also because she is the only female lead. Alibaba Group is the owner of the South China Morning Post.

    Liu, 24, born in Sydney, has a Chinese mother and an Italian father. A protégé of actress Michelle Yeoh’s, Liu made her debut in the sequel Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon II: The Sword of Destiny last year. Her latest projects include The Greatest Showman, co-starring Hugh Jackman, and Detective Chinatown II, co-starring Wang Baoqiang.


    Jack Ma plays the main character, who embarks on a journey to become a kung fu master, in Gong Shou Dao.

    Gong Shou Dao, also known as The Art of Attack and Defence, will be released on Sunday via Chinese streaming site Youku. The film follows Ma’s character on a journey to fulfil his dream as a kung fu master.

    Vivian Chen chatted with Liu about her role in Gong Shou Dao, her passion for martial arts and hanging out with Ma on site.

    Can you tell us about your character in Gong Shou Dao?

    I play a remixed version of Chun Li from Streetfighter. It was really fun to play this character, especially with the iconic “ox horns” hairstyle adorned with ribbons. Coincidentally, the character is known for her kicking skills, which is also a strength of mine as my main background in martial arts is taekwondo. She’s very eccentric and loves being one of the boys. Like the other martial artists, she represents a stage in Jack Ma’s journey and challenges him to a fight.

    natashaliubordizzo Verified
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    It’s Jack Ma’s film debut. Did you enjoy working with the tech billionaire-turned-actor?

    Working with Jack Ma was so much fun. He has amazing energy and creates a comfortable atmosphere for everyone. I was surprised by his passion for filmmaking and tai chi. He joked that he wants to be remembered as “a tai chi master, who also happened to start a business”.

    The biggest challenge of this project was trying not to eat too much. Jack Ma’s kitchen staff brought us a huge variety of home-cooked food every day. I had to time my lunch so that I didn’t overeat before filming action scenes.

    Alibaba’s Jack Ma stars in short kung fu movie to promote tai chi


    Natasha Liu is happy to have the opportunity to star with all the kung fu greats.

    The cast features many kung fu veterans. Did you enjoy working with them?

    It’s such a crazy cast line-up. I’ve never seen anything like it. It was a huge honour to be invited to join this project. When I’m around them, I soak everything up like a sponge. The best lessons I learned came through all the advice given to me, particularly from Jet Li on the importance of my career’s “action” background in both the Eastern and Western markets.


    Natasha Liu learns from all veteran kung fu actors, including Jackie Chan.


    Natasha Liu plays a criminal investigator in Detective Chinatown II.

    You started practising martial arts at a young age. Why does kung fu appeal to you?

    I think all kids should learn martial arts, especially girls. It taught me respect, discipline and consistency at a young age. As a teenager, kung fu [also helped me to] vent my frustration and become brave. I was often sparring with boys twice my size. Conditioning and strengthening your mind like that carries over into other areas of your life.


    Natasha Liu does not want to be confined to one category in acting – she wants to have a diversified acting career.

    As the booming Chinese box office becomes a more important international film market, how do you think a young actress can benefit from the trend?

    I’m also excited to find out the answer to this question. At this point, I’m still discovering where and how I fit in each of the two markets. With my mixed Chinese heritage and splitting my time between East and West, I think it puts me in an interesting position for the growing number of collaborations and co-productions.

    What did you learn from Michelle Yeoh?

    To take responsibility for myself. To be proactive, rather than reactive. To take my career and life into my own hands and [make smart] decisions.


    Natasha Liu is a protégé of actress Michelle Yeoh.

    Can you share with us the kind of roles that you are most interested in playing?

    I don’t really have a plan. I just read scripts and look for quirky, new stories and ideas. So far this year I’ve filmed four projects, all very different: an American musical feature, a co-production drama based on a real-life event, a Chinese action-comedy and a martial arts short. I’m about to voice an animation. I’d love to continue having this diversity in my career and keep playing interesting, multi-dimensional characters.
    Natasha was the only redeeming element in CTHD2.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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    Crass? It's Kung Fu & Tai Chi.

    Jack Ma is using Singles Day, a symbol of crass commercialism, to revitalize Tai Chi in China


    Jack Ma (C), chairman of China's largest e-commerce firm Alibaba Group, performs Tai Chi as guests and visitors take pictures and videos, at a opening ceremony of a Tai Chi school in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province May 10, 2013. Jack Ma stepped down as chief executive of Alibaba Group on Friday. The Tai Chi school was co-founded by Ma and Chinese action movie star Jet Li, local media reported.
    Focus. (Reuters/China Daily)

    WRITTEN BY Josh Horwitz
    4 hours ago

    Alibaba always puts on a spectacle on Singles Day, its annual online shopping extravaganza—and this year founder Jack Ma’s martial arts obsession is a part of it.
    Ma’s appearing in a 24-minute martial arts film, Gong Shou Dao, alongside Jet Li, Tony Jaa, and other movie stars, that’s premiering as part of the shopping festival countdown. The film stems from Jack Ma’s lifelong love of martial arts that has informed both his professional life and personal life. And it marks another step in his ongoing effort to revitalize the ancient practice and take it global.

