At 92, this grandfather is still active: “I practice martial arts every day.” A grandfather to three grandchildren, he has stayed fit for decades, allowing him to keep up with the young ones and maintain a diet rich in delicious foods like roast dinners and chocolate.
A wise person once said that aging is the gradual acceleration of the search for comfort, and Englishman Lew Burja, aged 92, who still practices kung fu and tai chi, certainly seems to agree with this.
“At my age, I have friends who are passing away all around me, and [tai chi] has helped me to keep going,” Mr. Burja said. “It’s very important to keep moving, which is fortunate because I can’t stay still.”
He discovered tai chi in his fifties, after recurring chest infections and back problems. He had been active in sports most of his life, including rugby, weightlifting, athletics, judo, and soccer, but had never practiced tai chi before.
Captivated by a tai chi lesson at an exhibition, he decided to take it up and began weekly sessions, including half an hour of kung fu.
Tai chi is a Chinese internal martial art practiced for health, known for its slow and deliberate movements, while kung fu refers to any skill acquired through hard work in a general sense, not specifically martial arts.
“I was fit and healthy. But these chest conditions kept coming back only a few months after stopping treatments,” he explained. “For some reason, I was very drawn to the slow movements and deep breathing of tai chi.”
“There’s a specific sequence of movements you can do to manage certain health conditions.”
Burja, originally from Leeds, can still walk up to seven miles a day and claims running is no problem for him. He also trains to become a suspense novel author to keep his mind sharp.
“A good amount of physical exercise helps you to keep going and gives you a very positive outlook on life,” Burja said. “And it has allowed me to keep all my clarity. I’m training to become a suspense novel author.”
“I no longer practice kung fu, but I can still kick and punch.”
Watch Lew in action below…
