DMU Confucius Institute Hosts Chinese Kungfu Summer Club for Children in Leicestershire

On four consecutive Saturday mornings from 6 to 27 June, the Confucius Institute at De Montfort University (DMU CI) held a four‑week Chinese Kungfu Summer Club for Children running across Leicestershire. The club attracted over 40 children aged from 6-14 from more than 30 local families. Under the theme of “Chinese Kungfu Training + Chinese Cultural Experience”, the club combined immersive Chinese Kungfu training sessions with cultural workshops to offer an all-round Chinese cultural learning experience for young participants.

During the event, the children were divided into two groups, the Kungfu Panda Class and the Chinese Dragon Class. Both classes took turns attending Chinese Kungfu training sessions and cultural workshops. In the training sessions, the professional instructor taught basic Chinese Kungfu movements, including the fist‑and‑palm salute, horse stance, bow stance, straight punch, and kicking techniques. Through these exercises, the children gained an understanding of the etiquette and the spirit of self‑improvement embedded in Chinese Kungfu culture. The cultural workshops centered on four themes: paper dragon boat making, paper‑cup rice dumpling crafts, pictographic character writing, creative painting on plates, and Peking Opera mask design. Volunteer teachers from CI explained the customs of the Dragon Boat Festival, the evolution of Chinese characters, and the art of Peking Opera masks, guiding the children to appreciate the charm of traditional Chinese culture through hands‑on activities. At the end of each session, the children presented their creations and took their handmade items home as souvenirs.

To reinforce the continuity of the course and consolidate learning outcomes, DMU CI awarded certificates of completion to participants who attended all four sessions, and presented them with commemorative gifts featuring Chinese cultural elements.

This Chinese Kungfu Summer Club is a free community cultural experience program offered by DMU CI for local children in Leicestershire. By integrating Chinese Kungfu, traditional festivals, Chinese characters, and Peking Opera art, the club employed experiential teaching methods to arouse children’s interest in learning and deepen their understanding of traditional Chinese culture. It also served as an effective practical platform for promoting cultural exchanges between China and the UK and enriching the diversity and inclusiveness in the local community.