    “Business, even if you die, I may not win.”
    “I use Tai Chi philosophy in the business,” Ma said at Davos in 2015 (link to video). “Calm down—there is always a way out. And keep yourself balanced. Business is a competition, and competition is fun. Business is not like a battlefield—you die or I win. Business, even if you die, I may not win.”

    The opening ceremony, which is televised and starts in the evening of Nov. 10, will also feature the sorts of celebrities that usually characterize the countdown, such as Pharrell Williams Katy Perry, and tennis pro Maria Sharapova. They, along with the film, will help kick off what is expected to be a $24 billion orgy of spending this year.

    At the core of company culture

    Ma’s appreciation for Chinese martial arts and Tai Chi—a graceful, meditiative variant—stems from his long-held admiration for the work of Louis Cha, a Hong Kong-based writer who published under the pen name Jin Yong. Epic adventures roughly akin to the works of J.R.R Tolkien in the west, Jin Yong’s serials mesh Chinese history with elaborate fight scenes, military maneuvering, and ragtag camaraderie.
    In Alibaba’s early days, nearly two decades ago, many people adopted nicknames after characters from the books. Ma dubbed himself Feng Qingyang, after an elderly swordsman from the Jin Yong book The Smiling, Proud Wanderer. In a 2010 interview (link in Chinese), Ma said he admires Feng for two reasons—”First, he is a teacher,” Ma said (Ma himself taught English before starting his first company). Second, “His basic style of swordsmanship I think is especially good—a style of formlessness, formlessness itself as a style,” he added, referring to how a fighter with no recognizable style makes for an unpredictable opponent.

    The company’s values, meanwhile, are dubbed the “Six Vein Spirit Sword,” taken from the Jin Yong novel Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils. In the novel, the Six Vein Spirit Sword is not an actual sword, but a manual. At Alibaba, each “vein” represents a company value—customer first, teamwork, embrace change, integrity, passion and, commitment.
    Ma is known for his public showmanship, a rare quality among China’s business moguls. Gong Shou Dao is hardly the first time he has performed martial arts in public—below is a clip of Ma practicing Tai Chi at an event held by Chinese business magazine Yingcai.



    To this day, Ma remains committed to the world of Tai Chi and Chinese martial arts. Earlier this year he offered a six-class course for entrepreneurs to learn the practice. He also chimed in on an online debate about the merits of Tai Chi over mixed martial arts. And he continues to read martial arts novels to keep motivated.

    “Kung Fu, you start to think about it as something you cannot do. But if you have some luck, if you continue to practice, if you got a good master, if you got a good team, you can [become an] expert,” he told Charlie Rose at Davos. “When I’m busy, when I’m tired, I read Kung Fu books.”
    Ma’s dedication to practicing martial arts is somewhat unique in China. The art form and its history are ubiquitous in Chinese film, television, and video games. Yet when it comes to actually doing them, they’re mostly enjoyed by the elderly and a handful of hobbyists. Young people in China, meanwhile, have gravitated towards Brazilian jiu-jitsu, mixed-martial arts, and other combat sports with more international appeal (paywall).
    Ma wants to change this. And by releasing Gong Shou Dao on Singles Day, by now a major media event in China, he’s drawing attention to his passion project—revitalizing Chinese martial arts.

