Master Ge Chunyan is the principal and chief coach of the Bafang Wushu Training Centre (Singapore).
M. Ge Chunyan (戈春艷, 1959- ) started learning martial arts in 1972 and joined the renowned first generation of the Beijing Wushu Team in 1978 and later graduated from the Beijing Sports University ( 北京体育大学).
The coaches of the Beijing Wushu Team utilized the resources of Beijing's traditional martial arts masters as well as the wealth of skill from across china in their coaching, increasing his athlete's wushu level.
This led them to become the worlds greatest professional wushu team and M. Ge Chunyan was one of their most notable outstanding talents. From 1979 to 1985, M. Ge won 8 gold medals and over 30 other medals in National Wushu chamnpionships.
During that time she was the National Champion of Baguazhang for an amazing five years in a row. In 1984, M.Ge shocked the entire Wushu community by winning five gold medals in the 1984 national championships in Chen Style Taijiquan, Long Tassel Sword, Baguazhang, Three man weapon sparring and the individual all round championship. It was a rare feat and even more astounding that during the year of the compeition she was also involved in the filming of Wulin Zhi (武林志, Pride's deadly fury) as the leading actress potraying a Baguazhang exponent.
After her professional career she eventually became a Head coach of the next generation of Beijing's Wushu team. M. Ge Chunyan continued mastering traditional martial arts becoming an inheritor and disciple of Feng Zhiqiang (1928-2012) and Sun Zhijun (1933-). Feng Zhiqiang was a disciple of Chen Fake (1887-1957) in Chen Style Taijiquan and Hu Yaozhen (1879-1973) in Xinyi Quan, later developing Hunyuan Taijiquan. Sun Zhijun is an esteemed expert of Cheng Style Baguazhang and Xingyiquan, a disciple of Cheng Yousheng and Cheng Youxin amongst many others.
M. Ge Chunyan has also studied with a great many other traditional masters such as Lei Muni (Chen Style Taijiquan), Liu Jingrui (Cheng Style Baguazhang), Men Huifeng (Chuojiao, Dongyue Taijiquan), Zhang Guangde (Cha Quan, Daoyin Yansheng Gong), Hong Junsheng (Chen Style Practical Method), Wu Tunan (Wu Style Taijiquan), Sun Jianyun (Sun Style Taijiquan, Xingyi, Baguazhang), Li Ziming (Liang Style Baguazhang), Li Tianji (Wudang Sword, Taijiquan), Sha Guozheng (Baguazhang, Tongbeiquan, Xingyiquan, Taijiquan) and so on. However, as an inheritor and disciple of Feng Zhiqiang and Sun Zhijun, coupled with her foundations, M. Ge teaches traditional Chen Style Taijiquan, Cheng Style Baguazhang and Hebei Xingyiquan predominantly today.
Like her team mate, Jet Li, She later was the main actress in a number of films including Wulin Zhi (武林志 Pride's deadly fury 1983), Dadao Wangwu (大刀王五，Hero Wang Wu 1985), (Deadend of the Besiegers 1992) and (The Legendary Amazons 2011). Even today, M. Ge Chunyan is called upon as an advisor to films like 2013 film The Grandmaster (一代宗师) by Wong Kar-wai where she was the chief advisor of Baguazhang and trainer for Zhang Zhiyi (who won best actress for the film).
M. Ge Chunyan is an 8th duan Wushu expert and a recognized Wuying (武英, Martial Hero) category athlete (the most prestigious recognition awarded for a Wushu exponent in China). After competing as an athlete, M. Ge became a coach herself becoming the coach for China's National Wushu team, Beijing Wushu team and the Philippines National Wushu Team . M. Ge was selected to join the China national wushu troupe to promote wushu around the world travelling to many countries across the US, Europe and Asia.
In 2004, M. Ge Chunyan established the Bafang Wushu Training Centre (八方武术培训中心) in Singapore and started teaching a small group of dedicated students from all over Singapore and abroad, many of whom are also qualified wushu and martial arts instructors. Today. M. Ge teaches the internal arts of Baguazhang, Taijiquan and Xingyiquan. She is one of the most talented and respected experts of Baguazhang in the world.
