An elderly woman has quickly become a viral internet sensation in China after photos of her practicing kung fu were posted online.
The 93-year-old Zhang Hexian has been practicing kung fu for almost 90 years and has used her skills to protect people in her village for decades.
Her family has had a long-standing tradition of practicing kung fu.
“I started when I was four years old,” she told CNN. “It’s my family tradition that has lasted more than 300 years.”
Zhang, who lives in China’s southeastern Zhejiang province has used kung fu as a way to stay in shape and keep her healthy.
“My mom has never been to the hospital, and would recover from occasional colds after some sleep,” Feng Chuanyin, Zhang’s son, told Xinhua News Agency. “She never takes health products such as vitamins or supplements.”
The kind of kung fu she practices comes from Fujian province. There are 15 different styles of kung fu that come as a part of the type of kung fu she practices, each of which she says takes three years to master. There are 36 moves involved in each style and she says that she has mastered all of them.
Every day, Zhang wakes up at 5 am to practice.
Besides practicing kung fu, she also teaches it to her students and family. She continues to practice her family’s tradition of kung fu by teaching her family, just as her father did to her. She has taught her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren kung fu and plans to continue teaching it as long as she can.
Kung Fu once helped save her life when she encountered three robbers on a mountain, according to Xinhua News Agency. She shouted to them, “Dare you come fight me?” and then proceeded to take two of them down. The third reportedly ran away in fear.
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