    Jack & Jet

    Ma has long maintained a friendship with Jet Li, Gong Shou Dao’s producer. The two of them met in 2007 (link in Chinese) when Li was invited to a meeting held by China Entrepreneur’s Club, a group of China’s wealthiest businessmen that includes Ma. The two later took a three-day trip to Hainan, an island province of China, to discuss charitable giving, philosophy, and Tai Chi—and their conversations persisted throughout the next decade.
    Their mutual love of martial arts led them to found Taijizen in 2011. An institution dedicated to popularizing Tai Chi in the modern era, Taijizen offers courses in various types of Tai Chi at schools across the country, as well as classes for calligraphy, tea, and traditional Chinese music. Overseas, viewers can watch training videos on the company’s YouTube page. A promotional video for Taijizen shows a montage of busy Chinese white-collar office workers, followed by Jack Ma singing the praises of his practice. “For the past 10 stressful years, I believe I’ve been able to be passionate about my work, to never be afraid of competition, and to constantly pursue innovation because of my practice of Tai Chi,” he says.
    Li and Ma’s film, which Ma financed personally, builds on Taijizen’s initiatives. Specifically, they intend to introduce a new style of martial arts they call GSD (gong shou dao, like the movie’s title, whose three Chinese characters mean “Kung Fu,” “defence,” and “principle”). Ultimately, they hope GSD will earn Chinese martial arts a place in the Olympics. Of the combat sports fully recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), three originate in Asia—judo and karate are from Japan, while taekwondo is from Korea. Muay Thai, which recently earned provisional recognition, originates from Thailand.
    In early 2017, Alibaba inked a deal with the IOC to power the organization’s cloud computing infrastructure during the games up until 2028. Li says he hopes the GSD style that appears in the film can become a much-needed standard for traditional Chinese martial arts—a sprawling category—that would help it win inclusion.
    With this in mind, Gong Shou Dao‘s release on Single’s Day is both ironic and fitting. Ma is using a day that has come to symbolize modern China’s crass commercialism and nascent global soft power as a vehicle to promote a traditional Chinese art. Tai Chi, after all, is all about balance.
    More on Gong Shou Dao & China's Single Day + Taijizen
    Gene Ching
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    Official Trailer

    Available in the U.S. through Jet Li's facebook page

    Jet Li’s New Taiji Film GSD Official Trailer

    李连杰 Jet Li
    2 hours ago ·
    3-dots-h
    This is the Official Trailer for GSD, Gong Shou Dao, a movie based on Taiji as the main martial art form. Please enjoy it as my good friend Jack Ma plays the role of a Taiji Master and his encounter with other martial arts masters. In this trailer, you will get a taste of what is bound to be a classic film. You will also see me doing Taiji, which is something that I really love and is important in my career. Enjoy this trailer and I promise you the full film is guaranteed to be very exciting. GSD coming soon!

    Dayum, Jack Ma just lived out my fantasy film role. It's good to be King. Or in Jack's case, Emperor.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  10. #10
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    Here it is...

    If you have YouKu: http://m.youku.com/video/id_XMzE0ODM...alled=1&source

    if not, here's a YouTube version, but I can't guarantee it won't be shut down soon:
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fuD5lEAC3sY

    I wanna be Jack Ma.


    GSD
    Jack Ma
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
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  11. #11
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    And there's more...

    功守道揭幕战

    功守道揭幕战 手机看

    分享给朋友:
    “功守道”是一项全新的太极拳竞技赛事,将传统的太极推手赛事化、可视化、贴近年轻人群。选手1v1对决, 在带斜坡的高台上,限定一条腿的活动范围,定步推手,将对手摔倒或推下高台即可得分,每回合得分高者获胜, 三局两胜。11月15日优酷将独家视频直播“功守道”揭幕战,敬请关注。
    I'm just going to googtrans this in case you can't figure it out.
    Gong Shou Road opener to see the phone

    Share with friends:
    "Kung Shing Road" is a brand new Tai Chi competition that turns the traditional Tai Chi Push Hands event into a visualization that is close to the younger crowd. Players 1v1 duel on the ramp with a high platform, limit the scope of activities of a leg, push the hands paced, the opponent fell or pushed down the platform to score, the highest score for each turn to win, three sets of two wins. November 15 Youku exclusive video broadcast "Gong Shou Road" opener, so stay tuned.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  12. #12
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    YouTube over YouKu



    功守道揭幕开战,马云:打进奥运会
    201 views

    bilibili thief
    Published on Nov 15, 2017
    SUBSCRIBE 6.7K
    视频来源和原始版权来自并归属原创作者,论点和本频道无关。
    本频道致力于视频影片的推广和传播工作, 影片相關內容分享,如有涉及任何侵權或造成當事者困擾的問題,敬請留言告知;本频道定會遵照著 作權保護法相 關規定馬上撤除影片,立即停止分享!謝謝^ ^
    Notice:I have no intention of tort; If there is any doubts of tort, please contact me and I will remove the video immediately
    googtrans:
    Gong Shou Road opened the war, Ma: into the Olympic Games

    The video sources and original copyrights are from, and belong to, the original author. The argument is independent of the channel.
    The channel dedicated to the promotion and dissemination of video and video-related content sharing, if there are any infringement or cause trouble for the parties, please leave a message; this channel will follow the relevant provisions of the Copyright Protection Act immediately remove the video, Stop sharing now! Thanks ^ ^
    Gene Ching
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  13. #13
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    Wow. Just wow.

    Jack Ma didn't pay Donnie? I bet he didn't pay any of them. They all did it for the guanxi. After all, it's Jack Ma.

