Kiwi martial artist off to Beijing

Published: 7:07PM Monday March 24, 2008

Source: ONE News

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A chance to compete at an international martial arts festival could be the start of one New Zealander's dream to become this country's Jackie Chan.

Wellington comedian and martial artist Nick Grimwood is heading to Beijing to compete at the World Wushu Championships.

It was watching a Jackie Chan movie that hooked him to martial arts and which led him to the traditional Chinese martial art of wushu.

Having been trained by the legendary Shi Mei Lin, who has mixed with the likes of another elite wushu martial artist Jet Li, Grimwood will be participating in the World Wushu Games later this year.

"Wushu, most people find is a lot more - for lack of a better word - beautiful in martial art. You know, the moves are a lot more hidden, you'd be doing stuff and people don't really know what it is&" says Grimwood.

Glen Keith from the Kung Fu Wushu Federation was confident that Grimwood would be selected, saying Oceania was sure to get some wildcards for the selection process.

Wushu is not an Olympic sport, so it is hoped that the coinciding of the World Wushu Games with the Olympics in Beijing will raise the profile of the sport, and change that.

It could also make wushu the kind of martial arts to feature in films, because like Jackie Chan, Grimwood's also got the comedy down pat.

"I want to be like the best martial artist in New Zealand, I want to be really good at comedy so I try really hard. I mean I haven't achieved academically in life so I've got to find another way to make my parents proud," says Grimwood.

And if Nick Grimwood gets his way, he may end up being the wushu version of Chan.

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