Kung Fu Training Costs AusAID $110,000

The Australian Government Overseas Aid Program (AusAID) spent $110,000 for the training of aid workers in the martial arts technique of kung fu.

The personal safety and awareness training contract was awarded to Canberra-based Yu Shih Tao Kung Fu academy because AusAID wanted its workers safe in strife-torn country or high-threat locations.

In Papua New Guinea, for example, aid workers have become victims of carjacking and violent assaults. With kung fu skills, they can ward off attacks inside or outside their homes and overseas.

The training teaches aid workers how to strike, grapple and defend against weapons. It also teaches aid workers how to secure their homes and avoid dangerous situations.

The AusAID allots nearly $5 billion in foreign assistance per year.

The Yu Shih Tao Kung Fu is a martial arts technique originating in Hsuan Shu monastery in the remote gorges of Szechwan in China.