Kuo Realizes Long-Held Dream

A chance meeting nearly 20 years ago sparked a dream between two men. Now, two universities nearly 7,000 miles apart are bringing that dream to fruition.

Phillip Kuo, a professor of medical imaging, biomedical engineering and medicine at the University of Arizona, was participating in a martial arts examination in 2017 when he realized one of the judges was his old friend ShaoJun Lyu, who is now a professor in the College of Physical Education and Sports at Beijing Normal University, or BNU.

Kuo had taken tai chi classes from Lyu as a graduate student in Virginia, and the two shared a passion for the ancient Chinese martial art that benefits the mind, body and spirit. They dreamed of starting a special project that would promote the practice and understanding of this ageless form of exercise.

That day has come. The newly founded International Society of Chinese Health Practices, an international collaboration between the UA and BNU, will facilitate research of the benefits of Chinese health practices and the complementary use of Eastern and Western medicine on a global scale.