    Dayum, I wanna be Jack Ma.

    Donnie Yen gets no pay for Jet Li's project
    Heidi Hsia
    From Cinema Online Exclusively for Yahoo Newsroom7 November 2017



    8 Nov – Martial arts actor Donnie Yen recently revealed that he has already completed filming his part for the Jet Li-Jack Ma project, "Gong Shoudao".

    As reported on Mingpao, the actor, who appeared at the press conference of the upcoming Macau International Film Festival, shared that he was approached by both Li and Ma to do the short film together, and that he quickly said yes when told that the movie is made to promote Chinese martial arts and culture.

    "The first day of filming was actually the 14th anniversary of my marriage. My wife and I decided to forgo any celebration because of the project. But we were surprised when the studio prepared a big surprise party for us," he said.

    Donnie also revealed that he didn't take any salary for the project, which he filmed in only two days.

    "Friendship is not measured with money," he added.

    Other stars who are involved in the project include martial arts actor-choreographer Sammo Hung, "Wolf Warrior 2" star Wu Jing, and Thai's top star Tony Jaa.

    On the other hand, when mentioned that filmmaker John Woo is interested to work with him in the future, Donnie said that he would welcome a cooperation with open hands.

    "I consider Woo my senior. I hope to learn a lot from him if given the opportunity to do so," he said.

    (Photo Source: Donnie Yen Facebook)
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
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  14. #14
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    The dream of GSD



    Jet Li: “My Dream is to Have GSD as Part of the Olympics”
    By jetli.com 2 weeks ago in Jet Li, Video
    Save


    Vision of Gong Shou Dao (GSD)


    Gong Shou Dao (GSD) was launched on November 15th, 2017. Today, we have the opportunity to talk to our founder Jet Li to find out more about GSD.

    JETLI.COM: YOU HAVE MASTERED SEVERAL DIFFERENT MARTIAL ARTS STYLES. WHY IS GSD BASED ON TAIJI?

    Jet Li: Taiji, some of which concluded that it could provide relief for sufferers of heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, and depression. This level of discussion is almost non-existent in China, where we tend to take it for granted that Taiji is good for us. Yet even if it is good, that doesn’t mean it’s a magical cure-all or that it replaces the need for medicine. We must keep putting our faith in science.
    My Dream is to have GSD as part of the Olympics — Jet Li
    Around the same time, Jack and I met to talk about his dream of shooting a film to help popularize Taiji; we founded Taiji Zen together. Our shared goal is to get Chinese martial arts — specifically GSD — enshrined as an Olympic sport. To this end, we have drawn up detailed rules for GSD, with an eye toward making it more combative and watchable.



    JETLI.COM: WHAT IS THE MEANING OF GONG SHOU DAO?

    Jet Li: At first, I was thinking about offense (攻) and defense (守)” in “Gong Shou Dao” 攻守道 correspond to the “yin and yang” in Taiji. When Jack Ma saw that, he believed that “kung (功)” is better than “offense (攻)”. The fundamental purpose of Chinese martial arts is not “offense (攻)” but to use the “Kung Fu (功夫)” or efforts to protect/defend our home and heritage that is sacred to our culture.

    JETLI.COM: WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT GSD COMPARED TO OTHER FORMS OF MARTIAL ARTS, AND HOW DOES IT RELATE TO THE OLYMPICS?

    Jet Li: A key challenge is the fact that there is no consensus on the standards or categories of the various forms of wushu — martial arts. There are simply too many styles and variations to be considered an Olympic sport at the moment. We should modify something and standardize a style and format, make it be acceptable to the public.

    “If you think a person practicing Taiji him or herself as 1.0 and two people practicing Taiji push hands as 2.0, then “Gong Shou Dao” should be considered as 3.0. In this event, GSD will take place in a 3.0-meter in diameter ring, one-on-one competition.

    Gong Shou Dao (GSD) Training Camp



    JETLI.COM: HOW IS THE COMPETITION GOING TO BE?

    Jet Li: In this training camp, all trainees have proceeded with 65KG, 70KG, 75KG, 80KG training; in each training, trainees use Taiji posture, push hands, competing with strength in two parties. First group of trainees has a total of 35 people, and train in Tonglin, Anhui. GSD score will be range from 1 to 3 points depending on the techniques applied.

    JETLI.COM: WHAT IS YOUR EXPECTATION ON GSD?

    Jet Li: I wish we can make it to the Olympics in 2028? Even in 2032 or 2036? My role in GSD is clear. It is to make it part of The Olympics. I hope to inspire the generations to come in my effort through this sport.
    I...uh...I got nothing.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  15. #15
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    Our newest exclusive web article

    Gene Ching
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