A Gold Medallist In Our Midst

by Koo Swit Ling
(Extracted from a periodical by MPE, NTU, Singapore)

"  There are few of us who would not know who she is. But most of us did not have any inkling that Miss May Tan from the MPE Computing Lab has been a Taijiquan champion for years. The grace, fluidity, rhythm and confidence displayed in her taiii style at the 17th SEA Games last year won her the gold medal for Singapore.

Her interest in this Wushu (martial arts) form began in 1988. Watching a taiji master, Mr Zhou Shusheng, from Nanning perform inspired Miss Tan to pursue it with the enthusiasm and energy that have marked her performance. So captivated by this master of taiji, she decided to follow him back to China to learn the art form intensively for one month.

Not long after she began, her talent and no doubt a lot of hard work took her to the 6th position in the 2nd Asian Wushu Championship in 1989. That was the beginning of many more awards to come. On her way up, she won 7th position in the 11th Asian Games in 1990 in Beijing, 6th in the World Wushu Championship and 2nd position in the 16th SEA Games. Before winning her gold medal last year, her participation in the prestigious 3rd Asian Wushu Championship won her 3rd position.

It is her hope to train an NTU team to a notable taiji standard. For now she offers beginners classes on campus. Miss Tan also teaches every Friday at the Ayer Raja Day Care Centre.

Her love for Taiji is mapped on the climb she makes to perfect her art form. Taiji has given her physical, emotional and spiritual satisfaction she hopes she can share with others.  "

About her . . .

Xin Ying Wushu Training Centre was established in Singapore, 1993. The Centre specialized in Changquan & Taijiquan martial art training. The Principal of the training centre is Master May Tan (Ms.). Miss May Tan is the 19th Generation of Chen Style Generation & 2nd Generation of Xin Yi Hunyuan Taijiquan school of martial art, Located in mainland China. She is a proud disciple of the famous Master Zhou Shusheng & Master Feng Zhiqiang.

Ms. May Tan is a well known teacher of Taijiquan in Singapore who has won a large number of medals for Singapore in international competitions. At present, she has stepped back from the front line of competition to work for the promotion and spread of martial arts and the training of new Taijiquan competitors and instructors. Throughout her ten years as a competition athlete, she has retained a leading position in the Taijiquan category. Her most outstanding achievement was winning the gold medal in the Taijiquan category in the 17th Southeast Asian Games in 1993 and the bronze medal in the Hiroshima Asian Games of 1994. In addition, she was given an Award of Merit by the Singapore Olympic Council in 1992, 1993 and 1994 and ranked as an elite-grade athlete by the Singapore Sports Council.

May Tan’s success is a result of her deep dedication to the art of Taijiquan, her indomitable will, and her unfailing persistence and determination. She has also been fortunate to receive meticulous instruction from a large number of accomplished Taijiquan masters. On addition to Taijiquan, she has also studied other schools of Chinese boxing in order to complement and deepen her practice of Taijiquan.

With a decade of competitive sport career coming to a close in 1998, it is the start of her active involvement in the promotion of taijiquan as a sport and her commitment to nurture new blood. On the academic front, she attained the Certificate of the National Coaching Accreditation Program SSC-NCAP (Theory Level 3) in the same year. In 2001, she was received the Diploma of Counselling and Communication (Applied Sport Psychology, Australian College of Applied Psychology ACAP in conjunction with the Singapore Sports Council SSC), co-sponsored by the Singapore Sports Council and the Singapore National Wushu Association. Then in the following year, 2002, she further attained the Advanced Diploma of Sports Psychology. She is now a qualified international umpire for taijiquan, an executive member and examiner of the Singapore National Wushu Association. Since then, on numerous occasions, she was invited to coach in Germany.

Achievements . . .

Other Contributions & Accomplishments . . .

Awards Gained by May Tan's students . . .