Nelly Rovira, an advanced student with Taichitoday, received nine gold medals and was awarded the Female Grand Champion title for her age group in the 2024 Presidential Wushu, Kung Fu, Tai Chi Cup Championships held July 13 in Gaithersburg, MD.
The competition included taichi athletes from the United States and other countries competing in person and virtually.
The nine taichi forms Nelly excelled at were: Wudang 13, Chen 18, 24 Yang, 32 Sword, 42 Sword, 42 Competition Form, 54 Fan, Chen Laojia Yilu and Chen Xinjia Yilu. Her tallied scores were enough to award her the female grand champion for the age group of 18 and up.
Competition attendance included two pillars of the taichi community: Chinese taijiquan Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei, one of the top ten martial arts masters in China, as well as Master Sitan Chen, a Gold medalist for China and performer of the 32 Sword Form.
Nelly recently shared her medals and experience with the Taichitoday family and explained why she took on nine forms for the competition. “I wanted to challenge myself and move outside my comfort zone,” she said, “and I wanted to see how I would respond to the pressure of doing all nine forms.” She recalled she was nervous when she noticed Grandmaster Chen was watching the competition, but she said overcame her nerves and became very focused to do her best. Her focus paid off; “I encourage all of you to look for those challenges to expand your comfort zone,” she told Taichitoday students.
She also thanked Shifu Ming Xie and Shifu Weixue Su, Taichitoday founders and instructors, for their guidance and coaching.
Nelly’s success earned her an invitation to be part of the United States of America Wushu, Kung Fu Taiji Federation national athlete team representing the United States in the Pan-American Championships, the World Championships and the Taiji World Championships in 2025.
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