Taekwondo which originated from Chinese Wushu, was developed by South Korea and quickly gained popularity around the world. There are now 65 million people in 150 countries including China who practise Taekwondo.

Taekwondo is composed of several syllables. "Ta" means attacking with the foot, "kwon" means defending with the fist and "do" is lofty spirit and morality. Besides enhancing physical health, Taekwondo is also said to build up integrity in terms of courtesy, modesty and generosity.

Ju is a member of Shanghai Best of the Best Taekwondo Club based in Shanghai Jiaotong University. She was inspired by the swordsmen of film and fiction.

"Taekwondo makes me feel strong and confident," Ju said, "I am crazy about it."

The club, founded by eight students in April of 1994, is the first Taekwondo association among local universities. This club has extended its branches into three other universities and three middle schools. Members total 1,000.

"Ju is a quick-learner. In just one year she has been awarded with the blue ribbon which signifies the fourth grade of basic levels of Taekwondo," said Wu Qianli, the present executive president of the club.

When asked whether Taekwondo affected her studies, Ju answered promptly "Not a bit. What matters in learning is not the time span but the time efficiency."

"Taekwondo has a bright future," said Cheng Keqiang from the Training Department of Shanghai Physical Culture and Sports Commission. He has been assigned Secretary General of the next Shanghai Taekwondo Association.

The Ninth National City Games to be held in Guangdong Province in 2001 has listed Taekwondo as one of its events. It will offer both men and women competitors 48 medals in the Sydney Olympic Games this year.

Taekwondo, stressing foot Kung Fu of China, combines competitive defence and presentation skills. These characteristics have enabled Taekwondo to win favour with more and more people.

Shanghai Taekwondo Club on 96 Siping Road has 2,000 trainees, 90 per cent of whom are teenagers or people in their 20s. The ratio of men to women is 7 to 3. Several foreign Taekwondo fans frequently join in the practice here.

Among the regular visitors, Jacek Strzelecki aged 26, a Polish journalist, and Christian Schmidli aged 37, a Swiss project manager, both agree that it is wonderful to do Taekwondo in this club.

With a monthly payment of 150 yuan ($18), club members will receive 24 hours of professional training from Taekwondo experts. All facilities and services can be used during other hours for free.

Compared with Taekwondo's development abroad, however, Shanghai lags behind a little. "The key problem is promoting a comprehensive and definite set of rules to regulate Taekwondo," said Wang Kegui, general manager of the club.

Luckily, local government and the sports circle have realized its significance and are striving for changes. Taekwondo experts will lead the Shanghai Taekwondo Association.

"We will offer Taekwondo courses in local the Children's Sports School, to seek out and develop Taekwondo genius," said Cheng Keqiang.